By RICK A. RICHARDS
Indiana Correspondent

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The reorganization at Michigan State University is part of a massive reorganization of the USDA, in general. The reorganization was mandated by the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994, and is expected to save $4.1 billion and reduce staff by more than 13,000.

Part of that reorganization affects the Cooperative Extension Service at land-grant universities across the country. The 1994 act, however, is only one of a hodgepodge of laws passed over the years affecting the way agriculture and cooperative extension services are delivered.

For instance, the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (later amended in 1981) provides funding for research in animal health. The 1981 Agriculture in the Classroom Act was designed to promote agricultural literacy in schools. Each built on the foundation laid in 1914 with the Smith-Lever Act, which created the partnership between land-grant universities in the various states and the federal Department of Agriculture.

Each university set up its own system focusing on the things that best suited the needs of their state, and many of those systems pre-date the Smith-Lever Act. Over the years, programs have grown, services have multiplied and the time had come to examine the system to make sure it was delivering the services and research necessary for the state, and to make sure each state was operating as efficiently as possible.

Illinois
At the University of Illinois, the Cooperative Extension Service is in the midst of reorganization, said Robert Hoeft, the interim associate dean. “We started the process in January and it is evolving with the expectation that it will be completed by July 1, 2011,” he said.

In addition to the federal mandate to reorganize, the UoI is looking to create a more financially lean operation because it has received just 50 percent of its funding from the state this year. Illinois, like many other Midwest states, is dealing with a budget shortfall, which is dictating across-the-board cuts in all state departments.

It is expected that once the review is completed by the university, positions will be cut, county operations merged and directors and educators already in the system will have to reapply for jobs.

Hoeft said new initiatives are being identified for Illinois. They include energy and environmental stewardship; food safety and security; economic development and workforce preparedness; family health, financial security and wellness; and youth development.

“The University of Illinois extension will have available limited resources in order to accomplish the program initiatives described, so it will be necessary to share the resources within and between the partnered counties,” read details in the university’s reorganization Phase 2 plan.

Hoeft said there are now 45 counties that have partnered into 19 units of two or more counties, but the goal is to partner all 101 counties, reducing the number of county directors from 76 to 30. He said each unit will have to generate a minimum of $350,000 through local funding sources.

Indiana
While no structural changes are expected through Purdue University, Chuck Hibberd, associate dean and director of Purdue extension, said the university is continually working to streamline its operations.

“Purdue extension’s state budget experienced a 6.35 percent call-back in December 2009,” said Hibberd. “We are meeting that call-back by reducing a variety of expenses during the next two years. Examples include staff development programs, internships, assistantships, annual conferences, et cetera.

“So, no structural changes are planned to our Purdue extension program, but we continue to work to ensure the relevance of our extension programs.”

In the meantime, he said Purdue is in the middle of a strategic planning process to help it focus on the most relevant and high-impact programs. The four areas where Purdue focuses its efforts today include agriculture and natural resources; consumer and family sciences, economic and community development and 4-H and youth development.

Ohio
“We set out to reorganize our work in a way that ensures we can continue providing high-quality services throughout Ohio and be positioned to succeed when the economy improves,” said Keith Smith, director of The Ohio State University extension.

Extension service dates back to 1895 at OSU, when the School of Agriculture organized the Agricultural Students Union with the goal of getting the latest agricultural information from the college to farmers.

Smith said the reorganization coincides with a loss of state revenue because of budget cuts forced by a lagging economy. “We know this loss of income in no way reflects our value. Yet, given the incredibly difficult economy, we, too, are called to sacrifice,” he explained.

The reorganization effort began in 2008 and when fully implemented over the next few months, is expected to eliminate at least 20 jobs. Even with that reduction, Smith said OSU plans to maintain a presence in all 88 counties; however, the counties will be grouped into nine regions.

Smith said the strategic plan for OSU calls for four main areas of impact: advancing employment and income opportunities; enhancing agriculture and the environment; preparing youth for success; and strengthening families and communities.

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