The Cornell Cooperative and 4-H

Imagine the Dutchess County Fair without farm animals. For many, the animals take center-stage in their fair experience, which is a real testament to society’s continuing endearment and respect for farmers and future farmers involved with the 4-H program.

Legislators were treated to presentations made by Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) at the fair’s start about its four program areas: environment, agriculture, family and nutrition services and 4-H. These presentations impressed upon us the important role of CCE in our communities, in education to county farmers, town conservation advisory councils, parents and families, as well as children involved in 4-H. County dollars support CCE’s programs, which in turn leverage state and federal dollars. Recent years have seen reduced funding, and this year the economy is once again intimidating.

As the Legislature’s liaison to 4-H, I wandered the barns of Livestock Hill to see first-hand the grassroots success of the clubs. Administered at the national level by the Department of Agriculture, 4-H involves 900 kids ages 5 to 19 in 50 clubs countywide, most with specific agricultural focuses.

It quickly became evident how concentrated the 4-H program is in the rural towns of Dutchess County, where the bulk of the county farms sit.

But what also became rather obvious is how few of the 4-H’ers showcasing animals actually lived on farms. Most, it seemed, were learning how to farm and take care of animals through the generosity of existing farmers providing space and mentorship on their farms.

As such it became clear that a future generation of farmers was being groomed, at least to the degree that young people were learning how to provide and produce for themselves, if not an eventual  agricultural occupation.

When 4-H began in the early 1900s, the purpose was two-fold: connect public schooling with rural life and teach new agricultural advances to youth who could then teach them to adults, who might be set in their ways. Fittingly, this goal of introducing research-based farming was also among the primary goals of CCE when it formally began in 1914.

During World War I, cooperative extensions were crucial in teaching techniques that almost doubled wheat production and during the Great Depression by teaching farming families marketing, canning and nutrition.

Today, CCE does the same, teaching nutrition, budgeting and parenting to families as well as those on food stamps. Their promotion of fertilization, hybrid seeds, increased mechanism and other technologies has increased farm production drastically in recent years despite the national decline of the number of farms. 

Nevertheless, economics has affected cooperative extensions nationwide, resulting in several regional consolidations. Already CCEs in New York — bracing for survival in a tough economy — are consolidating business activities.

In our own region, where farming and rural life faces constant pressures, the efforts of CCE are as fresh as the air we breathe. Ominous budgets lay ahead; nevertheless, the 400-plus 4-H youth at the Dutchess County Fair is a sure sigh of relief and sign of hope for our future. We can credit this in part to 4-H and Cornell Cooperative.

 Michael Kelsey represents the towns of Amenia, Washington, Stanford, Pleasant Valley and the village of Millbrook in the Dutchess County Legislature. Write him at KelseyESQ@yahoo.com.