Hatch Act and Smith-Lever Act: provision for research in agriculture

• Hatch Act of 1887, provided federal funds to states to establish a series of agricultural experiment stations under the direction of each state’s land-grant college, as well as pass along new information, especially in the areas of soil minerals and plant growth.
• The outreach mission was further expanded by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 to include cooperative extension — the sending of agents into rural areas to help bring the results of agricultural research to the end users.
• The United States Department of Agriculture plays a large role in the administration of federal land-grant funds and the coordination of agricultural land-grant activities at the national level.
• The USDA’s Cooperative State Research Service (CSRS), for example, administers both the Hatch Act and Morrill-Nelson funds.
• A portion of the Hatch Act funding supports regional research, enabling scientists to collaborate and coordinate activities and thus avoid duplication of research efforts.
• The Extension Service of the USDA administers Smith-Lever funding, cooperating with state governments (which also provide funding for extension programs) to set priorities and facilitate the sharing of information within the entire Cooperative Extension System.