History of The Alabama Cooperative Extension System - Passage of The Smith-Lever Act of 1914

Passage of The Smith-Lever Act of 1914

In 1914, the long awaited Smith-Lever Act, which has been regarded as “one of the most striking educational measures ever adopted by any government,” finally was passed. The act provided for state matching of federal funds to establish a network of county farm educators in every state in the nation. The agreement with the states drafted shortly after passage of the act stipulated that not only Smith-Lever-related Extension work but all Extension-related work associated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a state would be carried out through the state college of agriculture. Likewise, each state college was expected to establish a separate Extension division with a leader responsible for administering state and federal funds.

Alabama formally accepted the provisions of the Smith-Lever Act in 1915, organizing the Alabama Extension Service under the direction of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute in Auburn. J.F. Duggar, a long-serving API administrator, assumed the reins of the new organization, while Duncan was appointed superintendent of Junior and Home Economics Extension in cooperation with the USDA. These two units operated independently until Duncan was named head of the Alabama Extension Service in 1920.

The act initially provided $10,000 each year to agricultural colleges in each state to use exclusively in agricultural and home economics outreach, with the added provision that this funding would increase annually in state each according to growing demand, but only so long as states agreed to match these funds.

The Alabama Extension Service initially focused on improving the bleak economic prospects of Alabama farmers, most of whom raised cotton under the persistent threat of the boll weevil, a voracious and highly destructive cotton pest.

Alabama Extension was organized into four areas of emphasis: farm demonstrations; woman’s work, including home demonstrations and girls canning; junior Extension, particularly boy’s corn clubs, pigs clubs and similar forms of outreach; and Extension work by specialists.