MSU extension regional supervisor reviews agent performance; county adds support staff

Larry Brency, regional supervisor for MSU Extension in Eastern Montana, visited the Carter County commissioners on Jan. 13 for the program’s annual extension agent review and performance appraisal process.

Brency said he conducts yearly appraisals using calendar-year data (Jan. 1–Dec. 31) and that Amanda, the local extension agent, will receive written feedback and a rating in February after campus review through MSU HR and the provost’s office. “I generally try to get around and and have all my meetings,” Brency said, explaining the regional review cadence and subsequent campus processing.

Commissioners reported no negative feedback about Amanda and said she is "doing a nice job" (Unidentified Speaker 3). They discussed adding Brandy as support staff to assist with administrative duties; Brency described a planned onboarding/orientation in Circle later in February for new support staff across the region.

Brency and commissioners also discussed staffing shortages across Eastern Montana, noting open Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) and 4‑H positions in Sheridan, Roosevelt and on the Fort Peck Reservation that have been hard to fill. He said pay increases over the last five years (salary increases cited for bachelor’s and master’s levels) have helped current staff but have not fully addressed recruitment challenges.

Brency flagged a broader concern that statewide leadership is changing: MSU President Cruzado has submitted her resignation effective in June, and Brency credited her past support for extension programming. He said the region has coped with vacancies partly through vacancy savings but cautioned that finding qualified applicants remains a central problem.

Commissioners and Brency agreed to continue coordination on staffing and onboarding and to provide requested materials to the extension office as needed.