Aaron Lichtenberg: UNH Extension brings a value greater than the sum of its parts

To The Daily Sun,

UNH Cooperative Extension has roots and branches that reach beyond our state borders, bringing valuable knowledge, resources, and information back to the taxpayers of our great State of New Hampshire. Let me share just how valuable this organization is to our state and county.

I'm a UNH Extension Advisory Council volunteer, but also have been a vegetable and flower grower here in Belknap County for over a decade. And as y'all know, farmin' ain't easy.

Weather is challenging, pests are always around and best practices for small-scale New England agriculture are always improving. Whether we're looking for better ways to control weeds, searching for better performing crops or need to quickly diagnose a problem, Extension is there.

The collaborative power of Extension brings a huge value to our state. Did you know that Extension collaborates with universities around the country, from the University of Maine to Oregon State, to conduct research and generate resources for citizens from all sectors of the economy?

Whether you're a farmer, a private landowner looking to manage a woodlot or an educator looking for STEM programming, Extension can answer so many kinds of questions providing endless connections. Extension brings expertise in four program areas: food and agriculture, community and economic development, youth and family, and natural resources.

These program areas have endless roots bringing resources back to our communities. Here are quick stats showing just some impacts Extension brought to Belknap County in 2021:

Natural resources helped manage 644 acres of forest, improving 62,525 feet of forestland roads on private lands and helped the City of Laconia work on its natural resources inventory.

Extension’s youth and family programs reached 195 community members with healthy living and nutrition programs to prevent chronic disease.

Community and economic development co-founded the Foothills Foundation in Northfield-Tilton to expand recreational assets enhancing our regional, tourism-based economy.

Food and agriculture provided technical assistance to 80 farm businesses in Belknap County to improve profitability and environmental sustainability.

Overall, Extension specialists worked with 2,483 businesses in 2021 and brought 5,985 volunteer hours to Belknap County alone. That's an estimated $170,000 value to our county.

I suggest reaching out to Extension to see what this valuable organization can do for you.

Sign up for a newsletter that covers your interests at extension.unh.edu/about/newsletters.

Email home, yard, and garden-related questions to answers@unh.edu.

Follow their program-specific social media accounts at extension.unh.edu/about/unh-extension-social-media.

Volunteer in one of Extension’s 14 volunteer programs at extension.unh.edu/about/volunteering.

Know that when you reach out to UNH Extension for resources, you're not just getting the expertise from the exceptional folks at UNH, you're getting the full power of university systems nationwide. I'm hard pressed to find a better value from a single tax dollar spent than what UNH Cooperative Extension brings to our communities here in Belknap County and the entire state.

Aaron Lichtenberg

Alton Bay