History

This history is largely tied to the establishment of Land-grant Colleges and Universities along with their associated Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative Extension Services. 

Morrill Act of 1862, Morrill Act of 1890 and Equity in Educational Land-grant Status Act of 1994 

Signed by President Abraham Lincoln, the Morrill Act of 1862 is considered one of the most important pieces of federal legislation linked to higher education, giving working class citizens equal access to higher education with a focus on farming and mechanical skills. The Morrill Act’s greatest legacy and impact is that it ushered in a watershed moment in American higher education, one that helped define the unique system of American higher education—the Land-grant University (LGU). This new system of higher education established the idea that higher education should broadly serve the citizens of the United States. 

Subsequently, the Morrill Act of 1890 established the 1890 Land-grant Institutions at historically Black universities to strengthen research, Extension and teaching in the food and agricultural sciences by building the institutional capacities at these universities. The Equity in Educational Land-grant Status Act of 1994 established the 1994 Land-grant institutions at Tribal Colleges.  

Hatch Act of 1887 

The Hatch Act of 1887 established a national system of agricultural experiment stations to serve the common good. These agricultural experiment stations were based at Land-grant colleges and universities.  In 1888, USDA established the earliest predecessor to NIFA, the Office of Experiment Stations, to support these experiment stations and their mission. 

Smith-Lever Act of 1914 

The Smith-Lever Act of 1914, also known as the Agriculture Extension Act, created a Cooperative Extension Service associated with each Land-grant college and university. Congress created Extension to address exclusively rural and agricultural issues. At that time, more than 50 percent of the U.S. population lived in rural areas, and 30 percent of the workforce was engaged in farming. 

It established USDA’s partnership with LGUs and ensured that information produced as a result of LGUs and their experiment stations’ research reached people who needed it most.  

Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 

Prior to the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994, NIFA’s predecessor agencies were largely established as a result of Executive Orders or directives from the Secretary of Agriculture.  

The Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 merged the former Cooperative State Research Service and the former Extension Service into a single agency — the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. The merger made a single agency responsible for allocating funds and providing leadership of research, education and Extension. 

Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) 

The Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, more commonly called the 2008 Farm Bill, established NIFA to take the place of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.  The establishment of NIFA was seen as a way to strengthen agriculture research.