The development process of agricultural extension systems and the role of land-grant colleges in the USA
2005
Zeng, Y.(Kagoshima Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Agriculture) | Akiyama, K.
The purpose of this study is to introduce the development process of agricultural extension systems in the USA and to analyze the role of the land grant college of agriculture (LGCA) system. The tripartite arrangement of agricultural extension systems in the USA - the LGCA, agricultural experiment station, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - is a unique institution. And the development process of agricultural extension systems is one of "taking the university to the American people". Initiated in 1862 with the passage of the first Morrill Act, and expanded in 1890 with the passage of the second Morrill Act, the LGCA system was the first embodiment of a post-Civil War national philosophy about higher education. The two Morrill acts, and two subsequent pieces of land grant legislation, the 1887 Hatch Act and the 1914 Smith-Lever Act, together endowed the LGCAs with a three-part mission of teaching, research, and extension. The Extension Services played pivotal roles in the nation's survival through three major emergencies-World War I, the Great Depression of the 1930s, and World War II. Because of the dramatic changes in the business of farming, the LGCA system must change to adapt to the colleges' contemporary environment. Within the LGCA system, there is 1. the need for greater relevance and accessibility; 2. the need to remove historic barriers and encourage research, teaching, and extension collaborations that cross disciplines, institutions, and states; 3. the need for stronger linkages among the equally important functions of teaching, research, and extension.
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