Role of Extension changes with times

As changes occur in agriculture, so must the role that Extension programs play in the industry.

"New challenges and purposes are evolving," Bob Whitson said. Whitson is the Dean of Agriculture at Oklahoma State University. "Extension will continue to provide traditional production agriculture education and services such as soil testing, variety test plots and demonstrations, market analysis, enterprise budgets, animal health and breeding management advice, pesticide and fertilizer use recommendations, etc. But new agricultural industry challenges will face Extension in the future."

Transitioning from a food, feed and fiber industry into one that also covers fuel is one challenge.

"Ethanol production may bring the largest change in the structure of agriculture seen in a century," Whitson said.

A second challenge is the declining supply of water, particularly quality water.

"Major policy questions loom and potentially large changes in agricultural production practices will be necessitated in solving this looming water crisis," Whitson said.

Ag clientele has rapidly changed, Whitson said--from mid-sized family farms to a growing number of small, part-time/first-time farmers.

"Beyond these changes in agriculture, Extension will continue to be active in the area of family and consumer sciences with nutrition education and family budget management programs," he said. "Extension FCS educators will be increasingly active in obesity education for youth and adults. Likewise, with the baby boomer generation approaching retirement, I see an increasing role for Extension in extending gerontology programs to rural and urban areas."

Missouri

Tom Payne, dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, sees the same changes in Missouri.

"The role of Extension must change to be contemporary with the changes in agriculture," he said. "This is one of our struggles because a lot of people feel that Extension should be traditional, agriculture and home economics based as it was years and years ago."

Extension is becoming more contemporary with involvement in social issues and family and youth development. That does not mean that Extension has abandoned it basic roots.

"The population base is changing, we have fewer people in the rural areas," Payne said. "Extension is adjusting to meet the needs of the state's population. The change is not in what they do but in what, where, and how they present it. Their subject matter is changing just like our subject matter is changing and how we educate students."

Colorado

Outreach and strategic partnerships are the key, said Marc Johnson, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences, Colorado State University.

"Extension has a good future in Colorado," Johnson said.

"Given as how Extension is now a part of this more extensive outreach program, the university is working to develop a more comprehensive outreach to Colorado communities. We think we'll be calling them lifelong learning and innovation centers. There will be a local presence for all the different offices. We'll have a more comprehensive base, but based on Extension."

The basic mission of Extension in Colorado will remain much the same, Johnson adds, but with more partners.

"If we pull this off right, Extension will be there with all these other opportunities for local citizens and it should empower the local CSU office in the eyes of our consumers."

That means Extension educators will need to be better trained than ever and CSU is working to prepare these new agents.

"To start, more and more universities are requiring a subject matter masters' degree for these personnel. Any of the major positions today would require a masters' degree in the specialty identified for the agent," Johnson said. "These days, the education level of our clientele has become so much higher than it was in the 1950s that believe we ought to have a good, in-depth disciplinary education in our agents, to read the literature and provide a curriculum-based educational platform for our producers and anyone who is an Extension client."

Wyoming

Changes in Wyoming have also lead to more educated agents, according to Frank Galey, dean of the College of Agriculture, at the University of Wyoming.

Extension has changed at UW, from a county-based approach to an initiative based program that offers stronger links between Extension agents and the UW campus.

"We now hire agents at a higher level of educational specialization. They still are in individual counties but are responsible for a particular part of the state," Galey said. "It's team based within five initiatives. They are 4-H, ag and natural resources, nutrition and food safety, community development and family issues.

"Within these initiatives, you'll find focuses on things like helping appointed boards manage better within the community development initiative. We have a Dining With Diabetes program in nutrition and food safety that has become popular. Extension is now more relevant than ever, in helping the people of the state."

Nebraska

John Owens praised the Extension program in Nebraska for its timely and appropriate reponse to changes. Owens is the vice president and Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Harlan Vice Chancellor.

"Extension has probably changed more often, more rapidly and more dramatically in the most appropriate ways than any other part of the university, but it doesn't get much credit for that," Owens said. "We've got 118,000 age eligible youths enrolled in 4-H; that's the highest per capita enrollment in 4-H in the country. That includes programs that are very traditional but programs like after school for latchkey kids.

"There are programs on robotics, engineering and water resources in 4-H. We are building a very sound science and engineering based 4-H program to compliment the traditional agriculture programs."

Oklahoma

Youth programs are an important part of Extension in many states, including Oklahoma.

"4-H has already broadened its program offering to reach a wide array of youth with programs in environmental quality, shooting sports, horse clubs, etc.," Whitson said. "Recently, 4-H clubs were established on every army base in the world that has military families stationed on it. Future efforts to expand the types of youth reached by 4-H will likely focus on reaching minority youth and intercity youth."

Kansas

Kansas also remains committed to the 4-H program, said Fred Cholick, dean of the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University.

"We have changed the materials, the delivery and the projects, but 4-H will not change because the project is the kid," Cholick said. "It's not the cow I showed or the sheep my wife showed, or the chickens our kids showed. It's about developing leadership, teamwork and public speaking skills in our children."

K-State Research and Extension is participating in a new resource, the eXtension website, according to Cholick. This new Internet resource, www.eXtension.org, is a national database of research information from participating state Extension services. Users can look up, in one resource, all the research that's been done in a particular area and then apply it to their own needs.

However, Cholick emphasizes that Extension is still a one-one-one program.

"We are committed to having a county agent or professional in every county in Kansas," he said.

Iowa

One of the most important things for the future of agriculture in Iowa State's Wintersteen's eyes is food quality. There is a continual interest in keeping food quality at the highest levels, she said. This requires education of the consumers about the relevance science has in food production.

"It's important for producers to make good decisions so consumers understand their food is raised in the safest possible way," she said. "These consumers will make decisions based on the information they are given. If they are given good information, then they can make a judgment."

In addition to Extension, Iowa State University focuses on partnerships with agriculture industry groups to keep producers educated about the latest findings in research and development.

"It is important for us to talk to industry groups such as the Iowa Pork Producers, Iowa Cattlemen, Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa Egg Council and Iowa Turkey Federation, to name a few, and keep the conversations going back and forth so we know what to expect from each other," Wintersteen said. "We don't want to lose touch with the producers because they are a major piece in the agriculture puzzle."

Editor's Note: This is a continuation of our special coverage on agricultural trends. For more, please see the story on Page 3-A of this week's High Plains Journal/Midwest Ag Journal. Written by Doug Rich, Larry Dreiling, Jennifer Latzke, Kylene Orebaugh, Jennifer Bremer and Holly Martin. The editorial staff can be reached at 1-800-452-7171 or by e-mail at journal@hpj.com.

12/31/07
6 Star Midwest Ag\1-B

Date: 12/26/07

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