Smith Lever Act Of 1914

May 2014 will mark the 100^thursday anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act, legislation that created Cooperative Extension, a nationwide system of community-based instruction, established every bit part of each state'due south state grant academy. Cooperative Extension was started to assistance farmers, homemakers, and youth employ the latest university research to ameliorate their lives. At first geared towards strengthening rural areas, Cooperative Extension became integral to urban and suburban communities likewise. A century afterward, Cooperative Extension continues to provide a vital link between public universities and communities.

Farming Family

The Cooperative Extension system was built on the foundation of state state-grant colleges, created by the 1862 Morrill Act, signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. The Morrill Deed gave each state a grant of land to establish a higher that would teach practical subjects such as agriculture and engineering. As envisioned, a primal role of land grant institutions was to develop knowledge that would help farmers produce enough nutrient and fiber to see the needs of a growing nation. Additional legislation, the 1887 Hatch Act, provided land-grant colleges with funds to develop agricultural experiment stations where research was conducted. Even so, until the passage of the Smith-Lever Act, there was not a consistent way of getting important research-based knowledge from the campuses out to the communities that needed this information.

Avocado trees

Authored by Senator Hoke Smith of Georgia and Representative Asbury Lever of South Carolina, the Smith-Lever Act was the culmination of years of advocacy past subcontract groups and others who believed that rural Americans needed more opportunities and education in order to sustain a vibrant American economic system and republic. Training for farmers on improved agricultural practices was core to this ideal. While there was widespread agreement that a national system of extending agricultural noesis was necessary, at that place was less agreement on how to create such a system. Quite a few similar bills had already failed when Sen. Smith and Rep. Lever worked out a successful compromise.

The ii legislators developed their bill to create a historic partnership between country-grant universities and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The universities would manage agricultural extension in each state, with guidance from USDA. In addition to providing federal oversight, USDA had an of import role to play in formulating the new system. Beginning in 1903, they had adult an innovative system of farmer education known every bit the Farmer'south Cooperative Demonstration Program. Founded past USDA educator

USDA

Seaman Knapp, this plan was based on farmer-led demonstrations, and was pop and successful throughout the south. Knapp'due south program placed an educator, or "agent," in counties to work with farmers and support their on-farm demonstrations. Smith and Lever'south compromise ensured that the county-by-canton sit-in method pioneered past Knapp and USDA would become integral to the extension system to be developed by the land-grant universities. The Smith-Lever Deed was signed by President Woodrow Wilson on May 8, 1914, and soon, each state's land grant university was organizing Cooperative Extension, or formalizing existing efforts.

In California, efforts were already underway to create an agricultural extension system, building on the success of the state'south land grant, the University of California. The first UC campus, at Berkeley, had agriculture as an important early on focus, and in 1907, a university research farm was opened in Davisville, a site that grew into a new campus, UC Davis. The aforementioned twelvemonth, UC established the Citrus Experiment Station in Riverside, the foundation for the UC Riverside campus. New knowledge and technologies adult by UC scientists were disquisitional to the growth of farming and allied industries around the country. By the time the Smith-Lever Deed became constabulary, UC agriculture faculty were already offer curt courses and institutes for farmers around the state, but farmers were clamoring for more. Many California farmers were excited nearly the possibility of having a Cooperative Extension educator, known as a "subcontract advisor," assigned to their community.

Fresno County

Anticipating strong demand, University of California officials required each county government that wanted to participate in the Cooperative Extension partnership to allocate funding to help support extension work in that community. Additionally, it was required that a group of farmers in participating counties organize into a "farm agency" to help guide the subcontract advisor on the issues of local agriculture. (These grassroots groups afterwards evolved into the California Farm Agency Federation). The first California county to sign up, Humboldt County, had their farm advisor in identify by July 1913, anticipating passage of federal legislation. Seven more than counties came on board in 1914, and many soon followed, with 41 of 58 California counties securing Cooperative Extension farm advisors by 1922. Other counties joined the partnership in subsequent years. A century after the inception of this collaboration between UC and counties, county regime continues to exist a key partner in local delivery of Cooperative Extension.

In its offset years, Cooperative Extension played a critical office on the abode forepart during World War I, helping farmers to abound enough wheat and other crops to run into expanded war-time needs. Extension'south value was quickly established every bit farmers came to rely on having an expert close at hand who was familiar with local weather and crops. In addition to addressing the needs of farmers, Cooperative Extension soon expanded to provide educational opportunities for their families, including programs for rural women and activities for local youth. Nutrition, food preservation, and a variety of skills were taught past "home demonstration agents" working with rural women. Thousands of young people would learn about nutrient product, cooking, scientific discipline and more through participation in 4-H clubs.

Taste Test

Despite its rural roots, as communities have changed, then has Cooperative Extension, adapting and fine-tuning programs to meet the needs of a changing gild. As the nation urbanized, many Cooperative Extension efforts were adult to meet the needs of non-rural and rural audiences akin. Examples include the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Plan (EFNEP) that has offered costless diet education classes in urban communities since the 1960s. Thousands of urban and suburban residents have benefited from Cooperative Extension'southward Main Gardener Program that offers workshops and advice to habitation, community and school gardeners. Regardless of the population served, Cooperative Extension activities are grounded in university inquiry, and developed in partnership with local communities.

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Today, UC Cooperative Extension continues to serve communities throughout California as role of the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), with 200 locally based Cooperative Extension advisors, 130 campus-based Cooperative Extension specialists, 57 county offices throughout the state, and ix research and extension centers. Over a century of service, Cooperative Extension has continued to connect communities with the land grant campus, bringing applied, trusted, science based solutions to Californians.