In 1912, the Michigan Legislature authorized county boards of supervisors to appropriate funds and levy taxes to further teaching and demonstrations in Extension work.
In 1914, Congress passed the Smith-Lever Act, which created the Cooperative Extension System and it directed the nation's land-grant universities to oversee its work.
With the passage of the Smith-Lever Act, the first statewide home economics and 4-H youth Extension workers were appointed; county home economics agents were appointed beginning in 1915. In the early years of Extension, "demonstration agents" showed or demonstrated new farming or homemaking techniques. Today, Extension Educators use a wide variety of information systems to deliver educational information from interactive video, computer data bases, decision-making software, bulletins and research reports, community forums, and one-on-one and group instruction. Extension Educators work through other community groups and statewide agencies and enlist thousands of volunteers to extend education to the people of Michigan.
A three-way partnership: Historical highlights through the years
1849
State: Michigan Agricultural Society is formed. It calls for the establishment of a state agricultural school.
County: County Board of Supervisors re-established in 1842, with membership representing townships.
1850
Federal: Federal government, under the Swamplands Act, allocates land to each state; land can be sold to establish schools of agriculture.
1855
State: Public Act 130 establishes Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University).
1862
Federal: The Morrill Act is approved by Congress and signed by President Lincoln. Each member of Congress was allocated 30,000 acres to be sold to establish a college of agriculture. "Where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classic studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the states may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is established.
1887
Federal: The Hatch Act created the experiment stations for the land grant colleges; it required the states to provide matching funds.
State: Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station established (1888).
1890
Federal: The second Morrill Act was passed by Congress; appropriated funds "for more complete endowment and maintenance of agricultural colleges now established or which may hereafter be established..." This funding established sixteen land-grant colleges for primarily black students in the southern states.
County: The last of Michigan's 83 counties were established. (1891)
1894
State: Public Act 166 allocated $5,000 for Farmers Institutes under the direction of the Michigan Agricultural College.
1904
State: A proposal calling for federal legislation to expand Extension work in land-grant colleges was authorized by the MAC president and a professor and introduced in Congress by a Michigan leader.
1906
State: MAC appoints first Extension specialist; following the demonstration model developed by Dr. Seaman Knapp in Texas.
1908
Federal: President Roosevelt establishes the "Country Life Commission" to make recommendations on rural problems; it proposed a national cooperative extension system that would develop rural capacities through widespread education. "Care must be taken in all the reconstructive work to see that local initiative is relied upon to the fullest extent and that federal and even state agencies do not preform what might be done by the people in the communities."
County: The Constitution of 1908 gave counties responsibility for health and welfare activities.
1912
Federal: Federal funds allocated for farm management, field studies and demonstrations (the beginning of a three-way partnership).
State: The legislature approved a measure authorizing county boards of supervisors to appropriate funds and levy taxes to further teaching and demonstrations in Extension.
County: Twelve county Extension agents were appointed.
1914
Federal: The Smith-Lever Act was approved by Congress, creating the Cooperative Extension Service. The act provided money for the "rapid expansion of the county agent system into every agricultural county in the nation." It called for cooperation between federal, state and local governments. A basic amount was allocated ($10,000) to each state, and then grants were provided to states in proportion to their rural population, when matched by state funds.
State: Michigan Public Act 65 (1915) accepts the benefits of the Smith-Lever law.
County: The first "home demonstration" agents named (1915).
The first youth agents were named in 1917 but agricultural clubs had been started in 1908.
1919
State: A plan is developed to discontinue the funding from the Michigan Farm Bureau and to shift the funding to state and local sources.
County: The state legislature (P.A. 315) gave counties the ability to appropriate funds or to levy taxes to provide for Extension work in cooperation with Michigan Agricultural College.
1928
Federal: The Capper-Ketcham Act was passed to provide for the expansion of work in home economics and 4-H. Eighty percent of the funds were allocated for county staff.
State: Michigan Public Act 56 (1929) permits acceptance of federal grants for the expanded development of Extension work in the state.
1935
Federal: The Bankhead-Jones Act extended the scope of research conducted under the Hatch and Smith-Lever Acts. The Soil Conservation Service was developed after the passage of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act.
1939
Federal: The Act of 1939 provided for further development of Cooperative Extension work.
1945
Federal: Bankhead-Flannagan expanded the appropriations for Extension work, particularly for county programs.
State: In response to a request from the tourist industry, Extension specialist appointed to work in tourism, earmarked funds provided.
1946
Federal: Agricultural Marketing Act provided for further research "to improve and facilitate the marketing and distribution of agricultural products."
1953
Federal: The Smith-Lever Act (Public Act 83) is amended, consolidating nine acts relating to Extension. The law established a permanent funding formula for allocation of monies to the states.
County: The W.K. Kellogg Foundation grants money for an experimental "Township Agent" program. State funds were appropriated in 1956 to promote agricultural interest in townships and to encourage cooperation between MSU and townships for the conduct of educational programs (PA 197 of 1956).
1955
Federal: Section 8 added to the Smith-Lever Act to provide for Extension rural development work.
State: Michigan State College becomes Michigan State University.
1966
Federal: Congress establishes the National Sea Grant College and Program Act, under the Department of Commerce, to "provide for applied research, formal education and extension services for the development of marine and Great Lakes Resources. (Integrated with Cooperative Extension in Michigan through MSU and U-M).
County: The Michigan Legislature establishes County Board of Commissioners, to be elected by the citizenry in each county, proportional to the population. This plan (implemented in 1967) eliminated the County Board of Supervisors. It was adopted in response to the federal Supreme Court rulings regarding "one person, one vote".
1969
Federal: Congress establishes the Expanded Food and Nutrition Program to provide nutrition education to low-income families.
1978
Federal: The Renewable Resources Extension Act provided for educational programs dealing with issues such as fish and wildlife management, range management, timber management, and watershed management.
1992
State: The Michigan Legislature appropriates $70 million to Michigan State University to improve or expand the teaching and research facilities related to animal agriculture. In 1994, $4.2 million was approved to provide programmatic support to expand the teaching, research and Extension capabilities related to animal agriculture. MSU Cooperative Extension becomes Michigan State University Extension in order to more clearly convey the concept of being the direct link from the university to every county in the state.
1994
Federal: The National Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching Act established educational programs on Native American reservations and tribal jurisdictions. The Department of Agricultural Reorganization Act established the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service to coordinate USDA and state agricultural research, extension and education programs.
1997
State: The Michigan Legislature provides $5 million to enhance the plant industry. Project GREEEN ( Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs) was an indusindustry-sponsorediative.
This chart was compiled by Elizabeth Moore, Extension Specialist, Michigan State University, February, 1999.
Primary resources:
- Olstrom, Einer, and Miller, Howard, Plus Two Score: The Cooperative Extension Service in Michigan, 1940-1980, Michigan State University, 1984.
- Seevers, Brenda, and Graham, Donna, and Gamon, Julia and Conklin, Nicki, Education Through Cooperative Extension, Delmar Publishing, 1997.