Steele County ag educator position slated for cut

Contributed / Ryan Lermon By Noah Fish Today at 11:00 AM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Steele County plans to stop paying its half of a University of Minnesota Extension agriculture educator position next year, even though commissioners reversed a separate cut to the county’s Master Gardener program. Ryan Lermon has been the agricultural and natural resources educator for Steele and Rice counties since 2024, and the two counties split the cost evenly. ADVERTISEMENT According to Steele County Times reporting, the Steele County Board voted Sept. 22 to cut both the Master Gardener coordinator and the ag educator, giving the university the required 90-day notice that the county wouldn’t fund either position in 2027. Master Gardener volunteers and residents spoke against the cut at a later meeting, and the board voted to restore money for the part-time coordinator. The ag educator wasn’t part of that vote. Lermon said his position is still technically funded in the county’s 7.1% preliminary levy, but it remains on the list of cuts meant to bring the levy down. He expects the final levy to be set in mid-December. When he spoke with Agweek, he hadn’t seen a November budget meeting on the schedule. Commissioner Jim Abbe cast the only vote against restoring the Master Gardener funding. He pointed to “headwinds” from federal and state cuts to counties and said the goal is to reduce the preliminary levy increase, according to Steele County Times reporting, Most of the public pushback focused on the Master Gardeners, and Lermon said many people didn’t realize his job was also on the line. “The hard part for me is this is right in the middle of harvest season, so everybody’s super busy right now,” Lermon said. “A lot of people were surprised to hear about it, and they didn’t even know that the position had been cut.” ADVERTISEMENT If Steele County drops its share, Lermon would still be a half-time educator for Rice County on Jan. 1. Each county has its own contract with the university. “They fund me, the same person, but they’re independent of each other,” he said. The counties pay for the position, but Lermon is a university employee. He said Extension would fill the other half of his time through the end of June with work such as statewide workshops or projects on campus, so his pay and benefits would stay whole. After June, he would drop to half time and lose his benefits. Lermon works out of the Extension offices in Owatonna and Faribault, and the calls he gets vary widely. Homeowners ask about insects, bats in the house and trees that don’t look right. He leads pasture walks with livestock owners to help them decide where to put fences and which grasses fit their animals, and he also holds land rent workshops, with farmers often calling him afterward to ask about rent prices in their area. Lermon said farmers get plenty of advice from agronomists and co-op salespeople. His job is different. ADVERTISEMENT “At the end of the day, they're trying to sell you something, and that’s not my role,” Lermon said. “My role is to provide unbiased research information to people.” He said the same goes for artificial intelligence tools. More policy news: Petersen says he’ll seek to stay on as Minnesota ag commissioner under Klobuchar 2h ago Farmers Union report links high grocery prices to corporate consolidation 3h ago U.S. Supreme Court justices push back on ranchers' argument in pipeline case 2d ago “Sometimes (A.I.) pulling from sources that don’t even exist, or it’s making up answers,” he said. “I think (Extension) is becoming even more valuable now in the time and place that we’re in.” TJ Kartes, a regional sales representative and cover crop specialist for Saddle Butte Ag based in Steele County,got to know Lermon when the two started teaching a cover crop seminar at the farm show in Owatonna. Kartes called commissioners after learning about the proposed cut from Lermon. ADVERTISEMENT “I think there’s other places they could cut before they cut that educator position,” Kartes said. Kartes said Extension educators bring university research to farmers, while he works more with private data. He said he and Lermon send farmers each other’s way. Asked who fills that role in a county without an ag educator, Kartes said, “You don’t have anybody.” Kartes is part of a regional soil health team that recently started inviting Lermon to its meetings. “Anywhere you have a good Extension educator, it definitely helps the county,” Kartes said. ADVERTISEMENT According to Steele County Times reporting, about 30 Minnesota counties have ag educators, but few are left in southern Minnesota. Blue Earth and Le Sueur counties cut their joint position in 2024. Steele County has had an ag agent or educator since 1923. Residents can contact commissioners directly or speak during the open comment period at county board meetings. Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags POLICY MINNESOTA AGRICULTURE EDUCATION AGRICULTURE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION By Noah Fish I am a reporter who covers all things agriculture, using multiple elements of media. I prioritize stories that amplify the power of people. I report out of northeast Rochester, Minnesota, where I live with my wife, Kara, our daughter, Rooney, and polite cat, Zena. Email me at [email protected] Twitter Listen to this article Conversation ADVERTISEMENT What To Read Next Policy Environmental advocates seek policy change to reduce effects of industrial ag on climate 2d ago · By Michael Johnson Policy Robert F. 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