Extension Agents Emphasize Public Education, Technology Transfer

My apologies to county extension agents.

In attacking farm subsidies, it appears I may have created a false impression of the work performed by these public servants.

In the interest of fairness and accuracy - and because my wife’s favorite columnist and TV talk show personality used to be a county agent, as it turns out - I feel compelled to set things straight.

I was unaware that Phyllis Stephens once worked for the cooperative extension service when I phoned the respected horticultural consultant in private practice to ask her opinion of county agents.

She let me know immediately that she had spent seven years working with county agents. And she holds them in high regard.

I’ve always thought of county agents as someone you could ask which spray is best to dispatch dandelions and spitbeetles from your yard. Which is very helpful.

But why, I asked Stephens, do taxpayers need government to tell homeowners this? Why don’t we leave this work to consultants such as herself and others in the private sector, who do it so well?

She gave me a good answer.

But first, it might help to know how I ran afoul of county agents.

Some months ago, a column of mine offered the following perspective from former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz: “Agriculture extension agents no longer teach crop improvement and cost efficiency. Instead they instruct farmers how to collect subsidies.”

Several extension agents quickly set me straight. But apparently I slipped.

“In several columns,” writes Daniel L. Fagerlie, Ferry County extension agent, “you have referred to the ‘county extension service’ or ‘cooperative extension agent’ as being the deliverer or enforcer of farm subsidies and ‘dictated farming practices.’

“The county extension agent or cooperative extension service does not,” he said, “carry out these activities.

“Instead, their job is education and technology transfer to adults and youth for skills development, problem solving and prevention, and competitiveness.

“Extension is funded by the county in partnership with the state land grant university (Washington State University) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”

Instead of extension agents, he said, I should have referred to agents of two strictly federal agencies. One is the National Resource and Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service), “which does the ‘dictating of farming practices’ or enforcement you referred to.”

The other agency that approves and handles farm subsidies is the Farm Service Agency (formerly Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service).

To equate what these bureaucrats do with the work of extension agents is akin to identifying me with Milt Priggee’s moreoutrageous liberal cartoons, he suggested.

“And you’d probably want the record set straight,” he said.

Bingo.

Quite a number of other extension agents also wrote letters. They were all excellent. I sincerely mean that.

Janet Schmidt of Brush Prairie, in Clark County, president of the Washington Extension Agents and Specialists Association, wrote: “I assure you that Washington State University cooperative extension agents and specialists are highly trained, educated, caring people.

“These extension educators are located in all the counties throughout the state, at research centers, branch campuses, and in Pullman. They work with families, farmers, youth, businesses and communities to build a better future.

“Examples of programs that extension agents give leadership to include diet and nutrition education for families, school age child care for youth at risk, sustainable agriculture training for producers, microbusiness development, and master volunteer program implementation.

“There is a tremendous amount of expertise in this group of people.”

By now I was pretty well convinced of this.

But just to make sure, I phoned Phyllis Stephens.

Who needs government extension agents? Why don’t private practitioners such as herself do all this consulting?

Because, explained Stephens, escalating demand for expertise has outstripped the supply of extension agents. Whereas field visits used to be commonplace, agents today do their troubleshooting over the phone.

“I wanted to go out and see people’s problems myself,” says Stephens. “So I started my own business six years ago.”

(In addition to horticultural consulting, she also does landscape design.)

So, extension agents don’t make housecalls. Private consultants do for a price.

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