Cooperative extension, experiment station, and Land Grant Universities: Competitors or partners for state funding?

The Cooperative Extension Service (CES) and agricultural experiment station (AES) have been integral parts of the Land Grant Universities (LGUs) for over 100 years. State formula funding has been the predominant source of funding for both CES and AES and also has been important to the LGUs. From 2008 to 2018, state funding remained essentially flat for all three entities, even when state budgets grew by 35%. LGU budgets increased by 52%, bolstered by healthy increases in tuition and fees, revenue from auxiliary services, and growth in grant funds. Some LGU leaders have reacted to the reduced or flat funding from the states by seeking to redirect funding from CES and AES to the LGU general budget. In this paper, we explore the fiscal relationship between these three entities, as well as identifying those factors that influenced changes in their budgets over the 2004–2018 period. All three entities function as complements in the budgeting process, rather than competing with each other for funds. Viewed across the states, CES operates from the strongest position politically, particularly among rural communities. AES is viewed much like the LGUs, subject to the same budgetary and political forces. Of particular concern is the apparent loss of political support by AES from the agricultural and rural communities.