University of Nevada Cooperative Extension welcomes Jacob Holloway as Extension educator for northern Nye County.

“I greatly look forward to overseeing Extension services, meeting with community leaders and developing new programs,” Holloway said.

Some of his specific goals as Extension educator include expanding the Nevada 4-H Youth Development Program; establishing a local Master Gardener Program; and providing resources for horticulture, gardening and homesteading. In addition, Holloway wants to develop programs around mapping, data sensing and artificial intelligence to help farmers and collect data.

“I’d like to eventually get a drone for Cooperative Extension that we can use for 4-H programming and to teach farmers how to use drones to map, collect and use data,” he said.

This is not the first time Holloway has served rural communities as an Extension educator. He also served as an Extension educator for Purdue University and as an Extension agent for New Mexico State University.

Holloway has a background in using technology to improve farming and ranching operations. He investigated agriculture and renewable energy for farmers without electricity in Central America, and he researched aquaponics in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition, he’s done work on dry agriculture techniques in New Mexico, which is similar in climate to Nevada.

“We are pleased with the addition of Jacob to our team,” said Holly Gatzke, northern area director for Extension. “Jacob’s wide range of knowledge from technology and food production will provide a great basis for youth and adult programming in Nye County and the state of Nevada.”