Agricultural extension

[1] It expanded in Germany in the 1850s, through the itinerant agricultural teachers called Wanderlehrer, and later in the United States via the cooperative extension system authorized by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914.

Subjects range from agriculture, life sciences, economics, engineering, food safety, pest management, veterinary medicine, and various other allied disciplines.

These subject matter specialists work with agents (usually in a statewide or regional team environment) to support programs within the cooperative extension system.

It is known, however, that Chinese officials were creating agricultural policies, documenting practical knowledge, and disseminating advice to farmers at least 2,000 years ago.

For example, in approximately 800 BC, the minister responsible for agriculture under one of the Zhou dynasty emperors organized the teaching of crop rotation and drainage to farmers.

The minister also leased equipment to farmers, built grain stores and supplied free food during times of famine.

The British Government arranged for "practical instructors" to travel to rural areas and teach small farmers how to cultivate alternative crops.

It was not until the beginning of the 20th century, when colleges in the United States started conducting demonstrations at agricultural shows and giving lectures to farmer’s clubs, that the term "extension service" was applied to the type of work that we now recognize by that name.

In the United States, the Hatch Act of 1887 established a system of agricultural experiment stations in conjunction with each state's land-grant university, and the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 created a system of cooperative extension to be operated by those universities in order to inform people about current developments in agriculture, home economics, and related subjects.

[9] Other authors have abandoned the idea of extension as a distinct concept and prefer to think in terms of "knowledge systems" in which farmers are seen as experts rather than adopters.

This field refers to the participatory extension model as a form of public relations-rooted two-way symmetric communication based on mutual respect, understanding, and influence between an organization and its stakeholders.