Specialization and Change in Extension

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Abstract

"In projecting into the 1970's, it is apparent," according to the Joint USDA/NASULGC Extension Study Committee, "That one of the major organizational issues will be staffing at the local level. Patterns of staffing on other than a county basis will need to be seriously considered. With more knowledge calling for greater specialization, area programming may become a more practical approach than county programming. Local offices should be structured on a multi-county basis whenever such an arrangement offers a more efficient means of carrying out programs." The committee recommends that more specialized area agents be employed. Implementing their recommendation (as indeed is being done) could conceivably have long-range implications for the organization and the staff. Some of the possible implications are dealt with in the analysis developed in the article that follows. --The editor