Extension Advisory Committee

Agenda — 9 items

1. Agriculture (Karla Melgar Velis)AAB meeting on September 9 discussed food hub considerations and Catherine’s report. Looking to establish better connections with buyers (CSU, schools, restaurants). And exploring connections with Boulder County’s food hub vs. a stand-alone facility shared with the Urban renewal authority. Board members agreed with a need to aggregate and provide washing stations/cool storage to increase farmer’s capacity to sell. Permitting is also a consideration to have. Met with Dawn, Martha, Maggie and Cary to explore feasibility and role of Extension in creating a Food Hub.Technical assistance for food hub participants seems like a good long-term contribution from CSU as the food hub develops. For now, creating connections and researching models to follow is the main role. Catherine might work with us again next semester to help make connections. Zoning and permitting is top priority for farm stands, cold storage units, agri-tourism and other forms of diversified income for local farmers. A goal for the end of the year is to create a document for a step-by-step on how to get permits for (at least farm-stands, following BoCo’s model). Future efforts will likely need making recommendations to the board about easier or streamlined processes to acquire permits for proven working farms. Forage guide is updated! Attending ABM training in December.
2. Food Safety (Analecia)Retail Food Safety: Certified Food Protection Manager: 185 total participants, 88% Full class training- 21 trainings held, 140 total participants, 94%Other options- 45 total participants, 69 % Food Safety Works: 2026Total number of classes held- 8 trainings Total number private classes held- 3 trainings Total number interpretation classes held- 1 training Food Preservation: 6 total classes scheduled June through Nov. 5 classes hosted- 45 total participants through October1 class left to be hosted in Nov. Master Food Safety Advisors: Volunteers: 8 total Volunteer Opportunities: Farmers’ Market, Preservation classes, County Fair-Open class, Berthoud classes. Total hours: 94hrsContinuing Education: TAMALE Making - Friday, November 6th starting at 10am. Cottage Food: Analecia will be training by the end of the year to start hosting starting 2027 in person option. Anticipating an influx of interest due to the change in rules.
3. Natural Resources (Jenna)Small Acreage Management: 38 site visits conducted this year to date, impacting 1,545 acres. Supported 57 land management inquiries via phone and email. Topics include: weed management, establishing native grasses and forage plants, livestock protection, grazing management, hay production, windbreaks, tree selection, water retention, soil health, wildfire safety, wildlife habitat, human-wildlife conflict reduction. Site visit season is slowing down for fall/winter.Landowner Guidebook: collaborating with regional subject matter experts to write content for a guidebook providing resources to rural landowners on land stewardship practices benefitting their interests, the ecosystem, and their neighbors. Timeline: complete first draft end of 2026, visual layout/graphic design early spring 2027, public launch and distribution late spring 2027.Human-Bear Conflict Reduction: our working group now has a name - Bear Early Action Response Team (B.E.A.R.). With a 200% increase in human-bear interactions in Larimer County just this year, we are supporting local community action that addresses emerging human-bear conflict under climate change. Awarded $10,000 to support a part-time staff coordinator (housed at CSU), stakeholder engagement, outreach, and other project-related expenses. (This award is confidential until the grantor announces on social media.) We also applied for $4,000 from Larimer County’s Small Grants for Community Partnering Program.Prairie Dog Working Groups: (1) Collaborated with regional Extension and Open Space staff to submit a funding proposal for the Center for Collaborative Conservation’s fellowship program ($18,000). The project would create actionable decision support resources for Front Range prairie dog management and conservation, while expanding regional capacity for cross sector coordination and collaboration.(2) Participating in the Great Plains Conservation Network’s Prairie Dog Working Group. We submitted a funding proposal to AZA SAFE Program ($50,000) to develop a stakeholder engagement strategy that addresses the social barriers to black-footed ferret and prairie dog conservation across key recovery landscapes. Women’s backpacking program 9/26-9/27: see Christa’s update above.
