Sierra Cain named new Valencia County ag agent

Many folks in the Valencia County agriculture community probably remember when Sierra Cain was an intern for the NMSU Valencia County Cooperative Extension Service office and know she’s been the 4-H agent for the last five years.

Two months ago, she was named the ag agent for the local office.

“When I was in college, an extension agent came in and linked me to the extension program, which has always had an appeal to me because, one, it helps people and two, it helps bring university education to farmers, ranchers and youth,” Cain said.

“When you’re a part of extension, you really get to make a difference. You get to make programs and help people. That has always interested me. I feel like the programs we do here help a lot of people.”

Cain, who grew up in Azetc, N.M., earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science from New Mexico State University. During her work on her undergraduate degree, she interned for the Valencia County Cooperative Extension Service office in 2016-17.

When a position opened up at the Los Lunas office, Cain applied for and was hired as the local 4-H agent. In 2022, she completed her master’s degree in agricultural education and extension. Cain also served as the county director for the Valencia County office.

“I’ve had a lot of different positions. We can do almost everything here,” she said with a laugh. “We try to hire people and have agents who have the mindset of being willing to do almost anything. We always say, ‘Extension agents get things done.’ That’s how we’re known at the university is the people who will get it done.”

The extension services has access to a wide array of information, research, data and subject-matter experts, she said.

“We have fungus specialists, forest specialists. We are super lucky to have the (Los Lunas NMSU Agricultural Science Center and USDA NRCS Plant Materials Center) with experts in the field who have had success and know what to do and not to do,” Cain said. “These ag specialists are working right here and we get really accurate information about what does and does not work because they’ve tried it.”

An extension service ag agent helps the community with agriculture, horticulture and natural resources, she said, and that help can start in people’s backyards.

“You might have a disease in your tree. Then it can go a step further and help with your soil. We can do soil samples and, once you get those results back, you can work with a specialist to amend your soil and make it healthy,” Cain said. “We can go from your backyard to a large field to a large-scale operation.

The extension service has several outreach programs, such as the Master Gardeners, which Cain said the community can expect to see out and about at the local Lowe’s and The Home Depot at diagnostic clinics.

“As this growing season starts, you’ll see them pop in at different spots, like farmers markets,” she said.

The service has recently launched “Annie’s Project,” a women’s focused ag literacy and finance course.

“We were approached by a community member who really wanted to see this program. It’s six weeks and it will cover marketing, finances, insurance, all the really nitty-gritty stuff,” she said.

County residents also have access to NMSU’s agricultural diagnostic lab services via the extension service, Cain said.

“If you have trees or plants and you think something might be wrong, we can send a sample to the diagnostic lab,” she said.

Samples can be taken to the Los Lunas office, 404 Courthouse Road, on Mondays and Tuesdays, and for $5 per sample, they will be packaged up and sent to the lab.

“We use that service a lot but I think people don’t know about it,” she said. “I think last year we solved some significant tree diseases. It’s a really effective tool.”

Cain said the office is looking to bring back its Yard and Garden Expo, as well as continue programs that bring agriculture into the classroom and focus on local youth.

“Having our schools involved in agriculture is a great way to utilize our resources here. We can teach them how to do things at home and connect those dots to the nutritional aspect and encourage living healthy lives,” she said.

As the ag agent, Cain still wears the hat of 4-H agent until a new agent can be hired.

“We are looking for someone who’s really great to fill that role. I’ll help and guide them once they’re here,” she said.

Looking forward to her new role, Cain says while extension agents do indeed “get things done,” they wouldn’t be nearly as successful as they are without community volunteers.

“Our volunteers definitely step up and help us finish those jobs,” she said. “We are so lucky to have really great volunteers.”

She added if anyone has an idea for programming or sees a need for education in the agriculture community, they can reach out to the extension service office with suggestions.

Cain encouraged community members to read the monthly columns she writes for the Valencia County News-Bulletin, which covers a variety of topics and includes upcoming program announcements.

Program information can also be found on the extension services website — valenciaextension.nmsu.edu — and the offices Facebook page, NMSU Valencia County Cooperative Extension Service. The Los Lunas office can be reached at 505-565-3002.