MSU Extension Baraga County

Supporting Family Health & Nutrition

Fresh fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. They add vitamins, minerals and fiber to the diet, and are low in sodium, fat, and sugar. Fruits and vegetables can be used as main meals, side dishes and snacks.

The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, known as Senior Project FRESH/Market FRESH in Michigan, provides older adults who qualify with unprocessed, Michigan-grown products from authorized farmers markets and roadside stands throughout Michigan.

Qualified older adults receive coupons that are used to purchase Michigan-grown produce at registered roadside stands and farmers markets. Eligible items include: berries, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, beans, honey and more.

The program is free for both the participant and the farmer. It's truly a win-win for Michigan farmers and older adults! Become a participating market or farmer.

Senior Project FRESH/Market FRESH originates from U.S. Department of Agriculture funding. It is part of the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program and these federal dollars come out of the federal Farm Bill. The program was designed to benefit both farmers and seniors.

Baraga County 4-H Youth

In 2018 Baraga County 4-H had a Homemade Christmas Spin Club.

What is a 4-H SPIN club? A 4-H SPIN club is a combination of the concept of special interest groups with the 4-H club model. Thus the “S” and “P” is taken from special and the “I” and “N” from interest combined with clubs gets 4-H SPIN clubs.

The youth involved made Christmas presents for their friends and family. The club also did a community service project. They made Christmas cards for all of the Baraga County receiving meals on wheels. They made cards with hopes to spread hope and joy to those who may be alone during the holiday season.

Baraga County NextGen

Baraga County Extension Educator ,Will Cronin, has been working with the Baraga County Chamber of Commerce to establish Baraga County NextGen, a professional networking and leadership development group for young adults in Baraga County. Will drew upon the experience of other areas in the region to lead a planning process for the group, including a countywide survey and focus groups, to establish goals and objectives for the group and deliver learning opportunities that will be most valued by participants. These include Improving Professional Communication Skills, Leading Nonprofits in the Upper Peninsula, and community improvement projects.

Community Development

About 150 Baraga County residents, local elected and appointed officials, and agency representatives filled the L’Anse Area Public Schools cafetorium on April 18, 2018 to hear Senior Extension Educator, Brad Neumann, speak about the research related to commercial wind energy development. Neumann presented the latest university-based, peer reviewed research on wind energy development and spoke about experiences from other Michigan communities, including the community characteristics, values and beliefs, anticipated effects, and perceived fairness of a given wind energy project that lead to it being broadly supported by a community or not. Other topics discussed included due process of law, and concerns surrounding commercial wind energy projects including noise, visual impact, shadow flicker, avian impacts, and job creation. The forum was hosted by Baraga County as a civil opportunity to learn research-based information about wind energy development and to apply that information locally. Since the forum, Neumann has consulted with county and local officials about zoning administration, statutory rules on planning commission membership, and zoning ordinance amendment processes to help local officials minimize legal risk associated with local permitting of wind energy development.