Utah state university uses extension capacity funds to support various programs

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Utah State University $3,785,782 under the Smith-Lever Extension Funding program on October 1, 2025, for cooperative extension activities through September 30, 2030.

Utah State University Extension uses the capacity funds to deliver workshops, demonstrations, e-courses, in-person classes, and print and electronic resources across multiple educational areas. 4-H programs provide hands-on projects in science, health, agriculture, and civic engagement for youth, with major focus areas including 4-H STEM, 4-H Healthy Living, and Civic Engagement. USU Extension faculty conduct research and disseminate technical assistance to agricultural producers and stakeholders through field days, workshops, printed and online publications, classes, online courses, and social media. The programs serve Utah's agricultural industry, which operates over 18,000 farms and ranches spanning 11 million acres and generating more than $21 billion in total economic output.

Performance occurs in Utah. The assistance type is formula grant funding under CFDA 10.511, which supports joint cooperative extension programs at 1862 Land-grant Institutions to develop practical applications of research knowledge and conduct cooperative agricultural extension activities.

Programmatic activities include workshops, demonstrations, E-courses, in-person classes, as well as the development of print and electronic resources. These programs, and associated deliverables, outcomes, and beneficiaries, include: 4 H programs are grounded in the belief that youth learn best by doing. Kids and teens complete hands-on projects in many educational areas including science, health, agriculture, and civic engagement. 4-H allows youth to engage in their educational interests in a positive environment where they receive guidance from adult mentors, while also being encouraged to take on proactive leadership roles. Kids can concentrate on one focus area or they can TRY a variety of programs throughout their 4 H experience. Major educational areas in utah 4-H at utah state university (USU) extension include 4-H stem, 4-H healthy living, and civic engagement. Utah has over 18,000 farms and ranches spanning 11 million acres, which generate more than $21 billion in total economic output (after adjusting for the multiplier effect). While IT is true that utah becomes more urbanized each year, IT is also true that agriculture continues to play a vital part in our state. As the population of utah and the united STA TES continues to grow, food production is more important than ever before. Utah state university (USU) extension has led the way for 105 years in providing non-biased, research-based technical assistance to producers and the utah agricultural industry. USU extensi on has nationally and internationally recognized faculty with expertise in all areas of agriculture production and science. Our on-campus and county faculty conduct cutting-edge research that is disseminated to producers and other stakeholders through methods such as field days, workshops, printed and online publications, classes, online courses, and social media outlets. The western U.S. Contains states with vast tracts of public land surrounding smaller areas that are privately owned, mostly adjacent to water. The natural resource base of any economy is critically important to the economic and aesthetic environments for that area. Changes in the natural resource base bring variation in the underlying economic and social structure. Critical issues affecting natural resource characteristics are found in soils, water, range, forest, animals, and air resources. The proper and efficient management of these resources is a primary concern, particularly for environments as varied and unique as in the west. Utah consists of many rural counties spread out over vast areas of land, and only a few urban counties in centralized locations. As a result, there is an increasing disparity in economic opportunities for residents in rural counties. The majority of current and new jobs are located along the urban counties in the wasatch front, including jobs in the growing technology sector in utah's 'silicon slopes.' in contrast, rural residents struggle to find well-paying and stable work in their communities and are often faced with the decision to relocate to urban centers. This exacerbates the problem of economic depression in rural counties since rural-urban migration leads to low productivity in these counties. There is a need to support rural communities through community and capacity-building initiatives. Utah is in the top 5 U.S. States with bankruptcy, and there is a need for outreach education to facilitate improved financial management practices among individuals and families. Because of utah's typically larger family size, the amount of income available for basic family needs slips below the mean for the rest of the united states. Utah families already face high debt loads leading to bankruptcy, low savings, and a lack of liquid assets. Hence, the major goal of this planned extension program is to enhance individual and family resource management (FRM).