Cooperative Extension System (CES)

Providing a partnership effort in information delivery and educational support programs

The partnership occurs among federal, state, and county governments that all provide funding support and management direction to the nation's cooperative extension system. The CES network links research and outreach programs of land-grant universities to state and local needs. The structure and services provided by extension are largely determined at the state and county levels, and they vary accordingly. USDA, which has its link to extension through the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) agency, provides only general guidelines and coordination of the extension system, as well as partial funding.

A user can contact CES at the state level, the county level, or both. State extension specialists, who are also university faculty, provide in-depth information on a variety of technical subjects, including many agriculture, natural resource, and household/family topics. More than 9,000 local extension agents work in nearly 3,000 U.S. counties. In addition to paid extension staff, trained volunteers work with a number of programs, such as the youth-oriented 4-H programs.

The type of information available through extension offices and programs is very comprehensive and usually tailored in part to local information needs. In general, information and some technical assistance are available on agriculture, forestry, natural resources, gardening, household, family, and youth topics.

Extension does not normally provide financial assistance, but instead focuses on information delivery through the Internet, printed publications and newsletters, broadcast media, staff presentations at public meetings, and one-on-one assistance in person or by phone with information seekers. In some locations, diagnostic services are available for soil testing and garden or farm pests. Most extension publications and programs are available for free or at nominal cost through county or university extension offices or via Internet websites.

Project Examples
The CES has responded over the years to hundreds of thousands of questions and inquiries on literally thousands of topics, as well as proactively delivering educational programs. Many states have extension publications on alternative agricultural crops, sometimes emphasizing horticultural alternatives, sometimes alternative field crops, and sometimes alternative enterprises such as Christmas tree or mushroom production. Usually information is available in each state on developing a farm enterprise budget and/or beginning a small business. Information not available in printed form may be obtained by talking to one or more extension staff at the county or state level and asking for a resource person familiar with these topics.

Financial Information
There is generally no financial assistance available through extension, and thus no application forms. There are a variety of methods to obtain extension publications:

Most county extension offices have available for free or at low cost copies of the extension publications available in the state, and call-in or walk-in assistance can be provided. Typically, a state-level extension publications office has a list of all currently available extension publications in that state, plus some that are regional extension publications, and will take publications orders by phone or mail.
Contacting an extension technical staff person can lead to that person providing publications by mail.
Many states make their publications available via the World Wide Web. If you have Internet access go to http://e-answers.adec.edu/ to see if your state's extension materials are available in electronic format.
Finally, over-the-phone or walk-in technical assistance and other value-added topics are available from extension offices.

Eligibility, Uses, and Restrictions
CSREES programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, gender, disability, religion, age or national origin. Specific eligibility requirements can vary by program.

Contact
Contact your local county extension office (see your local government in the telephone directory), a land-grant university (call the university's main information number and ask for the extension administration office, extension publications office, or the agriculture extension office), or the national agency office listed here.

National Program Office
Cooperative State Research, Education, and
Extension Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
305A Whitten Building
1400 Independence Ave.
Washington, DC 20250-0900

Internet
National office: www.csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/extension.html
Local office: www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html

Last Updated June 16, 2007