The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 provided federal support for land-grant universities to establish Cooperative Extension Services. Cooperative Extension was originally designed to bring vocational, agricultural, and home economics learning opportunities to all residents. Today Nebraska Extension, formerly called Cooperative Extension, provides University of Nebraska expertise in 8 major program areas that impact Nebraskans from all walks of life in each of the state’s 93 counties. Nebraska Extension is focusing on three big areas of impact that are to strengthen Nebraska agriculture and food systems, inspire Nebraskans and their communities, and enhance the health and wellbeing of all Nebraskans. You can view how Extension is impacting your county at https://extension.unl.edu/impact/
The eight major Extension program areas include 4-H Youth Development, Agricultural Profitability, Livestock Systems, Horticulture Landscape & Environmental Systems, Food, Nutrition & Health, Early Childhood, Rural Prosperity Nebraska, and Water & Cropping Systems. As a result of structural changes in 2015, Extension educators serve multiples counties called an accountability region in one of the eight program areas. There is no longer an agricultural agent serving one county. For example, I am the Water and Cropping Systems Extension Educator for Gage, Jefferson, and Saline counties. I am an agronomist, Certified Crop Adviser, and have a PhD in agronomy. If you have a yard, garden, or tree question, you will talk with Nicole Stoner, the Horticulture, Landscape, & Environmental Systems Educator. She is a Certified Arborist. Educator salaries are paid by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, not the counties. The same structure is in place for all program areas. Here is the list of accountability region educators serving Gage, Jefferson, and Saline counties:
- Water & Cropping Systems – Nathan Mueller
- Horticulture, Landscape, and Environmental Systems – Nicole Stoner
- Livestock Systems – Wayde Pickinpaugh
- Agricultural Profitability – Jim Jansen and Jessica Groskopf (interim, position currently vacant)
- Early Childhood – Ingrid Lindal
- Food, Nutrition, & Health – Tara Dunker
- Rural Prosperity Nebraska – Jason Tuller (Saline & Jefferson) and Rex Nelson (Gage)
- 4-H Youth Development – Darci Pesek (Saline & Jefferson) and Jacie Milius (Gage)
It is normal to walk into or call your local Extension office and be directed to one of these accountability region educators, who may or may not be physical located in your county. They are responsible for helping Nebraskans like you in your county with these program areas. Our local county-paid support staff are very knowledgeable about directing you to the educator with the appropriate expertise based on your question. I encourage you to visit the Nebraska Extension Expertise and Personnel Directory online at https://epd.unl.edu/ and see the statewide program are maps and use the interactive map to click on your county to see the different educators that are serving your county.
For more information about Nebraska Extension and other general inquiries about agronomic resources from Nebraska Extension, feel free to contact me at or 402-821-1722. Know your crop, know your tech, know your bottom line at croptechcafe.org.
