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Cass County Extension warns of state, federal cuts; readies record fair
Summary
Cass County Extension staff said state and federal budget reductions could eliminate positions and programs even as the office manages a record 4‑H fair with 2,200 exhibits beginning in early July.
Rita, Extension office staff for Cass County, told commissioners the office is facing both state and federal funding reductions while preparing for a record county fair.
Rita said the state reduced the office operations budget by 2.1% and offered voluntary separation incentives. “At the federal level, we have a 35% budget reduction in the NIFA funds, and that's our formula funding, and our grant funding,” Rita said. She added that the county’s Family Nutrition Program was listed as an elimination line in federal budget materials and that the office could lose two to three positions depending on final appropriations.
Those potential cuts, Rita said, would not affect the county general fund for two specifically mentioned positions because they are fully state funded. “The family nutrition program, there's no funding from you guys in that program. That's a 100% state funded benefits and everything,” she said.
At the same time, the Extension office is preparing for the annual county fair, which Rita said opens for set up on June 30, with exhibit judging beginning July 1 and the fair running July 4–13. She reported a record 2,200 exhibits and a roughly 100‑member increase in 4‑H participation over recent years. Rita said the office faces staffing shortages—one 4‑H agent recently left and two support staff are new—and difficulty recruiting volunteers for fair duties.
Rita told the commission one position’s last day was the previous week and that hiring timelines were affected by fair schedules: candidate interviews cannot be scheduled until after the fair. She said the office has already had five open positions this year and that one employee had been advised to look for other employment because a cut seemed likely.
Commissioners asked where the cuts originated; Rita said the federal reductions were tied to recent federal budget actions affecting NIFA funding. She encouraged attendance at the fair and noted the competitive pressures of volunteer recruitment around the July 4 weekend.
The Extension update was presented as a budget and operational briefing; no formal county action was proposed at the meeting.
For context, Rita framed the potential staffing impact as contingent on state and federal final appropriations and on voluntary separation choices offered by state authorities. The commission did not take a vote during the update.
