UW Extension reports livestock outreach; committee forwards MOU and contract appendix to board

Beth Mackle, the regional livestock educator who covers Richland County and neighboring counties, briefed the Richland County Zoning and Land Conservation Committee on recent and upcoming programming including producer workshops, beef quality assurance recertification, and regional conferences.

Mackle said a December workshop on producing quality beef in Richland Center drew about 21 attendees and the program series reached 187 beef producers statewide. She noted a local Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) recertification event is scheduled for Feb. 10 in Richland Center and urged attendees to consult the educator contact information in the packet for questions.

Separately, the committee reviewed an optional memorandum of understanding (MOU) that formalizes the partnership between the county and UW Extension. Committee members said the MOU largely reflects current practices, including joint input on needs assessments and involvement in hiring for educator positions. Several members said the MOU formalizes roles the committee and extension already perform informally.

The committee made a motion to approve sending the MOU and the contract appendix forward for final approval. The chair called the question and the committee voted in favor to forward the documents to county administration for signature and to the board as needed.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about funding and whether the county's approved contract amount covered the arrangement; extension staff said the MOU itself carries no separate county funding beyond the contract previously approved by the committee. The committee requested greater committee involvement in future needs assessments and in setting priorities for shared educator positions where applicable.