History of Our Local CCE

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Origin & Evolution of CCE Wayne

Extension was created by three important pieces of federal legislation: The Morrill Act in 1862, established a nation-wide system of land grant universities; the Hatch Act of 1887 created the agriculture experiment station program to disseminate information from experiment stations and other university research; and the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 established the Cooperative Extension Service associated with each U.S. land-grant institution.

In Wayne County, Cornell Cooperative Extension was first called the agriculture department of Wayne County Farm Bureau and was established on December 6, 1916 and on December 19 ^th the Wayne County Board of Supervisors furthered the effort by appropriating $1,800 for the operation of the Farm Bureau.F.E. Rogers was hired as the manager of the Wayne County Farm Bureau.

Added to the Farm Bureau, The Wayne County Home Bureau was established on Sept 24, 1917 and the first extension agent from Cornell University was appointed to Wayne County for the establishment of town canning associations for the preservation and protection of the food supply.Miss Barbara DuBois served in this role for less than a year.

These two organizations then combined in 1919 to form the Wayne County Farm and Home Bureau and in 1936, 4-H Clubs were also combined to form the “Wayne County Farm and Home Bureau and 4-H Association”.

It wasn’t until 1956 that the name and the structure were changed to reflect the “Wayne County Extension Service Association”.

It was in 1956, that Farm Bureau and Home Bureau separated from the extension service so that they could more fully participate in political lobbying activities for the betterment of agriculture and home.State government felt that it was not appropriate for the extension service- a tax supported educational organization – to take a position for or against particular legislation or programs.The educational arm, Cooperative Extension, remained as it is today – partially paid for through tax dollars and supporting and providing public research to the community.Farm Bureau remains as a separate independent organization, as well, funded 100% by private dollars.

As it was in 1956, so it is today, Cornell Cooperative Extension Wayne County is operated through a volunteer Board of Directors that have a voice in deciding what they want to do and how they want to do it.The Cooperative Extension agents (now educators) and specialists from the College of Agriculture and Life Science and College of Human Ecology of Cornell University, continue to “enable people to improve their lives and communities through partnerships that put experience and research knowledge to work.”

History of CCE

History CCE Wayne

Be sure to visit our other pages in "About Us" to learn more about the federal, state and county partnership.  Under "Board and Governance" you will find current documents regarding CCE operations.

Last updated July 25, 2017