ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes both the organization and the impact of the organization upon its environment. Extension is involved in hundreds of different programs and activities that compete for staff time and resources. The Cooperative Extension Service has an annual budget in excess of $800 million. The motivations for change are often staff vacancies, increases or declines in funds for designated purposes, and changes in the nature of clientele demands. The distribution of professional staff time confirms the increased focus on crop production and natural resources as it relates to tillage practices and the decline in effort spent on family life. Extension redirects its programs and resources in response to changes in such factors as the state of the economy, the outbreak of a new plant disease, or changes in funding patterns. Consumer Affairs, Economic Development, Family Life and Personal Development, Community Services and Facilities, and Home Gardening received slightly lower ratings.
