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<div><b>From:</b> "Houglum, Lyla" <<a href="mailto:lyla.houglum@oregonstate.edu">lyla.houglum@oregonstate.edu</a>><br>
<b>Date:</b> July 26, 2017 at 10:08:18 AM MST<br>
<b>To:</b> WEDA Principals Only <<a href="mailto:wedaprinonly@lyris.cahnrs.wsu.edu">wedaprinonly@lyris.cahnrs.wsu.edu</a>><br>
<b>Subject:</b> <b>[wedaprinonly] Fwd: Sourcing the Talking Point: Shrinking footprint of local Cooperative Extension</b><br>
<b>Reply-To:</b> "Houglum, Lyla" <<a href="mailto:lyla.houglum@oregonstate.edu">lyla.houglum@oregonstate.edu</a>><br>
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<div>FYI...from Bill Hoffman about Sonny's comment regarding a loss of Extension "boots on the ground".</div>
<div id="AppleMailSignature">Lyla</div>
<div id="AppleMailSignature"><br>
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<b>Subject:</b> <b>Sourcing the Talking Point: Shrinking footprint of local Cooperative Extension</b><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Greetings NIFA Senior Leadership and others,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You have probably heard Sonny mention that, over the past years, “local boots on the ground” Cooperative Extension has lost about a third of its footprint. The other day I asked Sonny about a source for that line. He pointed me in the right
direction and I found it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Choices, the magazine of food, farms and resource use, is the principal outreach vehicle of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, AAEA. It provides peer-reviewed articles exploring the economic implications of current food,
farm, resource or rural community issues directed toward a broad audience. Sun Ling Wang, an Economist with the USDA's Economic Research Service, published a paper in Choices titled “Cooperative Extension System: Trends and Economic Impacts on U.S. Agriculture”
in 2014. It can be viewed here: <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.choicesmagazine.org_choices-2Dmagazine_submitted-2Darticles_cooperative-2Dextension-2Dsystem-2Dtrends-2Dand-2Deconomic-2Dimpacts-2Don-2Dus-2Dagriculture&d=DwMF-g&c=C3yme8gMkxg_ihJNXS06ZyWk4EJm8LdrrvxQb-Je7sw&r=WnCYnnBQCRU0rlcXLdVNdxEuND_BnSHz7qhIasRtO8xp_2fuu9xQkEBf3TZiirdQ&m=tcVRRs_J8_hxLlT2amYKJYmYfEG2RKUbOSPO3w3ywBU&s=VRMTLhBFEhVAk5Hq-rr0UoLe6dMbHT0nuxxkHvPrPkU&e=">http://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/submitted-articles/cooperative-extension-system-trends-and-economic-impacts-on-us-agriculture</a>.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The article indicates that the number of county based extension faculty FTEs reduced 30% between 1980 and 2010. This includes multi-county directors, multi-county program leaders, multi-county agents, county directors, county coordinators/leaders,
county program leaders, and county extension agents. According to the data used by the author, this represents a reduction of 3467 FTE over that 30 year period. Given our knowledge of the system over the past 7 years, the poetic license Sonny uses by rounding
up to 1/3 is not only reasonable (as well as more poetic) but is probably more accurate than saying 30%, seven years after the conclusion of the aforementioned published data.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is important to note that during that same 30 year period the number of Extension Specialists increased by 7%, representing a net gain of 258 university department heads, university department leaders, state specialists, associate state
specialists, and district/area specialists. That puts Cooperative Extension’s total FTE reduction at 22% between 1980 and 2010. However, Sonny seems to always use the “local boots on the ground” qualifier, so I believe he is using the best figure possible.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Regards,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bill Hoffman<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nifa.usda.gov_staff-2Dcontact_william-2Dhoffman&d=DwMF-g&c=C3yme8gMkxg_ihJNXS06ZyWk4EJm8LdrrvxQb-Je7sw&r=WnCYnnBQCRU0rlcXLdVNdxEuND_BnSHz7qhIasRtO8xp_2fuu9xQkEBf3TZiirdQ&m=tcVRRs_J8_hxLlT2amYKJYmYfEG2RKUbOSPO3w3ywBU&s=Twy_ihefvdS_5-llqlocBhR-bMAnOmII0TYZXlYBjqA&e=">NIFA
Chief of Staff</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">202-445-5576<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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