The USU Extension office in Uintah County is a great resource in the community and the staff presented a 2021 annual report this week to the Uintah County Commissioners. The ‘Share Produce With Your Neighbor’ program was able to donate 1,769 pounds of fresh produce to the Ashley Valley Food Pantry. The Lapoint Elementary garden provided produce directly to students and their families as well as provided 600 pounds of produce donated to locals in need. Coordinator Cara Murray also emphasized that it was a good year for outreach thanks to the use of social media to reach more community members than ever before. Of course the 4H program is a major part of the USU Extension. By the end of the 2021 year, which ended in August, the 4H program had 231 registered youth. Now, just 5 months into the 2022 year, there are already 242 youth registered and there will usually be an influx of even more as the livestock show approaches. All involved in 4H are excited that there will be a county fair this summer. There are many other offerings through the USU Extension not mentioned but Uintah County Director Boyd Kitchen wanted to mention that their program was able to offer resources to farmers in 2021 as they dealt with severe drought conditions. Kitchen said he worked to help them utilize every drop of water they had and thankfully most farmers fared better than expected. The Commission thanked them and approved the proposed amendment to their 5 year agreement.