4. Approval of Last Meeting Minutes
5. General/Other (Cary)All program staff attended the 4-day annual CSU Office of Engagement & Extension Annual Forum in early OctoberOnboarding three new staff membersFacilitated a Conflict Styles training delivered by Deb Colbert from CSU’s Office of Talent DevelopmentPresented 2025 Key Performance Indicators to the Board of County Commissioners Continuing to facilitate work plan items for the Larimer County Ag Advisory Board in partnership with Karla and MaggieFacilitating implementation of Larimer Extension’s Community Needs Assessment with Lisa and ChristaFollowing developments regarding reorganization of OEE and CSU’s anticipated budget shortfall for FY28
6. Community Development (Lisa)The FLTI 20 week intensive cohort started with a full day retreat on Saturday September 12th. We have 16 participants enrolled with ⅓ primary English speakers. ⅓ primary Spanish speakers and ⅓ bilingual participants.</div></li><li><div>Phase one of the FLTI cohort runs from September 14th through November 16th. Phase 2 of the cohort Runs February 1st through April 12th. In March the group will visit the state capitol. The class meets on Mondays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with the first 30 minutes set aside for breakfast. </div></li><li><div>The FLTI cohort has guest speakers join the class, session 6 we had Pat Griego with the Women's League of Voters, session 6 Arpi Miller ED of ISACC of Northern Colorado and for session 9 a panel of those who work in media.The Renacer group continues to grow, with four new participants from Chile and Costa Rica joining the October meeting. The session focused on self-care, with an emphasis on different types of exercise. Dr. Aengst from CSU is piloting her women’s health program with the group, and participants are happy to provide feedback to help inform the program. The next Renacer group is scheduled for Friday November 20th, the group has decided they would like time to socialize and do a fall craft to celebrate before the holidays.Lisa is attending a four session Legislative Advocacy Facilitator Training in November and December to help plan for Day at the Capitol in March.Thursday November 12th there is a free statewide online workshop the forth in the Civic Leadership in Action series- Session 4: Exploring Your Leadership Pathways! Here is a link to share for registration. https://web.cvent.com/event/e01cd15a-b82a-4053-93b5-c88b1638792f/register?i=wM7T8ljyZEKIFSUVH-QIGw&locale=en-US
7. Farmers’ Market & Food Systems (Maggie)We’ve hit our 2026 goal for the LCFM: Over $2 million in gross sales! We achieved this milestone on October 3, and we’re very proud of our vendors :) </div></li></ul><ul style="margin-left: 40px "><li><div>As of October 20, we are up 14.8% in gross sales from last year (FYI: 2024-2025 increase was 8%)</div></li></ul><ul style="margin-left: 20px "><li><div>We hosted Walgreens at the market for the month of October for free vaccine distribution - flu, COVID-19, shingles and others. </div></li></ul><ul style="margin-left: 40px "><li><div>As of October 20, they have distributed 332 vaccines (around 100 per market, which is about 25 vaccines per hour)</div></li></ul><ul style="margin-left: 20px "><li><div>Maggie partnered with the NoCo Foodshed Project and City of Fort Collins to distribute 30 boxes of farm fresh produce from local producers for the City of Fort Collins’ Longer Tables event on September 26</div></li><li><div>Alison and Maggie were recent guests on Larimer County Public Health and Environment’s Healthier Together Podcast to discuss the farmers’ market: Listen here</div></li><li><div>Maggie has partnered with the NoCo Foodshed Project to co-host a series of educational events for producers including topics such as Organic Certification, Market Channels Assessment, Cover Cropping and more - all sessions are recorded and hosted on our YouTube pageFamiliar Foods - the mobile farmers’ market van, has recently been authorized to accept SNAP/EBT. Maggie helped them to complete their authorization and has provided technical support on SNAP shopping, and has been assisting them to become enrolled with either Double-Up Food Bucks or Produce Bonus with Nourish ColoradoWe partner with Familiar Foods to expand Market Days - over $400 has been spent with the van from our Market Days participantsDoing some early Christmas shopping and love the market? We have launched an online merch store here - we also have some physical merchandise on-hand if you don’t want to pay shipping
