
SOUTHWEST AGROFORESTRY ACTION NETWORK
in partnership with the Arizona Community Tree Council
presents online/via Zoom
Development of Outdoor Agricultural Classroom in San Juan County NM: Growing Forward Farm Project
April 12, 2023
10:00am MST
Program Duration is one hour
After registering for this program, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. This two step process allows us to track attendance for CEUs and CFEs.
Presentation Description: A presentation on the development of the Growing Forward Farm project, including the development process for the cooperative agreement between agencies, strategic goals setting, as well as challenges encountered and future opportunities. A focus of the farm project includes the rehabilitation and reclamation of fallow farm land, and best practices of water use during drought conditions. The farm also includes a legacy orchard project, which includes germplasm from apple trees that have survived for over 100 years in the Four Corners region. The mission of the Growing Forward Farm project is to create an outdoor educational facility that will foster experiential learning opportunities around agriculture, youth and 4-H development, and community health for all people across our region. This will train and support future endeavors of agricultural production in San Juan County through workforce development, agricultural literacy, and technical farming experience. The Growing Forward Farm website URL is https://sanjuanextension.nmsu.edu/agandhort/farm.html.

Presenter: Bonnie Hopkins Byers is the San Juan County Program Director as well as the Agricultural Agent for the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service. She has served the San Juan County residents since 2013 on topics such as weed and pest identification and management, soil health, general horticultural, livestock and agricultural concerns, as well as the Farm Food Safety and Farm to Table programs. She holds an undergraduate degree in Sustainable Agriculture from Fort Lewis College and a Master of Agriculture Degree from Colorado State University in Agricultural Integrated Resource Management.
Agenda:
10:00 – 10:05 – Housekeeping
10:05 – 10:10 – Introduction
10:10 – 11:10 (60 minutes) – Presentation
11:10 – 11:25 (15 minutes) - Q&A with the presenter
11:25 – 11:30 (5 minutes) – Closeout by Donna Davis, Chair, SWAAN
11:30 – 12:00 (30 minutes) - SWAAN Business Meeting led by Donna Davis
- SWAAN’s 2023 conference will be July 11-13 in the Denver area. Stay tuned for more information.
- Next quarterly SWAAN webinar: Wednesday, October 11, 2023, 10:00-11:00 MDT (program TBD).
Continuing education credits for today’s program - applied for, not yet approved:
- 1.0 hours of Continuing Forestry Education credits (Cat. 1) by the Society of American Foresters (SAF – contact Andy Mason, acmason1954@gmail.com).
- 1.0 hours of Continuing Education Units (Sustainability) by the America Society of Agronomy (ASA – contact Mick O’Neill, moneill@nmsu.edu).