EXTENSION TRENDS: CASSIA COUNTY University of Idaho Extension, Cassia County • www.uidaho.edu/cassia
2019 Impact
2019 By the Numbers • 12,747 direct contacts • 11,831 youth participants • 114 volunteers • 2,440 volunteer hours • $8,239 extramural funding
Our Advisory Council Special thanks to our volunteers who help shape programming and inform the work we do for UI Extension in Cassia County.
UI Extension Educators Joel Packham 208-878-9461 jpackham@uidaho.edu
Grace Wittman 208-878-9461 gwittman@uidaho.edu
UI Extension, Cassia County agriculture and farm management programming includes classes on farm financial management and estate/succession planning in Cassia County and the Magic Valley. These classes are essential for producers to know their costs of production as well as a plan to help them pass the torch to a new generation. Smaller classes with less than 10 operations per class allows for more one-on-one teaching with individuals. Producers leave the financial management classes with two years of balance sheets, a year-end income statement/financial analysis, and a cash flow budget for the next year. Succession classes offer time with an excellent estate/succession planning lawyer within a classroom setting where questions and answers flow freely. Farm goals and legacy statements are also required to encourage participants to take a strategic look at their operation. Cover crop research helps producers understand the value and ability to graze cereal grains that are often used in cover crop mixes. UI Extension Educator Joel Packham has worked with several producers to help others see the value of grazing cover crops during the winter. Much of this research was done by interseeding cover crops into standing corn so that cover crop grazing was available directly following corn silage harvest. UI Extension, Cassia County family and consumer science programming includes community classes in the areas of food safety, nutrition, and health. In 2019 approximately 200 youth were reached with hand hygiene education in Cassia County. This program consists of a handson demonstration on how to properly wash your hands and why it is important to your health. UI Extension Educator Grace Wittman works with 13 Master Food Safety Advisors to provide food safety and food preservation information to consumers. Between Wittman and volunteers, over 200 volunteer hours were logged and over 500 consumer questions were answered.
4-H in Cassia County Traditional 4-H programming remained strong in Cassia County in 2019. Outreach programming was boosted by University of Idaho interns who taught 4-H classes/camps throughout the summer. The efforts of a new county funded, part-time 4-H program assistant were focused on the Cassia County School District’s afterschool program (SPARK) and a robotics club. The UI Extension, Cassia County 4-H program coordinator continued outreach programming by taking classes to youth in outlying communities. Efforts will continue to make 4-H more accessible to youth in more rural areas. Hands-on projects were offered in partnership with the Cassia County School District, including Ag Safety Days, 4th Grade History Day, and 6th Grade Ag Day. Leadership, finance, and cooking programs were taught to seniors at Burley High School. The UI Extension, Cassia County 4-H program is also committed to the Food, Fun and Fitness in the Park program (Lunch in the Park).
Approximately 150 to 200 underserved youth are reached each week during the summer in partnership with the College of Southern Idaho, Burley Public Library, and the Cassia Regional Hospital. The 4-H program also teaches at CSI’s Summer Science Camp each summer. In 2019 there were 432 4-H livestock projects by Cassia County youth. A total of 339 animals were sold at the fair with average “Blue Sky” money or $1,600 per head.
On the Horizon Upcoming UI Extension, Cassia County 4-H programming includes: science training for a grant received from the Cassia County School District; Declo Elementary Science Night; 4th Grade History Day; implementation of a drone program thanks to a $3,500 product grant from STEM Idaho and a $1,500 grant the 4-H Volunteer Council received from Northwest Farm Credit Services; expansion of the robotic program; expansion of 4-H programming into rural areas; continuation of traditional 4-H programming. New cover crop research involves wide-row corn (60 and 44 inches) and cover crop species for grazing following corn harvest. This research should produce a greater amount of forage for grazing as opposed to interseeding cover crops into a regular spaced corn field. The value of biostimulants on corn silage production and soil health will also be tested.