Published: March 24, 2008 12:04 pm         

Extension hopes name change avoids confusion

County extension officials are hoping a name change will help Texans understand the role the extension service plays in communities.

Wayne Becker, county extension agent agriculture and natural resources of the Cooke County Agrilife Extension office (formerly Texas Cooperative Extension), said the name change was rooted in an identity problem.

“We realized people did not know who we were. People got the cooperative extension office confused with other entities,” he said.

Becker said some people thought cooperative extension offices were somehow linked to energy cooperatives such as Cooke County Electric Cooperative or that it was part of Texas A&M University research stations.

The solution was to rename the agency.

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service is a partner with Texas A&M System and works with the state legislature and the communities it serves.

The most important mission of Texas AgriLife has always been community-based education.

The agency is almost a hundred years old and includes a network of 250 extension offices, 616 extension agents and 343 subject-matter specialists.

The information and resources of Texas AgriLife are available to residents in all Texas counties.

Becker said he is often asked to respond to questions from residents and answer queries about wildlife and nature.

Bring Becker a few leaves and twigs from a native tree and chances are, he can identify it.

He said the most pressing problem for the agency over the last few years was identifying the cooperative extension through its name. The services the agency provides are well-known.

“Researchers found that residents knew what we do. They knew about all our programs like Master Gardeners, 4-H, things like that. But they didn’t understand where they (extension service programs) came from,” he said.

AgriLife extension service include nutrition education and information on exercise and staying healthy, money management, raising children, understanding the environment and appreciating natural resources.

The agency focuses on four major areas — agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, 4-H and youth development and community development.

Programs are designed for the geographical areas they serve. For instance, projects that are helpful to residents in the Rio Grande Valley region might not be relevant in Dallas County, according to the agency.

Texas AgriLife Extension Service was established in 1914 with the passage of the Smith-Lever Act and in conjunction with Texas A&M University.

Originally named Texas Agricultural Extension Service, the agency’s name later changed to the Texas Cooperative Extension Service.

The name Texas AgriLife Extension Service was adopted on Jan. 1, Becker said.

Officials hope the new name will be easier for residents to identify and understand, he said.

Everything else about the Texas AgriLife Extension Service stays the same.

“None of the services changed. The only thing that really changed was the effort for people to understand the difference between Texas AgriLife extension and other agencies,” he said.

Reporter Delania Trigg may be contacted at dtrigg@ntin.net