Your Local Extension Agent: explained

LA County Master Food Preservers

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The LA County Master Food Preservers share tips for home food preservation enthusiasts

Author: Sarah A Spitz

Published on: February 8, 2012

I just received this USDA blog post via email. As a Master Gardener and Master Food Preserver certified by LA County, I find myself having to explain that yes, we are administered by UC ANR but that the USDA is the umbrella under which all states' county extension agents operate, and under whose guidance our Food Safety Advisor recommendations are made, when we go out and teach methods of food preservation in the community.

I found this post to be a helpful primer on what your County Extension Agent does and why so I wanted to share it with all of you.

http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/02/08/the-plant-doctor-is-in/

I hope you'll find it helpful and informative.

Here's the opening paragraph: read the complete story at the link...

As USDA celebrates 150 years of serving American agriculture and rural communities, it is important to remember the enormous contribution of the Cooperative Extension Service, a three-way partnership between USDA and our state and county partners that forms a nationwide network of expertise. These experts work with Americans on issues that relate to a wide range of topics including: agriculture, natural resource management, nutrition, youth development, community empowerment, household and family budgeting, and disaster assistance, among others.

Comments: 1

Comments:

by Rachel Surls

on February 19, 2012 at 9:05 AM

Great article! Thanks for sharing this info, Sarah. For those in California, it's helpful to know that our extension agents here are known as "Advisors". Not sure why that's the case, but it's been the title used in CA since the earliest days of Cooperative Extension beginning after 1914. So in LA, Brenda Roche, who is our expert on nutrition and consumer science topics, is our Nutrition, Family and Consumer Sciences Advisor, Andre Biscaro, who is our agriculture expert, is our Farm Advisor, and so forth. Cooperative Extension advisors have academic appointments with the University of California and are expected to conduct applied research and publish the results, in addition to carrying out community education programs that meet local needs.