Cooperative Extension Section (CES)

Cooperative Extension educators or agents translate science for the public, engage the public to act, prepare people for a better life, provide rapid response in disasters, develop partnerships, and connect people online. Extension operates through the nationwide land-grant university system and is a partnership among the federal government, primarily USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and state and local governments. At the national level, Extension is coordinated by the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP).

Extension provides trusted, practical education, to help people, businesses, and communities solve problems, develop skills, and build a better future. Campus-based faculty members are disciplinary specialists with doctoral degrees whose primary responsibility is to develop curricula that translate science-based research results into language (written, verbal, and electronic) appropriate for targeted audiences. County-based educators (most of whom have graduate degrees) work with local citizens and interest groups to solve problems, evaluate the effectiveness of learning tools, and collect grassroots input to prioritize future research. By living and working in communities, county educators respond to local needs, build trust, and engage effectively with citizens. Program Areas include but are not limited to 4-H Youth Development, Agriculture, Family & Consumer Sciences, Health and Nutrition, Community Development, Water and Natural Resources, Forestry, Emergency Preparedness, Climate Variability, Volunteerism, and Human Sciences. To find a Cooperative Extension office or educator near you, go to http://nifa.usda.gov/partners-and-extension-map?state=All&type=Extension&order=title&sort=asc. Ask an Expert offers one-to-one expert answers from Cooperative Extension/University staff and volunteers from across the United States. To learn about the impact of Cooperative Extension throughout the United States and U.S. territories go to https://landgrantimpacts.org/areas-of-impact. Cooperative Extension’s unique structure consists of university faculty members and local educators.

Capacity funding from federal, state and county appropriations is the critical foundation of Cooperative Extension resources, while grants, contracts, fees and gifts provide some support. Over the past several decades, the purchasing power of federal capacity funding, distributed via formula to land-grant universities to support Extension programs, has been steadily reduced. Capacity funds, often leveraged three- to four-fold with other funding sources, make transformational learning possible for societies, families and individuals. The ‘cooperative’ in Cooperative Extension is the joint funding provided by federal, state and county partners. A typical Cooperative Extension budget:

The hallmark beginning of Cooperative Extension was on May 8, 1914 with the passage of the Smith-Lever Act into law. To read more about the celebrated history of Cooperative Extension go to:https://nifa.usda.gov/cooperative-extension-history.