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FEATURE STORY

Cooperative Extension: A Leader in Economic Development at the Grassroots Level

When a dairy farmer in Millard County opened a satellite dairy in Gunnison it didn't make headlines anywhere, yet it was an important economic development that preserved a rural life style, made good economic sense, and created new markets for forage. Working quietly in the background, the Utah State University Cooperative Extension Program helped with permitting issues and encouragement for the dairyman.

Similar examples of grassroots economic development efforts go on every day, as the USU Extension program-an unrecognized leader in grassroots economic development activity-serves as an engine of economic growth and community well being in every county.

Noelle Cockett, USU vice president for Extension and Agriculture, says rural and urban communities face a wide variety of opportunities and challenges. Some are trying to increase economic growth and diversification. Others are trying to maintain their "small town feel" in the face of rapid change and development. Many communities are worried that their brightest youth must leave to pursue meaningful career options, and are challenged to increase both the pool and skills of local leaders. "Even though the answers to these questions are never easy, Cooperative Extension can provide assistance to community groups as they wrestle with the questions that shape their quality of life. We provide this assistance through a multitude of programs and disciplines."

Cockett says economic development is a natural part of Cooperative Extension. "We realize that sometimes people struggle to make a good living, so we provide services to support all areas of development: community, business, family, and individual." As the needs of the state's citizens have changed, both the services provided by Cooperative Extension and its delivery mechanisms have evolved to keep pace. Cockett says the USU extension program can help people in the places they live through a network of county agents and distance-delivery technologies.

For example, counties in central and southern Utah were exporting a large portion of their alfalfa hay to external markets in California and the Pacific Rim. Now, an on-going Cooperative Extension program is assisting dairymen in bringing their dairy operations to Utah. Several dairymen have moved their families, forage markets, and assets to central Utah. They have come from California, Texas, Connecticut, and Georgia. Cooperative Extension has helped them relocate and/or build new operations for 13,000 cows valued at $26 million; created "local" markets for 50,000 tons of alfalfa hay annually, valued at $4.18 million; and increased Utah's milk production by 2.38 million cwt annually, valued at $31.83 million. The financial assets and risk capital they have brought to rural Utah have been invested in land, water, buildings, and equipment and are valued at $18.20 million. One hundred and thirty direct dairy jobs have been created as a result.

The application of Extension on-farm composting research at a large poultry operation in Utah County has increased revenues by $90,000 per year, while an inmate vegetable garden established by Extension at the Utah County jail contributes $25,000 to $30,000 per year in reduced jail costs or food bank donations. "The activity has become a key component in the jail industries program designed to reduce recidivism," Cockett says.

Furthermore, the "PowerPay" debt management software, developed by Utah County Extension, is used worldwide by financial counselors and educators to help consumers get out of debt. In a 1999 survey, users reported that their clients had saved over $40 million in interest costs by following debt reduction plans generated by PowerPay.

In Kane County, Extension has been working with several local businesses to teach them what a Web presence could do for them. Extension faculty have been working with the businesses currently online to evaluate and update their Websites and to facilitate consultations between local businessmen and USU specialists.

A property owner in Morgan County recognized the county's rapid population growth and decided to convert approximately ten acres of pasture into a sod farm. Cockett says Extension faculty have coordinated meetings with other sod producers to get an honest assessment of the feasibility of developing this enterprise. Contact was also made with government agencies to assist this potential sod farmer with government loan opportunities.

Charles W. Gay, associate vice president for USU Extension, says Cooperative Extension is broadening its role to support Utah's growing manufacturing community, and has developed a formal partnership with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Utah (MEP), a network affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He says the MEP network is modeled after the successful Agricultural Extension Program.

The creation of the MEP/USU Partnership has enhanced the visibility of Cooperative Extension along the Wasatch Front where the majority of the state's manufacturers are located. Gay says the thrust of this program is to raise the competitiveness, performance, and profitability of Utah's manufacturers. The net effect will play a significant role in shoring up the economic impact of the manufacturing industry in the state. Furthermore, he says, efforts are being made to strengthen manufacturing companies in rural Utah, thus creating and retaining jobs.

Gay says Utah has more than 3,600 small and medium sized manufacturers dispersed across urban, rural, and semi-rural regions. Over 44 percent of Utah's small/medium manufacturers are located in urban Salt Lake County; another 26 percent are located in the three adjoining urban counties of Davis, Weber, and Utah, with the remaining 30 percent located in seven semi-rural and 18 rural counties.

Cooperative Extension's support to the manufacturing sector is important to Utah's economic development, since small/medium sized manufacturers employ 71 percent of Utah's manufacturing employees. Interestingly, Gay says, the small manufacturers are holding steady or growing slightly in the state, while many large manufacturers are downsizing.

It is also noteworthy that a recent national survey by the National Research Council (NRC) on manufacturing found that for every 100 jobs created in manufacturing, an additional 422 industry related jobs were created. In contrast, the study found that for every 100 new service sector jobs created only 141 new related jobs were created. "Manufacturers have nearly three times the impact on the local economy as compared to other employment sectors," Gay says.

Clearly, Cooperative Extension offers a wide array of resources that can aid economic development for private and public organizations at the grassroots level. Says Cockett: "We can provide assistance from the 'glimmer of an idea' phase through micro-businesses and entrepreneurial start-up. As organizations mature, a variety of Cooperative Extension programs become an important source for assistance."

