Special agents
State Cooperative Extension Service marks 100 years of assistance
For more than 100 years, Extension agents have been a go-to resource for Arkansas farmers, families and voters, providing research-based information on everything from crop production and pest control to canning, quilting and child care.
Where did they come from? What does “extension” mean?
An arm of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, the UA Cooperative Extension Service is tasked with taking research from our land grant university and its agricultural research stations and extending that information to the citizens of the state. Extension’s agents work to foster cooperation between the state’s scientists and citizens, and so we have cooperative extension.
Extension agents were formally given their mission in 1915, when the Arkansas Legislature gave its blessing to provisions of the federal Smith-Lever Act. Signed in May 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson, Smith-Lever created the Agricultural Extension Service in the United States. Wilson called it “one of the most significant and far-reaching measures for the education of adults ever adopted by the government,” and today that is still a true statement.
Even before their formal induction as a service, Extension agents were helping Arkansans learn to apply science-based methods of agriculture and home economics.
As early as 1905, there were 20 agents working across the state. Besides helping farmers and creating homemaker volunteer service groups, they established corn clubs, teaching boys to grow corn and get the highest yields. With the success of the boys clubs, 10 agents were hired in 1912 to start girls canning clubs, teaching the proper methods of food preservation.
These boys and girls clubs would merge and in later years evolve into the highly successful 4-H program. While 4-H started with corn and canning, today it encourages youngsters to undertake projects in traditional agriculture and home economics programs such as livestock, row crops, gardening, cooking and sewing, but it also embraces robotics, computers, GPS, and health and fitness.
Today, Arkansas 4-H touches more than 133,000 young people. Through informal, science-based, experiential education activities, 4-H participants gain knowledge and enhance their life skills. The goal is to enable young people to become positive, productive, capable and compassionate members of society.
COUNTY AGENTS
Today, there is a county Extension office in each of the 75 counties in Arkansas with at least one agricultural agent and one family and consumer science agent. They are the local connection to the county’s citizens.
Meeting annually with a core group of leaders within their counties, these agents try to conduct programs that meet the needs of their constituents. Geographically speaking, there are some pretty diverse areas around the state, and the same holds true with economic profiles. Extension’s “campus” is found in community centers, schools, on the hood of a truck or the top of a kitchen table — wherever stakeholders work and learn.
Teaching is done at traditional seminars, field days, online classes, websites and face-to-face consultations. Reaching more Arkansans on a daily basis than any other institution of higher education, Extension Service employees, with the assistance of thousands of volunteers, help to get information to people who need it.
The mission still includes a huge agricultural component, working with farmers across the state to get better yields with less input; showcasing new varieties, new methods of irrigation and fertilization; and conducting field days where farmers can come together and see firsthand what is happening.
Demonstration plots are put in by county agents in cooperation with local growers and farmers who are willing to share some space to help the research and to allow their fellow farmers see what can be done.
There are always new techniques and ways to grow things. Think about strawberries. For years they were grown in open fields, just planted in soil. Then some horticulturist came up with the idea to grow them as an annual crop in plastic, called plasticulture. Strawberries became larger and were marketed earlier.
Today, both methods are still employed, but we also produce strawberries in high tunnels, a method that allows the farmer to control the timing of harvest and giving us not only strawberries but tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, greens and lettuce almost year-round.
This innovation has extended beyond commercial growers to home gardeners who now use “season extenders” in their home gardens, allowing them to have fresh vegetables even in winter.
MASTERS OF GARDENING
They often say “what goes around comes around.” That is definitely true with the resurgence of interest in gardening, cooking, canning and sewing.
The Cooperative Extension Service is the go-to source for this information. Local foods movements, community gardens and edible landscaping continue to gain in popularity, and the Extension Service’s Arkansas Master Gardener program is an excellent opportunity to learn about gardening and connect with like-minded individuals.
The Arkansas Master Gardener program has more than 3,400 trained volunteers extending research-based horticulture information to consumers, working on beautification-projects and teaching people of all ages about gardening. Many Master Gardener programs also assist with local community gardens and farmers markets.
FAMILY RESOURCES
Family and consumer science agents (formally called home economists) continue to teach families about canning and cooking, but today they are even more concerned with food safety, nutrition, healthy living, financial planning and meeting other needs of families.
A popular innovation is the Strong Women & Men program. These community-based strength-training groups target midlife and older Arkansans. Classes meet for an hour at least twice a week, and each session includes a warmup, eight to 10 strengthening exercises, and a cool-down. This program provides a supportive group environment and is appropriate for all fitness levels.
A new addition is the Extension Wellness Ambassador program. This program will teach participants simple strategies to improve their own health and the health of their family, friends and neighbors. Training is conducted by Cooperative Extension Service professionals, health professionals and other specialists in their field.
One of the oldest volunteer programs within Extension is the Arkansas Extension Homemakers, established in 1912. It is also one of the largest nonprofit volunteer groups in the state with a membership of 4,400 and more than 350 clubs. Extension Homemakers work alongside agents to educate families.
NURTURING LEADERS
While agriculture and family and consumer sciences are the backbone of Extension, its educational efforts also cover many aspects of community development.
The Lead Arkansas, or LeadAR, program is a statewide, two-year, life-changing event for emerging Arkansas leaders from rural and urban communities.
By promoting integrity, responsibility, commitment and involvement, LeadAR aims to produce leaders committed to public service and ready to meet the needs of their communities, state and nation. To date, 465 people from 71 counties have been trained in 16 LeadAR classes.
Breakthrough Solutions is another community leadership program. At its very core, community development is about local volunteers — leaders and citizens who meet to address their most critical issues and opportunities by working together. The idea is that the most successful communities are those that recognize and engage the abilities of their own people.
In addition, Breakthrough Solutions has representatives from 18 partner organizations and agencies that do community development work. The inkind contributions of these volunteers often exceed $100,000 each year.
The Public Policy Center seeks to help Arkansans better understand the financial, social or policy implications of a proposed law by publishing research-based fact sheets on ballot issues and offering educational programs at the county level. The goals are to increase voter participation and help Arkansans feel confident voting.
With the help of county Extension agents, the Public Policy Center assists communities in providing a local ballot education program that is fact-based and not intended to sway voters one way or another. This assistance can be in the form of fact sheets, community forums and educational programs.
AND TAXES, TOO
Extension agents provide education and resources to help businesses and entrepreneurs take advantage of untapped market opportunities and enhance their competitive edge based on the latest research findings and technology. They also help community leaders who are interested in supporting entrepreneurial development at the local level.
Agents have resources for business-minded citizens interested in a food-based business, government contracting, youth entrepreneurship and other topics. Contact your county’s Extension Service office to learn more.
Extension is an IRS Continuing Education Provider and conducts tax school for tax preparers and tax professionals. These two-day workshops take place in classrooms. They give tax preparers a general review of current regulations and an update of changes in existing tax laws. The tax workshop meets the guidelines for 16 hours of credit for continuing professional education as set forth by the Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy.
All of these Cooperative Extension Service programs are offered to eligible Arkansans regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status and the agency is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
Four generations after its creation, this multifaceted organization still works to improve the quality of life for all Arkansans. To learn more, visit uaex.edu or contact your county’s Extension office.