Illinois Extension Service Gearing up to Celebrate 100th Anniversary

Land Grant Universities across the country are gearing up to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Service. Check Out the U of I page dedicated to the anniversary.  In the early years when communications were limited, Extension Service brought the University Research results and modern farming methods to farmers.  In recent years, Extension has spun itself into a sort of catch 22.  Farm numbers and event attendance has gone down, leaving them with reduced funding.  In addition, government research money has dried up as well.  Another issue is that farmers are no longer limited to one source of information.  This is a good thing in a way, but it does put limits on the agency.  Another problem is that as extension service has matured, they have gotten more conservative.  What once was a cutting edge agency has become somewhat stodgy.