When was cooperative extension established

Within a few years, girls' canning club work had gained so much favorable recognition that the agents directing it became known as home demonstration agents. On May 14, , President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Smith-Lever Act establishing the Cooperative Extension system, and by doing so significantly broadened the mission of the nation's developing land-grant institutions.

It marked the beginning of a partnership among federal government, state government, and higher education in working cooperatively towards the solution of social and economic problems. It elevated the posture of higher educational institutions as social actors accountable to the social systems they helped to produce.

It changed the view of university as a training ground for the elite by expanding its mission to the public domain. The first acting director of this work was Dr. Eggleston, then President of V. The Enabling Act establishing the Department of Agriculture says in part: "There shall be at the seat of government a Department of Agriculture, the general design and duties of which shall be to acquire and to diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with Agriculture in the most general and comprehensive sense of the word.

The Hatch Act of provided for the establishment of experiment stations at the land-grant colleges. There were numerous supplemental acts which followed the passing of the original act and includes: Cappers-Ketcham Acts, May ; Bankhead-Jones Act, July ; Bankhead-Flannagan Act, June ; and a consolidated act approved in June The current amended Smith-Lever Act was passed in October Required funds were appropriated to offset the federal funds and county boards of supervisors were authorized to appropriate for salaries and other costs of County Extension Agents.

Few amendments were made in the original act until the passing of the act by the Virginia General Assembly establishing the V. Extension Division. Extension Division Act of - Approved April 1, Code Department of Agriculture, and local governments. Its programs and employment are open to all, regardless of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, military status, or any other basis protected by law.

What do you need? Toggle navigation. Irrigation Workshop More generally, extension's role in WWI helped it expand its reputation as an educational entity to one that also emphasized service for individuals, organizations, and the federal government. Extension agents taught farmers about marketing and helped farm groups organize both buying and selling cooperatives.

At the same time, extension home economists taught farm women—who traditionally maintained the household—good nutrition, canning surplus foods, house gardening, home poultry production, home nursing, furniture refinishing, and sewing—skills that helped many farm families survive the years of economic depression and drought.

During World War II, the extension service again worked with farmers and their families, along with 4-H club members, to secure the production increases essential to the war effort. Each year for 5 years, total food production increased.

In , food production was 38 percent above the average. An estimated 15 million families planted victory gardens in , and in some 20 million victory gardens produced more than 40 percent of the vegetables grown for that year's fresh consumption.

Between and , the number of farms in the U. Because the amount of farmland did not decrease as much as the number of farms, many of the remaining farms have a much larger average. However, the number of small farms has also increased during the past ten years. During the same period, farm production increased from one farmer supporting the food needs of By , one farmer supported the food needs of almost people.

That increased productivity, despite the decline in farm numbers, resulted from increased mechanization, commercial fertilizers, new hybrid seeds, and other technologies. Department of Agriculture and the nation's land-grant universities. Smith-Lever Act May 8, An act signed The Legacy of the Land Grant. Extension "empowers through education," and we're all about helping all Ohioans build better lives, better businesses and better communities. Cooperative Extension provided a link between science and public life that brings state-of-the-art research to the people where they live and where their communities must address current issues.

Programs have evolved over the years and reflect changes in values, ethics, community norms, family structures, mobility and economy.

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