ALABAMA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SYSTEM
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the Alabama Cooperative Extension System?
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System provides educational outreach to the people of Alabama on behalf of Alabama A&M University, the state’s 1890 land-grant university, and Auburn University, the state’s 1862 land-grant institution. Like Cooperative Extension programs in other states, Alabama Extension operates through a unique partnership that includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state’s land-grant universities and state and local governments.
What are land-grant universities?
As the name implies, land-grant universities were made possible by grants of land by the federal government to the states, beginning with passage of the Morrill Act of 1862. Each state was granted 30,000 acres of public land for each of its Senate and House members. States then could use this land as trust funds to endow colleges for the teaching of agriculture and other practical sciences. The Morrill Act made possible the formation of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama, located in Auburn, later known as the Alabama Polytechnic Institute and, more recently, as Auburn University. That is why Auburn University often is described as the state’s 1862 land-grant university.
Most of these 1862 land-grant universities eventually developed into comprehensive state universities, bearing little difference from other publicly supported universities.
What are 1890 land-grant universities?
While it is still hailed today as a milestone in U.S. education, the Morrill Act of 1862 was limited in one sense. It secured a means of establishing land-grant colleges throughout the country, but it did not provide a steady source of funding to support these institutions.
The Second Morrill Act of 1890 sought to remedy this problem. It not only provided funding but also prohibited racial discrimination by any college receiving these funds. However, there was one loophole. As long as these federal funds were distributed “equitably,” states could circumvent this anti-discrimination provision by establishing separate institutions for black and white citizens. The separate black agricultural and mechanical schools throughout the South supported with funds made possible by this 1890 legislation eventually became known as 1890 land-grant colleges.
Alabama A&M University, a historically African-American institution established by the Alabama Legislature in 1873, began receiving these funds in 1891 and subsequently became known as the state’s 1890 land-grant institution.
Like Auburn, Alabama A&M University developed over time into a comprehensive state university.
Isn’t Tuskegee University (formerly Tuskegee Institute) an 1890 institution?
Privately supported Tuskegee University technically is not an 1890 institution, although it pioneered much of what is now known as Cooperative Extension work in Alabama and throughout the nation. Even so, Tuskegee operates as a kind of de facto land-grant university, with its own Extension program, and serves as a cooperating partner within the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Why are Cooperative Extension programs typically associated with these land-grant universities?
The Cooperative Extension could be accurately described as the culmination of the vision established by the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890.
Despite the high hopes that accompanied passage of both Morrill Acts, many 19th century educators soon noted some limitations associated with the land-grant college concept. For one thing, they discovered that many farmers had little incentive to adopt the advanced agricultural practices taught at land-grant universities. They also noted a critical lack of solid agricultural research on which to base the practical teaching offered at these colleges.
Policymakers sought to remedy this problem with passage of the Hatch Experiment Station Act of 1887, which provided funding to establish a network of agricultural research facilities in each state and which still operates today. After a few years, though, Experiment Station researchers began running up against similar challenges. They concluded that without an effective outreach strategy, the scientific insights gained from their research, while valuable, would not benefit farmers.
This critical need eventually led to the passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914. Described by one U.S. secretary of agriculture as “one of the most striking educational measures adopted by any government,” the Smith-Lever Act provided for state matching of federal funds to establish a network of county farm educators in every state in the nation.
The agreement with the states drafted shortly after passage of the act provided that all U.S. Department of Agriculture-related Extension work carried out within a state — not only the efforts associated with the Smith-Lever Act — would be entrusted to the state colleges of agriculture. For their part, these state colleges were expected to establish a separate Extension division with a leader responsible for administering state and federal funds. This marked the beginning of what later would be known as Cooperative Extension work in Alabama and other states.
Who invented the concept of the Cooperative Extension?
There is a common misconception that the Cooperative Extension was established through passage of the Smith-Lever Act. In a formal sense, that is true. Even so, the Cooperative Extension owes a debt to countless people of different races and backgrounds who first began pioneering Extension-type work as far back as the late 18th century, shortly after the end of the American Revolution.
The old saying “necessity is the mother of invention” certainly applies to what later became known as Cooperative Extension work. Beginning in the late 18th century, farmers, typically affluent farmers and planters, discerned a critical need for the sharing of new insights into farming. They began organizing groups to sponsor educational meetings to disseminate useful farming information. In some cases, lectures even were delivered by university professors — a practice that foreshadowed Cooperative Extension work more than a century later.
Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) often is cited as a pioneer in Cooperative Extension work. What role did Tuskegee play in Cooperative Extension work in Alabama?
Tuskegee Institute, a historically African-American, largely privately supported school, laid much of the foundation for what ultimately became Cooperative Extension work, not only in Alabama but also throughout the nation. Tuskegee Institute’s founder Booker T. Washington and famed agricultural researcher George Washington Carver were directly responsible for many of these innovations.
The first Tuskegee Farmers Conference, begun at the prompting of Washington in 1892, initially attracted some 500 participants. Still held annually, the conference is regarded not only as the cornerstone of black agricultural outreach but also as a major milestone in the development of Cooperative Extension work.
Equally significant was Tuskegee’s pioneering use of agricultural demonstration wagons (eventually known as Jessup wagons in honor of the eastern philanthropist who underwrote the cost of their fitting and equipment). Jessup wagons were so effective that they were adopted as an integral part of U.S. Department of Agriculture educational work.
On November 12, 1906, Tuskegee’s Thomas M. Campbell became the first Cooperative Extension agent in U.S. history when he was appointed to serve as a collaborator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to operate the “Farmers College on Wheels.” His salary was drawn from three sources, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s boll weevil eradication efforts and the university, foreshadowing the Cooperative Extension formula that eventually would be adopted to support agents throughout the nation.
What is the significance of “Cooperative” in the name?
Cooperative is intended to underscore the fact that Extension operates on the basis of a multifaceted partnership involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state and county governments and, to an increasing degree, town and city governments and private donors.
Why is the Alabama Cooperative Extension System known as a system rather than a service like Cooperative Extension programs in other states?
In 1995, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System became the nation’s first unified Extension program, combining the resources of the 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions. The catalyst was a landmark federal ruling, known as Knight vs. Alabama, handed down by Judge Harold Murphy. Under its terms, the Extension programs and other land-grant functions of Alabama A&M and Auburn universities were combined, with Tuskegee University, another historic African-American institution with its own unique history of agricultural outreach work, included as a cooperative partner within this unified program.
To underscore the fact that this combined effort involved all of the state’s historic agricultural universities working together, Murphy mandated that “service” in the name be replaced by “system.”
What’s the difference between Extension and other types of outreach, such as continuing education?
With the exception of 4-H, most Cooperative Extension work is aimed at adult learners. In that respect, it shares much in common with continuing education.
On the other hand, while some Cooperative Extension-related programming in some cases may be highly formal, such as enrolling in coursework and acquiring continuing education-type credits, the vast majority is informal. An example would be a brief visit by an agronomy agent to a local farm to discuss soil fertility problems or a lunchtime address to a local civic group by an agent specializing in urban forestry management.
Even so, while the methods are informal, the effects often are just as far-reaching.
Shouldn’t Extension be paying more attention to urban issues since most Alabamians now live in cities?
Actually, it has within the last decade. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System now employs an associate director, who is based at Alabama A&M University and is responsible for a new avenue of Extension work known as Urban and New Nontraditional Programs. As part of this effort, Extension now operates nine urban centers and two satellite centers in major regions throughout the state, focusing on the two-thirds of Alabama residents who now live in urban areas.
There seems to be a lot of emphasis lately on regional agents. What ever happened to county agents?
County Extension agents still operate in many outlying offices. However, beginning early in the 21st century, Extension administrators concluded that a delivery approach based primarily on county agents needed to be reevaluated for several reasons. Funding was a factor, but only one among many. Another key factor was urbanization — a trend that not only has led to fewer farms but also has drastically altered public perceptions about the role Extension educators should be serving in the 21st century.
A more affluent, better educated public, far better equipped than ever before to acquire and use information on its own, also was a critical factor. Even so, these administrators were convinced that Extension still had an important role to play in helping people make more informed decisions by putting this information into context. They reasoned that this could be best accomplished by specialized agents rather than the generalists associated with Extension programming throughout the previous century.
Following intensive study and close consultation with organizational partners and other key stakeholders, Extension transformed itself from a primarily county agent-delivered system to one in which programs increasingly will be delivered by regional agents specializing in one of 14 different program priority areas.
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