“The sheer support that has come through the county in finding the funds and money to put this together and giving us the opportunity to have a voice in what it needed to look like shows the relationship that NMSU and Curry County has been able to build related to the Cooperative Extension Service.”
Source: NMSU News Release
WRITER: Tiffany Acosta, 575-646-3929, tfrank@nmsu.edu
From 4-H youth programming to food demonstrations, the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service county offices serve the residents of New Mexico in a variety of ways. With one recently opened county office and plans for two additional county facilities in the works, NMSU Extension is expanding its resources across the state.
In September 2023, the new Curry County Extension Office located at the Curry County Fairgrounds in Clovis, New Mexico, opened.
“The Cooperative Extension Service is grateful for our partnerships with our county governments. Curry County’s leadership really understood the need for modern facilities for our Extension faculty to deliver relevant quality programs for New Mexican to thrive,” said Jon Boren, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences associate dean and director of the Cooperative Extension Service.
The almost $4 million, 6,272-square-foot facility in Curry County includes Extension offices, a multipurpose programming space and a demonstration kitchen. It was funded with support from the New Mexico Legislature and federal government.
“We’re able to better serve the needs of Curry County, because we have this facility here at our disposal,” Curry County Program Director Mindy Turner said. “It has generated a new interest around the community in what we have to offer.”
Not only is the new facility in a more visible location for Curry County residents, but it also allows Extension to host more programming such as 4-H events and mental health trainings that weren’t possible at the former facility. The new facility is located near a food bank where an Extension nutrition educator offers programming and training, and the demonstration kitchen allows for more food demos and school field trips.
“The program was out of space and was limiting the growth at the current facility,” Curry County Manager Lance Pyle said. “We are a strong supporter of the Cooperative Extension Service and this investment was much needed to improve safety, expand and grow on the successes that Curry County has seen with Extension over the years.
“Partnership and collaboration is key to success; we could not have made this facility happen without working together,” Pyle said. “We needed the support of Extension and the participants to assist in explaining and justifying the need. Once funding was obtained, it was imperative to have the input that Ms. Turner and her team provided with the design and construction to make sure it addressed the goals and needs for them to be successful.”
In addition to hosting Curry County Extension clientele, the new facility has hosted officials from NMSU’s Las Cruces campus and a pair of City of Clovis and Curry County Commissioners joint lunches.
