New staff hired at Extension office

There are two new staff members in the Carlton County Extension Office in Carlton, and both of them grew up here and are looking forward to helping local kids and adults with everything from farming questions to 4-H projects.

Agricultural educator Mercedes Moffett grew up on a beef cattle farm west of Moose Lake. She graduated from Moose Lake High School in 2015 and then went on to college.

She found that she was not ready to be away from home yet. “I lasted one semester,” she said. “I came back home and went and studied for my associate degree at Lake Superior College.”

She was working at a greenhouse in Moose Lake when Troy Salzer, the agricultural educator from the Extension office in St. Louis County, talked to her and told her about options for work in the agriculture field.

Moffett decided to go to North Dakota State University, and earned a degree in animal science production and management. She worked as an intern under Salzer in St. Louis County. Now she has a job similar to Salzer’s in Carlton County.

Her journey took a sidestep before she came to the Extension office in May. “There was a hiring freeze going on,” she said. “I worked as a teller at the First National Bank in Moose Lake for a while.”

A move to southern Minnesota enabled Moffett to go back and work toward an associate degree as a certified veterinary technician. “I’m still working on that,” she said.

Moffett started her duties at the Extension office in Carlton on May 18.

“I’m really excited to be here, where everything is familiar,” she said. “I’m looking forward to working with the producers in the county, some I know and some that I don’t. I want to be available to maybe incorporate new farming practices in the county.

“Call me, email me, stop in,” Moffett said. “If I don’t know the answer right away, I’ll find it for you.”

4-H ties

For Katie Siltanen, coming back to the Extension office is a dream come true.

“I worked with the 4-H Federation and in Carlton County as an intern for two summers,” she said.

She started her new position as a 4-H educator May 9.

Siltanen grew up in 4-H. “My parents raised thoroughbreds,” she said. “That got me involved in a horse project. Then it evolved to sheep, and went on from there.

“In my senior year of high school I showed rabbits, sheep, goats, swine and a horse. It was everything in animals but cattle.”

She was also involved with many other projects.

“I took part in the static projects, like sewing, gardening and canning,” she said. “There’s a wide variety of those kinds of projects.”

Siltanen graduated from Barnum High School in 2015 and went to college at South Dakota State University in Brookings. She graduated with a degree in animal science and agricultural leadership.

Siltanen branched out to working with children.

“I worked with the Minnesota Autism Center in Hermantown,” she said. “And then I was a recruitment specialist for the Girl Scouts and an animal husbandry specialist at Woodland Hills in Duluth until they closed. I taught kids about animals and gardening and baking and cooking. I worked with some challenging kids, but I loved the work that I did there.”

She said the variety of experiences will serve her well, now that she will be guiding kids in the 4-H clubs as they prepare to show their projects at the Carlton County fair in August.

“The start of the year for 4-H is in the fall,” Siltanen said. “Our county is fortunate enough to have the county fair in the late summer so they have the whole summer to get their projects and animals ready for the fair.”

The county’s 4-H clubs have come and gone over the years, morphing with the changes in interests of members. Her own Happy Hour 4-H Club has disbanded.

“Now they have new clubs that specialize,” she said. “There are the Barnyard Buddies in the Barnum area. The Rowdy Wranglers have Wednesday night clinics at the fairgrounds. And the Shooting Sports Club meets at the Four Seasons to get their practices in.”

Siltanen said she will use her background in 4-H as well as her education and her experience in working with children in her job.

“I will be working with youth and volunteers to find their passions through 4-H programming,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to working with all of the clubs, volunteers and youth, and giving them the opportunities that I was given in 4-H and expanding the program in the county.”

Contact Mercedes Moffett or Katie Siltanen at the extension office in Carlton at 218-384-8682 or via email at [email protected] or [email protected].