Q. How does research reach the farmer, and what are recent trends
in agricultural extension?
A. Agricultural research expenditures
affect productivity with a time lag. The agricultural
extension system aims to reduce the time lag between the
development of new technology and its implementation and
to increase the rate of adoption. Extension agents disseminate
information on crops, livestock, and management practices
to farmers and demonstrate new techniques. They consult
with farmers on specific production and management problems.
The empirical evidence on the rate of return to extension is more
mixed than for research. Estimates range from 24 percent to over
100 percent (Fuglie et al.). The data reporting system for public
extension expenditures is less complete than for research expenditures.
Also over time, a larger proportion of extension expenditures has
gone to nonproduction activities, such as nutrition.
Extension is organized into four program areas:
- Agriculture and natural resources (ANR), including crop/livestock
production and management, farm business management, agricultural
marketing and supply, and natural resources;
- Community resource development (CRD);
- 4-H youth (4-H);
- Home economics (HE).
The
number of professional extension workers (full-time equivalents—FTE's)
peaked around 1985 at almost 7,600 and has since dropped
to slightly more than 6,600 in 1996. Texas reported the
most extension agents (472) in 1996, followed by North
Carolina (359), and Georgia (303). Vermont (16) and Rhode
Island (17) had the fewest.
See more on Extension
Service at CSREES.
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