Hosted by Triangle and Chino Winds Districts
Western Yavapai Conservation Education Center
informs and communicates with its pioneers of today and tomorrow about the wise use of our natural resources to maintain a sustainable, productive and healthy resource base
for all our communities and caring for them.
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NEWSLETTER
Triangle/Chino Winds NRCD
Our mission at the Triangle/Chino Winds NRCD is to advocate for all local agricultural producers. We are dedicated to coordinating with governing agencies and local landowners to achieve conservation goals.
Waiting For Superman
By: Reuben Vernon
We Americans take our first amendment rights very seriously when it comes to our right to complain about our leadership. More than just a way to hold our elected officials accountable, it is something of a national pastime. No casual conversation is complete without an inquiry of status, a comment on the weather, and complaint about a politician. In the interest of improving the things we all can see around us, what if we put the shoe on the other foot and look inward for a minute?
The Stoics tell us to worry about what we can control and not lose sleep over the things we can’t. Easier said than done. Aside from being fun, it builds a sense of rapport with those around us to share grievances. The problem is, most of us stop there. We don’t think about some small and easy thing we could do to make the world a slightly better place. The small things, like pulling a single weed out of the lawn, do not make a significant difference when taken alone. It is when we all chip in and pull one that the world gets better.
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According to the polls most Americans are unhappy with the current political landscape. Being an election year, most of us are complaining louder than usual and looking forward to proving it on election day. Something worth keeping in mind; the current mess was not made overnight, by any one person. Fixing it will be no different. It will take all of us taking ownership of the mess and doing whatever small thing we can find to make a difference.
Superman isn’t coming, we are on our own.
What is Cooperative Extension?
Katie Hazelwood
Asst. Livestock Agent
Yavapai County Cooperative Extension
The University of Arizona
Cooperative Extension is a part of the University of Arizona as a condition of being a Land Grant University. In concurrence with the Smith-Lever Act, Land Grant Universities were granted funding from federal, state, and county governments and charged with providing a free service to communities within the state to bring science to the people. Essentially, Extension is the bridge between the science of academia and the public to enhance economic, political, and cultural aspects in the community and industry. There are many aspects to Cooperative Extension including livestock and range management, youth development in 4H, and family health and financial literacy.
As a livestock extension agent, my job is to provide unbiased and data-driven education to producers and livestock owners in a way that makes sense and is easily applicable to their operations. Basically, this means I am a resource for the people on the ground doing the hard work. With this, I have an array of methods to use to be that resource such as workshops, bulletins, webinars, and newsletter articles like this one. In addition, one of my favorites, I am able to conduct on-site visits to ranchers’ properties. This allows me to get to know each producer on a better level and really see how issues affect the operation and what solutions would work best.
No question is too small or menial. To some, the basics are unknown concepts and are just as important to learn as advancements in technology. There is always something new to learn, whether someone is just starting or has ranched their whole life, no matter if they are a small acreage rancher with a few cows or have a big allotment and 500 head. The world is ever-changing and technology, even in the agricultural industry, is always advancing. The more we push ourselves to learn, as a whole in the agricultural industry, the more productivity, efficiency, and the well-being of the industry will increase. Each rancher, operator, owner, manager, and extension agent work hard every day to improve the industry that matters so much to the world. Learning just a bit more will only enhance the efforts already made.
Currently, there are some big issues facing ranchers within the state. By keeping up to date on those topics, I can provide resources to aid ranchers through those tough situations. Whether it’s providing guides on how to do a certain procedure (think vaccines, forage testing, etc.), finding links to outside resources, or anything in between, as an extension agent I can help figure out the solution. All in all, Cooperative Extension is a resource to many, and the overarching goal is to be a means for educational advancement within the community and industry.