8. Health & Well-Being (Christa). Christa, Jenna, and Larimer County Natural Resources, piloted Trail Ready Women, an intro to backpacking course for women. We had 8 participants in the course with ages ranging from 22 to 63 years old. We hosted three in-person courses at the Larimer County Longview Behavioral Health Campus and one overnight experience at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space. The women learned core outdoor skills and connected with other women and nature to better their health. Presented, “Finding the Right Balance:Youth Health and Technology”, to the UCHealth Healthy Hearts and Minds team on September 14th. They provide school-based health education to 4th/5th, 7th and 9th graders in Larimer, Weld, Boulder, El Paso and Routt counties</div></li><li><div>Partnered with CSU departments, Larimer County Natural Resources and City of Fort Collins Natural Areas to host the third annual Healthy by Nature Fair at Lee Martinez Park on September 19th. Approximately 300 community members participated in the event and 23 organizations hosted educational and interactive booths. We received a $500 sponsorship and 30+ fishing poles/tackleboxes from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which was used for gear prizes for participants. Partnered to host UCHealth’s Advance Care Planning team at the Connection Cafe booth at the food pantry in Red Feather Lakes on September 25th. In addition, Northeast Health Partners (NHP) was highlighted at the October 23rd Connection Cafe. </div></li><li><div>Presented on the Mediterranean Diet for a social connection luncheon of approximately 15 people at Plymouth Church on October 8th. Presented Nutrition for Adults with UCHealth Aspen Club for 7 members at the Fort Collins Senior Center on October 15th. Also presented at the Loveland Chilson Center on Oct 28th. Piloted the “Taste it Tent” to highlight vegetables and recipes at the Farmers Market this season. Tomatoes with a loaded tomato soup recipe were highlighted on Oct17th. We gave out 94 recipe/health infographics and roughly 130 samples of the soup. Previous highlights were microgreen pesto, quick pickle radishes, and herb bean salad. Upcoming: Let Nature Inside class at Berthoud Library on Nov 4th, Meal Planning with Confidence (with UCHealth Aspen Club) on Nov 20th and Dec 10th.
9. 4-H (Britney, Rachel, Rachael, Roxanne)Past:September 26: Roxanne attended EnergyFest at the Powerhouse and engaged over 20 youth and their families in wire photo frame making. This was a project highlight for both the metalworking and photography projects.October 1: Rachael Stucke started!October 6: The 4-H Team hosted Achievement Night at The Ranch with over 250 4-H members, volunteers, and family members in attendance. Awards were presented for member and volunteer recognition of their time in the program, as well as special awards that members and volunteers were nominated for. Over 200 livestock and companion animal record books were submitted, and the top two highest scores for each age division in each project were recognized. To see the full list of winners and photos from the night, please click here.October 8: The 4-H Team hosted 4-H Open House to start off the new 4-H Year with 59 youth in attendance. There were 4 project areas and 8 clubs in attendance, as well as the 4-H overview presentationOctober 17: Roxanne attended the Trunk-or-Treat at the Holiday Twin Drive-In Theater and interacted with over 500 youth and their families.October 19: 4-H Enrollment for 2026-2027 is officially open!October 19-21: The 4-H Team met for three days to plan for the upcoming 4-H year. We have officially sunset the Clover Connection newsletter, and it will be replaced with the Larimer County 4-H Bulletin Board. We also completed the policies and procedures for the 2026-2027 year.October 21: The CSU carcass contest for Larimer County 4-H awarded the Top 10 in the following species: swine, sheep, market goats, and beef.October 31: Rachel and Roxanne attended the LCFM for the 4-H Fall Festival and did Halloween crafts with youth in attendance.Upcoming:4-H Community Nights will be each month, November through February, built around the four H’s: Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. The first will highlight trivia amongst the following categories: 4-H Trivia, Colorado Agriculture Trivia, and Life Skills Trivia</div></li><li><div>4-H 101 Nights will begin soon for new 4-H families in hopes of giving them guidance throughout their first year in 4-H</div></li><li><div>The second 4-H Discovery Day will be hosted at the Ranch on December 22nd with 6 project highlights featured for Cloverbud and Junior aged youth to attend and explore different options within 4-H.

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