USU Cooperative Extension's impact may not appear in the headlines with large, flashy "attract a 500 job manufacturing plant" outcomes, but it will always be on the front lines of local economic development.

Click here to learn more about USU's Cooperative Extension program.

IN THE NEWS

Economic Development Headlines

St. George Named No. 2 'Hottest City to do Business'

- St. George is one of the nation's hottest spots to do business-and not because of the summertime temperatures. Inc. magazine has ranked St. George the No. 2 "boomtown" of 2006 for its growing population and rapid job creation. (Utah Business Magazine) (Morning News)

Tourists Ignorant of Utah

- Utah has nowhere to go but up when it comes to branding the state for tourists. A nationwide survey on Utah's image shows that tourists don't have a negative perception of the state - they just don't have much of a perception at all. (Morning News)

BYU-Idaho Chief Talks Technology at UTC Breakfast

- Brigham Young University-Idaho President Kim Clark, the former dean of the Harvard Business School and keynote speaker of a Utah Technology Council educational breakfast Wednesday, said there are many different ways to arrive at winning technology in today's fluid economy. (Morning News)

Incentives OK'd for Meat Plant in Utah

- An Iowa-based meat processing plant will be eligible to receive up to $2 million in Utah tax incentives in exchange for building a new $50 million plant in Pleasant View, Weber County, that will employ up to 500 people. (Morning News) (Standard-Examiner) (SL Tribune) (Quad City Times) (KSL)

Technical Degrees Lacking, Panel Says

- Panelists from business, banking, venture funding and government had varied opinions about a few topics at Tuesday's Rocky Mountain Economic Summit, but they agreed on one thing: Utah's education system is failing to meet many of today's corporate needs. (Morning News)

ATK Thiokol Gets $28 million Work Order from NASA

- A new NASA project intended to transport astronauts to the International Space Station and even the moon will be powered by technology from Northern Utah. ATK Thiokol of Brigham City received a work order worth more than $28 million for the next six months to design and develop the rocket, according to a Monday announcement. (Herald Journal)

9 Utah Firms Funded

- Venture capital funding to Utah companies fell to $60 million in this year's first quarter from $90 million during the same quarter a year ago, according to the latest MoneyTree survey. (Morning News) (SL Tribune) (New West)

Utah Seeks Bigger Cut of Defense Spending

- State economic development officials want to strengthen Utah's defense industry, to the tune of doubling Department of Defense spending in the state during the next five years. (Morning News)

Finalists Listed for Innovation Awards

- Twenty-one technology innovations and the Utah companies that created them have been named as finalists in the fourth annual Stoel Rives Utah Innovation Awards. (Morning News)

SLC Demands Grocery Store Downtown

- The holy grail of downtown Salt Lake City retail is a grocery store. The growing group of residents living downtown want one - and so do city leaders in their quest to attract even more downtown dwellers. So Salt Lake City is taking the unusual step of requiring that The Boyer Co. find a grocer before the city will sell land at 500 West and 200 South to the developer for a proposed office and retail tower in The Gateway, according to Boyer. (SL Tribune)

State Business Board Approves $675,000 in Film Incentives

- Members of the Utah Board of Business Development have approved incentives totaling $675,000 to boost Utah's film industry. Three film production companies will receive rebate incentives from the Motion Picture Incentive Fund approved by Utah lawmakers. (Utah Business Magazine)

Utah College Grads Have Good Employment Possibilities

- An estimated 20,000 Utah college students graduating this spring face the best job prospects in recent years. (SL Tribune)

Avocent Buys LANDesk in $416 Million Deal

- In a deal worth possibly half a billion dollars, Utah company LANDesk Software is being acquired by Avocent Corp., a leading provider of remote computer server networking products and services. (SL Tribune)

Firms' tax incentives raising eyebrows

- Taxpayer-funded economic development incentives typically have been reserved for companies expanding in Utah - companies with proven track records that bring good-paying jobs to the state. Yet earlier this month the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board approved a total of $800,000 in cash incentives for two organizations that don't fit that criteria, raising some serious questions about the state's economic development strategy. (SL Tribune) (Daily Herald)

Salt Lake Chamber Business to Business Expo May 3 & 4

- The Salt Lake Chamber's Business to Business Expo is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 3 and May 4 at Hall E in the Salt Palace Convention Center. It is anticipated that 15,000 people will visit more than 250 exhibitors during the Expo's two-day run. (Utah Business Magazine)

Walker Center Sold

- Walker Center Associates said Friday it has closed on the purchase of the Walker Center and announced plans for "significant renovations" that will upgrade the building to Class A office standards. (Morning News)

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CALENDAR

May 2-4:  SAMPE Advanced Materials Conference, Long Beach, CA

May 3-4:  Salt Lake Chamber Business-to-Business Expo (Click here for information)

May 21-24:  ICSC Spring Convention, Las Vegas

May 24:  International Trade and Business Conference, Salt Lake City Grand America Hotel (Click here for information/registration)

June 8:  EDCUTAH Quarterly Update

August 9:  EDCUTAH Annual Meeting

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The EDCUTAH Economic Review is a weekly publication of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah.  It is distributed to EDCUTAH partners and selected other government and civic organizations interested in Utah's economic development. If you prefer not to receive this newsletter, please use the link below. Subscribe or Unsubscribe Your comments and suggestions regarding this newsletter are welcome. Send them to Comments