Cooperative Extension Service Education Programs

A publicly-supported nonformal adult education program in the United States which offers learning experiences that will help people acquire and use research-based knowledge and skills essential for solving farm, home and community problems. Cooperative Extension is a nationwide educational network that brings the research and knowledge of land-grant institutions to people in their homes, workplaces and communities. In most states the educational offerings are in the areas of agriculture and food, home and family, the environment, community economic development and youth and 4-H. Extension links the resources and expertise of more than 3,000 county Extension offices, 105 land-grant colleges and universities (which include historically black colleges, tribal colleges and institutions serving the U.S. territories), and the federal government through USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (formerly CSREES). Extension educators deliver research-based programs through workshops, home-study courses, Web-based learning tools and other methods to give people the knowledge, skills, and motivation to improve quality of life and business opportunity and profitability.