Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

This article is about a division of the United States Department of Agriculture. For agricultural Extension in general, see Agricultural Extension.

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) was an Extension agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 established CSREES by combining the former Cooperative State Research Service and the Extension Service into a single agency.^[1] Following the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill, CSREES was replaced by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).^[2]

Mission and Priorities

The mission of CSREES was "to advance knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well-being, and communities by supporting research, education, and extension programs in the Land-Grant University System and other partner organizations."^[3] CSREES did not conduct research directly. Instead, it provided funding opportunities and program leadership to universities, extension services, and other research organizations to support the advancement of knowledge.^[3]

CSREES sought to address "quality of life problems" American communities. CSREES research and education supported efforts to improve agricultural productivity, promote rural development, and advance public health.^[4] CSREES organized its research and education programs around thirteen national emphasis areas:^[5]

1. Agriculture and Food Biosecurity
2. Agricultural Systems
3. Animals and Animal Products
4. Biotechnology and Genomics
5. Economics and Commerce
6. Education
7. Families, Youth, and Communities
8. Food, Nutrition, and Health
9. International Programs
10. Natural Resources and Environment
11. Pest Management
12. Plants and Plant Products
13. Technology and Engineering

Federal Funding Assistance

CSREES appropriated federal funds in support of research, education, and extension through three primary funding mechanisms:

• Formula funds were annual federal appropriations to land-grant universities. The amount of funding that each institution received annually was often determined by a statutorily-defined formula.

• Competitive grants were awarded to support research, extension, and higher education. Recipients were selected through a peer-review process, with eligibility and requirements varying by program. Major competitive grant opportunities included the National Research Initiative, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), Higher Education Challenge Grants, and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

• Non-competitive grants and special projects were often directed by Congress. These funds were intended to support specific institutions, regions, or topics of national importance. These included Special Research Grants, Evans-Allen funds for 1890 institutions, and initiatives for other minority-serving institutions like Tribal Colleges.

Program Leadership

CSREES employed national program leaders to assist communities in identify and meeting the research, extension, and education priorities of communities across the United States. Program leaders focused on issues that affect agricultural producers, small businesses, youth, families, and communities. CSREES national program leaders served four main functions:

1. Collaborating with partners and stakeholders to identify issues requiring federal support.
2. Designing and directing programs to address emerging or ongoing challenges through science-based knowledge.
3. Administering and managing research, education, and extension programs.
4. Evaluating the quality, outcomes, and impacts of funded activities.

Educational Programs

CSREES oversaw educational programs to advance teaching and learning in subjects related to the agency's national emphasis areas. A key goal of CSREES' educational programs was to develop the scientific workforce of the future. CSREES collaborated with land grant universities, public institutions, and private sector partners to provide educational programming and leadership.^[6]

In 1997, CSREES implemented a teaching partnership, which sought to "support human capital development through programs that strengthen agricultural and natural resource sciences literacy in K-12 education, improve higher education curricula, modernize institutional academic capacity, and increase the diversity and quality of future graduates to enter the scientific and professional workforce."^[7] CSREES also supported Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC), which was established in 1981 to promote agricultural literacy in classrooms across the country.^[8]

CSREES’ educational programs focused on preparing a workforce that was prepared to meet the future needs of the U.S. food, agriculture, and natural resources industries. These efforts included broadening student recruitment, expanding training opportunities in high-demand fields, adapting curricula to align with innovative technologies, and providing students with the communication, teamwork, and practical skills necessary to advance scientific discovery.^[9]

Cooperative Extension System

The Cooperative Extension System is a non-formal educational program implemented in the United States designed to help people use research-based knowledge to improve their lives. The service is provided by the state's designated land-grant universities. In most states, the educational offerings are in the areas of agriculture and food, home and family, environment, community economic development, and youth and 4-H. The National 4-H Headquarters is located within the Families, 4-H, and Nutrition unit of CSREES.

The Smith-Lever Act, which was passed in 1914, established partnership between agricultural colleges and the USDA to support agricultural Extension work. The act also stated that USDA will provide each state with funds based on a population-related formula.

As of 1929, African Americans made up 24 percent of the South's population, but only 12 percent of the southern Extension staff. Additionally, the New Mexico Extension service hired only one temporary part-time bilingual home demonstrator in its first 15 years, even though half the population only spoke Spanish.^[10] Today, CSREES distributes these so-called formula grants annually in cooperation with state and county governments and land-grant universities.

Advertisement for home demonstration event held in Winston County, Mississippi in 1931.

