Mr. KimballThe County Agent

By Gary Moore, NCSU

Cooperative Extension Service:In the beginning At the end of the 19th century, the largely

agrarian society wanted additional knowledge in agriculture. They wanted the information to be:– near their home– relevant – communicated on their level– practical

In the beginning...

Several main groups started providing this type of information through a variety of methods:– Colleges– Agricultural Societies– State Boards of Agriculture– USDA– Philanthropic Organizations– Commercial Companies

In the beginning…

The nature of the information delivery system was as yet undetermined– The would-be clients and their representatives

were also engaged in the discussion that supported Agricultural Education in the schools.

In the beginning...

The efforts to educate the farmer and farm wife were disjointed, sporadic and lacking in uniformity.

A national effort to improve the situation resulted in passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 which established a national system of cooperative extension.

Original Mission

“..to aid in diffusing among the people of the United States useful and practical information on subjects relating to agriculture and home economics, and to encourage the application of the same…”

What is meant by Cooperative?

Funding was supposed to be shared:– Federal– State– Local

What is meant by Cooperative?

48%

17%

30%

5%

StateLocalFederalOther

Funding for Extension - National Average

The Arkansas Mission

The mission of the Cooperative Extension Service is to provide educational opportunities to all Arkansans to improve their economic well being and the quality of their lives.

Methods Used in Extension

Individual Contact– Farm or Home Visit– Office Visit– Telephone Calls– Personal Correspondence

Methods Used in Extension

Group Contact– Meetings– Tours and Field Days– Method Demonstrations– Workshops– Teleconferencing– Short Courses

Methods Used in Extension

Mass Contact– News Stories– Radio– Television– Publications– Exhibits– Internet

Advisory Leadership System

A system of lay advisory committees are utilized at the local, district and state level to give guidance to the extension service.

At the local level there may be– an overall advisory committee– program advisory committees (Ag., etc.)– specialized committees (beef, horse, etc.)– ad hoc committees

Extension Programming

Extension programming is locally driven However, there are state and national

priorities to also consider

Arkansas CES Stragegic Plan

3 goal areas 12 objectives

(From Arkansas CES web site, 10/99)

Goal 1

Make information more accessible for improved service to clientele. Objectives:– 1. Data network connect all Div. of Ag. Offices – 2. Incr. Ed. Pubs. available via CES web site. – 3. Provide direct access to internal documents

& business info. by CES staff. – 4. Use dist. ed. to leverage time/expertise of

Ext. professionals– 5. Mapping to give added perspective to info.

Goal 2

Improve knowledge & skills of CES staff in the use of info. technology. Objectives:– 1. Design a training program that can adapt to

the changing needs of the organization.– 2. Augment training by providing technical

information to staff.– 3. Improve response to trouble calls.

Goal 3

Improve the efficient use of information by CES.– 1. Migrate existing agricultural programs to a

Windows 95 platform.

– 2. Establish web interfaces to primary data bases.

– 3. Interject audio and video into CES web site.

– 4. Explore other tools for improving information management.

Extension Leadership

There are about 175 individuals within CSREES (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service) within the USDA who provide federal leadership to the extension service.

Federal Extension Leadership

County Level

Each County has a district director Historically, each county had a (an):

– Agricultural Agent– Home Economics Agent (Family and Consumer Sciences)

– 4-H Agent

Today, many states have specialized agents (horticulture, livestock, etc.) who may serve a multi-county area.

Specialists

Many of the UA College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science Departments have extension specialists.– These are faculty members who support the

county agent in a varietyof ways

County Agents (nationally)

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2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Specialists (nationally)

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1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Administrators (nationally)

01002003004005006007008009001000

A Comparison

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10000

12000

1914

1918

1928

1938

1948

1958

1968

1978

1982

1986

1989

1994

AgentsSpecialistsAdministrators

4-H

In the early days many farmers were resistant to change, but were willing to let their children try new ideas

School-based corn clubs were seen as way to get student interest and teach something practical

4-H

4-H is a non-formal educational, youth development program offered to individuals age 5 to 19.

Youth are involved in hands-on, experimental learning that allows learning by doing. All 4-H programs focus on active involvement and quality experiences which stimulate lifelong learning of values and skills.

Professional Organizations

There are different professional organizations for each type of agent– National Association of County Agricultural

Agents– National Extension Association of Family and

Consumer Sciences– National Association of Extension 4-H Agents.

National Association of County Agricultural Agents

Established in 1916 About 5,000 members The County Agent is the quarterly

magazine Annual meetings are held in late summer

Mission:to further the professional improvement of its members, to further communication and cooperation among all Extension educators, to provide for enhancement of the image of Extension, and

to further the development of personal growth opportunities for Extension professionals.

Mission:to further the professional improvement of its members, to further communication and cooperation among all Extension educators, to provide for enhancement of the image of Extension, and

to further the development of personal growth opportunities for Extension professionals.

National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences

Has existed over 50 years

The Reporter is the magazine

The National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences educates its professionals to empower individuals and families to make informed decisions.

The National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences educates its professionals to empower individuals and families to make informed decisions.

National Association of Extension 4-H Agents

3,200 members

News and Views is the professional publication

NAE4-HA promotes, strengthens, enhances and advocates the 4-H youth development profession.

NAE4-HA promotes, strengthens, enhances and advocates the 4-H youth development profession.

Agent Preparation

B.S. degree is needed, Masters preferred (required in many states)

The degree field of study varies greatly because needs of the positions vary greatly

Professional Journal

The Journal of Extension– electronic– variety of articles are published– not widely read by practitioners in the field

Trends and Issues

Accountability - is extension a wise investment Image - many people believe extension is

outmoded Multi-county service area - as agents become

more specialized, they serve more than one county

Downsizing - during budget crisis of late 1980s, many states made deep cuts