The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 established the national Cooperative Extension Services operated through the land grant universities. This act required land grants to educate rural agricultural communities regarding advances in agricultural practices on the local, state, and federal levels. Unequal distribution of federal funds and segregation in southern states contributed to the creation of separate land grants and cooperative extension services. In Florida, two cooperative extension services were created. The first located at the University of Florida and the second located at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), in Tallahassee.
The second Morrill Act of 1890 established FAMU as a land grant and it is one of the earliest Historically Black Colleges and Universities to serve the African American community. Today the Cooperative Extension Services at the two institutions collaborate to meet the agricultural needs of Florida’s diverse farming communities. In addition to addressing agricultural topics there are extension programs in family, youth and community sciences (e.g. 4H, food science) and natural resource management.
Use these links to learn more about FAMU's Cooperative Extension Program and UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences' Cooperative Extension Service.
See the IFAS Blog Project VI: Florida Extension in the Era of Segregation for a more in-depth review of Florida’s Extension history.
The Florida Cooperative Extension Services encompasses the combined efforts of the University of Florida and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Extension programs. These two institutions collaborate today to meet the needs of Florida’s agricultural communities. An example of this partnership is the Florida Small Farms & Alternative Enterprises Conference.
Starting this year, the Small Farms & Alternative Enterprises Conference will meet regionally. There are two conferences scheduled, one in Northeast Florida, August 14 & 15 at the University of North Florida Student Union, Jacksonville and one in Central Florida, November 6, 2015 at the Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, Apopka.
Taking the university to the people : seventy-five years of cooperative extension by 
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