Traditionally, each county of all the 50 states had a local Extension office. This number has declined as some county offices have consolidated into regional extension centers. Today, there are approximately 2,900 Extension offices nationwide.

Since 2005, the Extension system has collaborated in developing eXtension.org (pronounced "e-extension"). eXtension is an Internet-based learning platform where Extension professionals and citizens nationwide and beyond have 24/7 access to unbiased, research-based, peer-reviewed information from land-grant universities on a wide range of topics. Information is organized into articles, professional development resources, news, frequently asked questions, and blog posts that provide a knowledge-to-action service that has become an integral part of the Cooperative Extension System. In 2015, the nonprofit, member-based eXtension Foundation was created to advance innovation and technology-enhanced professional development going forward.^[11][12]

The table below summarizes the cooperative Extension programs in each state. (Under the 1890 amendment to the Morrill Act, if a state's land-grant university was not open to all races, a separate land-grant university had to be established for each race. Hence, some states have more than one land-grant university.)

Cooperative Extensions^[13]

State	University	Extension website
Alabama	Alabama A&M University Auburn University Tuskegee University[14]	Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Alaska	University of Alaska	University of Alaska Cooperative Extension
Arizona	University of Arizona	Arizona Cooperative Extension
Arkansas	University of Arkansas University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff	University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service
California	University of California	University of California Cooperative Extension
Colorado	Colorado State University	Colorado State University Extension
Connecticut	University of Connecticut	Cooperative Extension System
Delaware	University of Delaware Delaware State University	Delaware Cooperative Extension DSU Cooperative Extension
District of Columbia	University of the District of Columbia	University of the District of Columbia Cooperative Extension Service
Florida	University of Florida Florida A&M University	University of Florida IFAS Extension
Georgia	University of Georgia Fort Valley State University	University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
Guam	University of Guam	University of Guam Cooperative Extension
Hawaii	University of Hawaii	University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service
Idaho	University of Idaho	University of Idaho Extension
Illinois	University of Illinois	University of Illinois Extension
Indiana	Purdue University	Purdue University Extension
Iowa	Iowa State University	Iowa State University Extension
Kansas	Kansas State University	Kansas State University Research & Extension
Kentucky	University of Kentucky Kentucky State University	University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service
Louisiana	Louisiana State University Southern University and A&M College	Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service
Maine	University of Maine	University of Maine Extension
Maryland	University of Maryland[15] University of Maryland Eastern Shore	Maryland Cooperative Extension
Massachusetts	University of Massachusetts Amherst	University of Massachusetts Extension
Michigan	Michigan State University	Michigan State University Extension
Minnesota	University of Minnesota	University of Minnesota Extension
Mississippi	Mississippi State University Alcorn State University	Mississippi State University Extension
Missouri	University of Missouri Lincoln University	University of Missouri Extension
Montana	Montana State University	Montana State University Extension Service
Nebraska	University of Nebraska–Lincoln	University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension
Nevada	University of Nevada	University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
New Hampshire	University of New Hampshire	University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
New Jersey	Rutgers University	Rutgers Cooperative Extension
New Mexico	New Mexico State University	New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service
New York	Cornell University	Cornell Cooperative Extension
North Carolina	North Carolina State University North Carolina A&T State University	North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service North Carolina A&T State University Cooperative Extension Program
North Dakota	North Dakota State University	North Dakota State University Extension Service
Ohio	Ohio State University	The Ohio State University Extension
Oklahoma	Oklahoma State University	Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
Oregon	Oregon State University	Oregon State University Extension Service
Pennsylvania	Penn State	Penn State Cooperative Extension
Rhode Island	University of Rhode Island	University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension
South Carolina	Clemson University South Carolina State University	Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service
South Dakota	South Dakota State University	South Dakota State University Extension
Tennessee	University of Tennessee Tennessee State University	University of Tennessee Extension Tennessee State University Cooperative Extension Program
Texas	Texas A&M University Prairie View A&M University	Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Utah	Utah State University	Utah State University Extension
Vermont	University of Vermont	University of Vermont Extension System
Virginia	Virginia Tech Virginia State University	Virginia Cooperative Extension
Washington	Washington State University	Washington State University Extension
West Virginia	West Virginia University West Virginia State University	West Virginia University Extension Service West Virginia State University Extension Service
Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin–Madison[16]	UW–Madison Division of Extension
Wyoming	University of Wyoming	University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service

See also

• Agricultural Extension
• Community food projects
• List of land-grant universities
• National Association Of County Agricultural Agents