New San Juan County Extension Building Opens in Aztec, Expands Agriculture Programs

San Juan County held a ribbon cutting on December 18, 2025 to mark the opening of a new 8,900 square foot San Juan County Extension Services building and accompanying irrigation system at 400 S. Gossett Drive in Aztec. County Commission Chair Terri Fortner joined municipal and county leaders for the ceremony as officials described the facility as a long sought community resource to support local agriculture, youth development, and water stewardship.

The $4.6 million project was funded through a mix of sources that included settlement money from the Gold King Mine incident, $2.6 million from the Office of Natural Resources Trustee, $848,000 from the New Mexico Attorney General's Office, and $1.2 million from San Juan County. The building sits on the 12 acre Growing Forward Farm site, a partnership dedicated to supporting local agriculture and 4 H programming, and will house extension programs, outreach activities and the Aztec Farmers Market.

County and university Extension staff framed the new facility as a hub for practical education and community outreach. Planned uses include expansion of demonstration gardens, water protection and irrigation practice training, nutrition programs, and youth 4 H activities. Officials said the building will allow Cooperative Extension to consolidate services, increase program capacity, and provide a visible community presence for agricultural education and public engagement.

Local leadership and partnerships were credited for moving the project from concept to completion, including architects, contractors and the funding agencies that directed settlement and public dollars to the site. Placing the facility at Growing Forward Farm also links classroom and field demonstration space, enabling hands on learning for producers, families and school groups.

For San Juan County residents, the new Extension Services building represents both an investment in local agricultural resilience and a concrete example of reinvesting a portion of settlement funds into community services. County and university representatives indicated programming will ramp up in the coming months as staff establish schedules for workshops, market operations and youth programming that are intended to serve farmers, gardeners and families across the region.