The Agricultural Extension System and the “New American Farmer”
The Opportunities Have Never Been Greater
Extension was established as a compliment to Land Grant Universities and Agricultural Experiment Stations that had been established earlier, in the late 1800s. Extension was to “take the university to the people.” The numbers of extension agents were expanded significantly during World War I, to enhance the ability of American farmers to provide food for the Allied forces in Europe. Extension programs in agriculture, home economics, and 4-H were again expanded during the 1920s, to deal with the impacts of the post-war transition on farming communities. The 1930s brought the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years. The government relied heavily on Cooperative Extension to help meet the needs of people during these most troubling of times in rural America.