Cooperative Extension Service


Cooperative Extension Service,

in the United States, former agency of the Dept. of AgricultureAgriculture, United States Department of,
federal executive department established in 1862, whose head was made a cabinet member in 1889. The department administers federal programs related to food production and rural life.
..... Click the link for more information. , est. 1914 by the Smith-Lever Act. Designed to provide Americans with the understanding and skills essential for solving farm, home, and community problems, the service offered educational programs that made use of research findings emanating primarily from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and the state land-grant colleges and universitiesland-grant colleges and universities,
U.S. institutions benefiting from the provisions of the Morrill Act (1862), which gave to the states federal lands for the establishment of colleges offering programs in agriculture, engineering, and home economics as well as in the
..... Click the link for more information. . The service also sponsored Four-HFour-H
or 4-H,
organization for boys and girls, generally from 8 to 18 years of age; some states offer programs for younger children, and there are also collegiate programs.
..... Click the link for more information.  programs for young people throughout the country. The 1995 reorganization of the department merged the Extension Service into the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.