Land-grant Background

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Three acts signed by President Lincoln in 1862 shaped the U.S. Agricultural history: the act authorizing a U.S. Department of Agriculture; the Homestead Act, encouraging settlement of public domain lands; and the Morrill Act establishing land grant colleges in every state and placing instruction in agriculture and home economics in higher education. The Homestead Act caused a stampede for land (which was practically for free) and new problems arose. How could all these new landowners learn about farming and how could it be possible to educate the poor people working on farms now?

The history and formation of the cooperative extension dates back to The Hatch Act of 1887 which established a cooperative bond between USDA and the nation's land grant colleges allocating annual federal funding for research. This was one of the ways to improve the productivity of the farms and by doing this, build up the economy and also help the communities. It was the driving force for the land-grant colleges to meet the agriculture's needs. The Smith-Lever Act in 1914 provided funds for cooperative administration of agricultural extension education by USDA and the state land grant colleges.

Milestones in the Development of UC Cooperative Extension*

1862 -- President Lincoln signed three acts significant in shaping U.S. Agricultural history: the act authorizing a U.S. Department of Agriculture; the Homestead Act encouraging settlement of public domain lands; and the Morrill Act establishing land grant colleges in each state and placing instruction in agriculture and home economics in American higher education.
1887 -- The Hatch Experiment Station Act established a cooperative bond between USDA and the nation's land grant colleges by providing annual federal funding for agricultural experiment stations in all the states.
1918 -- The Smith-Lever Act provided funds for cooperative administration of agricultural extension education by USDA and the state land grant colleges, with the twin purposes of increasing farm productivity and improving rural life. Formula funding intended to encourage placement of county agents was distributed on the basis of rural population.
1917 -- The Emergency Food Production Act Stimulated the wartime production of agricultural commodities and greatly increased the number of extension agents throughout the states.
1928 -- The Capper-Ketcham Act expanded extension work and encouraged agriculture and home economics in 4-H clubs.
1933 -- The Agricultural Adjustment Act, the federal government's response to the Great Depression, created "the new USDA." The act provided programs of direct economic assistance to farmers, emphasizing production controls and marking the beginning of government price supports. Extension agents assisted with implementing some of these programs.
1935 -- Declaring soil erosion a national menace, Congress established the Soil Conservation Service. It also passed the Bankhead-Jones Act expanding agricultural research and extension. For the first time formula funding was based on farm population.
1942 -- President Executive Order 9280 delegated increased responsibility over food production to the Secretary of Agriculture. From 1943 to 1945 federal funds provided for special additional extension staff for World War II emergency programs.
1945 -- The Bankhead-Flanagan Act expanded federal funding of county extension work on the basis of farm population.
1946-47 -- On the recommendation of the California Agricultural Research Study Committee, the state legislature greatly increased its support of research and extension work. The state's expanded share of cooperative funding enlarged the number of extension specialists in California.
1953 -- Congress amended the Smith-Lever Act, consolidating previous legislation, reformulating the federal share of cooperative funding, and specifying separation of extension activities from those of the Farm Bureau. The formula was again changed in 1962.
1961 -- Section 3(d) of the Smith-Lever Amendment was added to allow funding for special programs such as resource and community development, farm safety, urban gardening, pest management and nonpoint pollution control.
1969 -- The Expanded Food and Nutrition Program (EFNEP) was established under section 3(d), appropriations rising from $10 million in 1969 to $60.5 million in 1975.
1972 -- The federal Rural Development Act authorized expanded extension work in rural communities in nonagricultural as well as agricultural fields.
1973 -- Congress earmarked funds for 4-H work in urban areas and rural community development.
1977 -- The federal Food and Agriculture Act provided for small farm extension programs. In 1979 a small farms coordinating council was appointed by California's governor after publication of "The Family Farm Viability Study," a joint effort of Cooperative Extension, the California State Employee Development Department, and the Central Coast Counties Development Corporation, a federally funded nonprofit group.
1978 -- The Renewable Resources Extension Act authorized support for extension forestry and other renewable natural resources programs.
1985 -- The Food Security Act amended the Smith-Lever Act to allow a larger role for extension personnel in applied research activities.

* source: Ann Foley Scheuring, "A Sustaining Comradeship: The Story of University of California Cooperative Extension, 1913 - 1988"