On behalf of CJ Mucklow:

• CSU email address settings for county staff – Tyler Rayburn
• FY19 State Classified Salary Increase – Lori Bates
• Application for CO Agriculture Leadership Program now open
• Leadership in the City Course for Urban Extension Professionals
• eXtension Technologies: Looking to the Future
• Last Chance to Respond to the 2017 Census of Agriculture
• Free Agriculture Communications Training Opportunity

All I’ve been taking a few days off. I want to thank everyone else for contributing to my Extension Update.  I don’t really have much more to add.  Several of us are looking at ways to better communicate our success to stakeholders but we’re still in the talking phase and we want this to be simple for agents, counties and PRUs.  Fair season is coming, take a vacation before then.  CJ 

CSU email address settings for county staff – Tyler Rayburn

When CSU’s administration needs to communicate information to everyone (CSU staff, students, and faculty) they rely on mailing lists at CSU. Due to CSU’s size and the frequency with which individuals join and leave the university, these lists are generated and maintained automatically using HR and eID information. Important information sent out university-wide (often, messages from Tony Frank or other administration officials) are sent using the information in CSU’s databases.

Messages sent campus-wide are sent to mailboxes ending with the @colostate.edu domain. This could result in some Extension county staff not receiving important emails if using a county email address as the main mailbox and no forward is set on your @colostate.edu email address. We want to ensure everyone receives messages from CSU. If you are not getting campus-wide messages, please contact Tyler Rayburn to assist with this process.

FY19 State Classified Salary Increase – Lori Bates

Due to changes made during the spring legislative session to the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA), the retirement plan for state classified employees, the legislature passed and the Governor signed a budget bill that includes a 3% across the board salary base increase for state classified employees. This means all state classified employees employed on June 30 receive a 3% base building increase on July 1. Across the board salary increases do not take into consideration the results of annual performance evaluations.

Application for CO Agriculture Leadership Program now open

Do you know somebody that would benefit from the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Program? Are you looking for an opportunity to improve your communication skills, learn about Colorado’s Agricultural Issues, gain leadership skills and be part of an elite network of Colorado Agriculture’s movers and shakers? Applications are now open at ColoAgLeaders.org or contact Dani at (303) 547-5963 or dani@coloagleaders.org for more information.

Leadership in the City Course for Urban Extension Professionals 

The Leadership in the City 10-month comprehensive online professional development program prepares Extension professionals working in urban areas, to be relevant locally, responsive statewide, and recognized nationally. Participants will learn from experienced leaders; apply what they learn in their city, region, or state; engage in critical thinking and creative problem solving; and participate in online collaborative learning. Each competency-based module, developed with the assistance of eXtension Foundation, incorporates interactive digital delivery and the flipped classroom model for active learning and engagement. The deadline for registration ($500) is June 29, 2018. Class limit: 20 participants. If multiple participants from the same institute register, each are entitled to a $100 discount (Discount code: EITC18-100). The course begins August 3, 2018 and concludes with an in-person event at the 2019 National Urban Extension Conference(participation is optional and not included in this registration fee). For more details go to https://cityextension.osu.edu/leadership or contact Michelle Gaston at gaston.6@osu.edu.

eXtension Technologies: Looking to the Future 

As eXtension grows the Impact Collaborative, it continues to offer technology that supports its members and the Cooperative Extension Service. eXtension is upgrading its tools to ensure the future of content for communities of practice (CoPs), provide CoPs greater flexibility and control of their content, and offer a domain structure with better marketability. A webinar will be offered at 2:00 PM EDT on June 27th, 2018 for CoP leaders and article contributors to share further plans and information. Read the full announcement here.

Last Chance to Respond to the 2017 Census of Agriculture 

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service in a final push for response for the Census of Agriculture, asks Directors and Administrators to encourage farmers and ranchers, including landowners who lease land to producers, those involved in conservation programs, even those who may have received the Census and do not farm to submit to take action. Paper questionnaire deadline is June 15 and Census online deadline is the end of July. Improved in 2017, the online form is convenient and user friendly. To date, the national return is around 64 percent. Phone follow-up and personal interviews will continue through July. For more detail about the importance of the Census of Agriculture, check out and then share the latest press release and PSA from Secretary Perdue. For more information or for assistance with the questionnaire, producers can visit the website or call toll-free (888) 424-7828. 

Free Agriculture Communications Training Opportunity

Tuesday, June 19th
9:30am – 2:30pm
Colorado Corn office — 127 22nd Street in Greeley

or

Wednesday, June 20th
9:30am – 2:30pm
Embassy Suites Loveland — 4705 Clydesdale Pkwy (off I-25 north of Hwy 34)

Lunch will be provided.

Please join us for a free communications training for Colorado farmers and ranchers. We all know that many people in the general public don’t understand modern agriculture and how we work to feed our communities safely and sustainably. Learning how to effectively talk about modern ag (when the media comes calling, and elsewhere — like farm tours or public forums) can help us bridge that gap and build public support for the work we do.

Elements of the training will include:

• Grounding your message in emotion and shared values
• Core public speaking tips and strategies
• Effectively using social media as a tool for communicating with the public

The training session will be presented in an informal discussion-style with ongoing Q&A as needed, plus opportunities to practice communications strategies for any participants that are interested. The training will be supplemented with a slide presentation. Lunch will be served!

The training will be conducted by Nicole Connolly and Anthony LaFauce. Nicole and Anthony are communications experts who work with modern agriculture clients from around the country. They closely follow our issues here in Colorado.

Please RSVP to Sundari at skraft@ascentstrategiesco.com if you’d like to attend (that will help us get a good head count for lunch). You can also contact Sundari at 303-956-7203 if you have any questions. We hope to see you there!