University of Connecticut. Cooperative Extension System

Three acts signed by President Lincoln in 1862 shaped the U.S. Agricultural history: the act authorizing a U.S. Department of Agriculture ; the Homestead Act, encouraging settlement of public domain lands; and the Morrill Act establishing land grant colleges in every state and placing instruction in agriculture and home economics in higher education.

The history and formation of the Cooperative Extension Service dates back to The Hatch Act of 1887 which established a cooperative bond between United States Department of Agriculture and the nation's land-grant colleges allocating annual federal funding for research. This was one of the ways to improve the productivity of the farms and by doing this, build up the economy and also help the communities. It was the driving force for the land-grant colleges to meet the agriculture's needs. The Smith-Lever Act in 1914 also helped to establish the Cooperative Extension Service by providing funds for cooperative administration of agricultural extension education by the United States Department of Agriculture and the state land grant colleges.

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