"There really wasn't a good way to get a lot of that knowledge-generated research out to the people, so they could use it in their day-to-day lives. Extension was really created to do that," says Markell.
The modern extension service was born in 1907 when the state Legislature authorized hiring the first county agents. It was an idea many states were experimenting with, and seven years later, federal legislation cleared the way for a nationwide extension system funded jointly by county, state and federal governments.
Roland Abraham worked more than 40 years in the U of M Extension, and wrote a history of the service. He says at first, farmers were skeptical of the college-educated Extension agents, calling them "book farmers." But he says the skepticism faded when they planted some of the new crops the book farmers promoted.
"Farmers who planted hybrid seed in the early years, could see the results were significantly better than the older varieties they were using up to that time," Abraham says.
University plant scientists developed new varieties of disease-resistant wheat, winter-hardy alfalfa and more productive corn. With an office in every county, the Extension Service became a prime source of information about the new crops.
Retired southwest Minnesota farmer Art Spronk remembers his dad was always eager to measure off a test plot for a new variety of barley or oats.
"Clem Chase was the county agent. And if there was a new variety, Clem was on the phone, or he would drive down, and say he'd get us a couple of bushels. I remember my dad marking off 150 steps north and 150 steps west to keep it separate from the old variety," says Spronk.
This tight connection between farmers and the extension still exists today. In fact, Spronk says he intends to plant a new variety of barley this spring made possible through the university's Extension Service.
But some say extension services spend too much time on farm programs, at the expense of other efforts. Virginia Tech professor George McDowell has written a book about the future of extension. He says the debate over how much farm emphasis is too much is going on all over the nation.
"The agricultural mission of the land grant universities still is a terribly, terribly important piece of it and desirable and necessary. But frankly, about two percent of the people in the nation are farming, and about 40 percent to 50 percent of extension resources are committed to agriculture," says McDowell.
The urban reach of the Extension Service can be seen when the Nobles Rainbows recite the traditional "head, heart, hands and health" 4-H pledge at their weekly meeting. Nearby tables hold the tools of this afternoon's work: cookies for decorating, games and other projects. If Extension Service is most of all about human development, rural and city, then 4-H youth leader Kim Green is one of its success stories.
"I really didn't think I was a people person. But after I've been in 4-H for a while, it just makes me feel so good that I can help little kids that are having troubles," says Green.
Extension Service officials will use comments like that to help decide what sorts of projects they'll take on in the future. The service will always have a strong presence in rural areas, but it also wants to increase its role in urban settings. It's all part of a goal to make the widest possible use of the research and knowledge contained at the University of Minnesota.
Visit the University Extension Service web site.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/