Program Impacts
Partnerships
Partnerships have provided Extension with opportunities to impact the community in matters of public health and safety, substance abuse education, weed abatement, wildlife enhancement projects, public recreation events and activities and more. A special thank you to those agencies throughout Lander County and Northern Nevada including Battle Mountain Recreation Center and Nevada Department of Wildlife, Battle Mountain Quilt Guild and Tipsy Tulip Flower Shop for partnering with Lander County 4-H to help local youth learn new skills and develop hobbies!
4-H Youth Development
Shooting Sports: 8 participants
Shooting sport club members learned and demonstrated safety and skills associated with the archery, air pistol, shotgun and muzzleloader disciplines. Club members spend time at the shooting range refining technique as well as participate in club competitions.
Clover bud: 4 participants
Clover bud participants owned and took care of their small animals which include rabbits, chickens, and cavy. Members learned care and showing techniques and practiced for demonstration. These members can participate in the Tri County Fair during Labor Day weekend to show their animals.
Small Animal: 2 participants
The Small Animal Club consists of rabbits, chickens, and cavy animals. Members culminated the year with an exhibition at the Tri County Fair. The club also participated in Lander County’s Fall Festival by hosting a petting zoo for the community. Community members were able to feed and pet chickens, rabbits, goats, pigs, and baby calf.
Large Animal: 6 participants
The large animal club consisted of members learning and showing market lambs, goats, swine, and steers. Participants learned basic animal husbandry and show techniques. Several members attended show clinics that taught washing and fitting techniques to prepare for their respective shows. Animals were shown at the Nevada Junior Livestock Show in Reno, NV in May and at the Tri County Junior Livestock Show in Winnemucca during Labor Day weekend.
Fishing Day Camp: 16 participants
Lander County 4-H partnered with Nevada Department of Wildlife and offered a day of learning about fish, prime fishing spots, and throwing a line in! NDOW staff and volunteers set up stations for kids to rotate through. The stations taught youth how to identify different types of fish, their preferred environments, the basic laws of fishing and how to cast their lines. Once everyone rotated through the stations, the kids were able to practice their skills with help from NDOW at the local duck pond and everyone caught multiple fish! One highlight was the group participating in the release of multiple catfish that weighed 8-10 lbs into the duck pond. We give a special thank you to NDOW for partnering and helping kids get outside and enjoy nature!
Ski & Snowboard Camp: 30 participants
Lander County Recreation Center and the 4-H Program partnered together to help Lander County youth learn new skills and get outside and be active. Participants spent 2 days on the hill and could choose to snowboard or ski. Each day started with lessons based on skill level and experience and ended with skiing or boarding at the resort. The kids had lots of fun and learned new skills!
4-H Overnight Summer Camp: 5 participants
Lander 4-H members attended the Northern Area Central 4-H camp in Lake Tahoe, NV in July. Attendees participated in hands-on, experiential learning activities that offered adventure, friendship, and fun. These activities helped make him or her a better person by developing self-awareness and character-building skills, working with others, problem solving and decision-making skills. This camp included kids from the Central Area, which includes Churchill, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing and White Pine counties.
Special Interest Clubs:
Floral Arranging: 8 participants
Participants worked with volunteers over 3 sessions to create several different types of arrangements. In the first class, participants made fall wreaths to take home and the second class they made live floral crowns and floral rings. The final class was creating a live floral arrangement in a plastic jack-o-lantern. Throughout the classes, members learned new techniques in floral design, color combination, scale, balance, and the distinction between focal, filler, and foliage flowers.
Sewing: 7 participants
Participants learned how to choose and cut fabric to make a magic standard pillowcase. Volunteers from the Battle Mountain Quilt Guild helped young sewers learn how to iron, use a sewing machine and cut fabric. They practiced sewing straight lines and ironing seams before they tackled their main project. The goals of the class were to discover style with color and line, recognize basic sewing machine parts and make a simple machine hem with a straight stitch. There were lots of laughs and a few seams that were picked, but everyone left with a finished project
Overall, 93 youth were impacted by the 4-H program with 28 involved in clubs, 34 participating in overnight camps, and 22 learned from special interest classes.
Outreach & Education
Beginning Farmer & Rancher Program
The Beginning Farmer & Rancher Program (BFR) can help and offers additional assistance to beginning farmers and ranchers. USDA considers anyone who has operated a farm or ranch for less than ten years to be a beginning farmer or rancher. The program helps individuals get started or grow their operation through a variety of programs and services, from farm loans to crop insurance, and conservation programs to disaster assistance. The BFR program provides a support network, marketing strategy development, implementation of sustainable agricultural management practices, and entrepreneurial, business, and financial management skills. The aim of the program is to help new farmers and ranchers the tools to own, operate, and sustain their agricultural operation. Contact the extension office for more information.
Radon Program
Radon test kits are available to the public and are located at the Extension Office and throughout several Lander County offices. With a concerted effort in providing Radon education for Lander County residents, there were 20 tests completed in the year. Informational booths about the Radon program were set up at the Battle Mountain General Hospital Health Fair in Battle Mountain and Austin. In addition, Lander County Commissioners voted to recognize February as Lander County Radon Action Month and with help from Lander County and several social media posts, Lander County saw an increase in radon testing.
Nevada Economic Assessment Project
The Nevada Economic Assessment Project (NEAP) is a statewide program with the mission to develop and maintain an extensive data archive with timely, meaningful, and consistent characteristics and a set of analytical tools used to provide Nevada’s communities with research and analysis of emerging issues through outreach and engagement. NEAP Webpage: https://extension.unr.edu/neap/default.aspx NEAP Contact: EconDev@unr.edu
Rural Housing Baseline Assessments
Housing affordability and availability is an ongoing issue in Nevada. Housing data is often scattered across many sources with varying reliability and consistency, making it challenging to navigate. NEAP and Nevada Rural Housing have worked together since late 2022 with the goal of gathering and analyzing data to present the current housing situation in the counties and communities across the state. These tools are intended to inform decision-making by local leaders and private partners interested in contributing to rural Nevada's housing solutions. Baseline data collection and initial analysis were performed for Lander County. Reports and fact sheets can be found at https://extension.unr.edu/neap/pub.aspx?PubID=6908
Foundational Public Health Services
NEAP and NACO conducted a survey of public health infrastructure across Nevada's rural and frontier counties. A national Foundational Public Health Services (FPHS) framework describes the baseline level of services that should be offered through all governmental health departments. The results of the survey will help guide future public health advocacy and investment, including the development of regional public health services. The survey asks participants to provide expertise, capacity, and implementation ratings for each of the Foundational Areas and Capabilities, and also provide free responses on services/programs they know about in each Area and Capability at the county, state, and community partner level. Surveying for Lander County was conducted. The in-person community review and verification workshop was conducted March 13, 2024. The statewide and county report is available at https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=6814
Fiscal Summary
FY 25 Lander County Expenses
State: $54,893
Federal: $23,846
County: $74,347
Grants: $56,502
Gifts: $4,813
Other: $20,687
Total: $214,206
FY 25 Lander Funds Summary
Opening Balance: $488,840
Revenue: $102,357
Expenses: $53,465
Ending Balance
