Texas Agricultural Extension Service
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1915 |
| Jurisdiction | Texas |
| Headquarters | College Station, Texas |
| Employees | 1351 full-time, 527 part-time |
| Annual budget | $113 million (FY 2013, excludes $35 million in local operating funds from county commissioners' courts) |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency | Texas A&M AgriLife |
| Website | http://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/ |
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service was formally established in 1915 after the 1914 passing of the Smith-Lever Act and in conjunction with Texas A&M University. Originally named Texas Agricultural Extension Service, then later Texas Cooperative Extension, the name Texas AgriLife Extension Service was adopted on January 1, 2008. A&M was added to the agency name on September 1, 2012 as a result of a Texas A&M University System change to strengthen the association with Texas A&M. The primary mission of AgriLife Extension is to provide educational outreach programs and services to the citizens of Texas. In conjunction with Texas AgriLife Research, the Extension faculty members conduct research and bring practical applications of those research findings to the people of Texas.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, in partnership with federal, state, and local governments, as well as others, serves the state of Texas through relevant, research-backed, community-based education. The mission of AgriLife Extension is to improve the lives of people, businesses and communities across Texas and beyond. The educational programs, activities, and resources of AgriLife Extension are generally organized under one of four broad program areas:
The early history of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is a blending of the history of the Cooperative extension service service itself, Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University. The first step towards the creation of Cooperative Extension occurred in 1862 with the passing of the Morrill Land-Grant College Act. This law granted every state 30,000 acres (120 km2) of public land for each of its House and Senate members, with the land being used to endow land-grant colleges for the teaching of agriculture and other practical arts. This led to the Texas Legislature founding the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (referred to as Texas A.M.C. for short in 1871, which was funded through the Morill Act and was Texas' first public institution of higher education. In compliance with the Morrill Act, in 1876 the Fifteenth Texas Legislature endowed the Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Benefit of Colored Youth (the future Prairie View A&M University) as part of Texas A.M.C. In 1890, an amendment to the Morrill Act was passed to deal with the issue of providing steading funding to the land-grant colleges and to prohibit racial discrimination at any of the funded colleges.
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