Extension History

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, is the state’s largest institution of higher education and its only land-grant institution. Beyond the campus-based academics, there is a large component of Rutgers that is solely dedicated to serving the needs of New Jersey residents through research and outreach. Known as Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES), with units of Cooperative Extension and Research, it has been addressing the needs of New Jersey residents, communities, and businesses since it was established in 1880.

NJAES and its mission—as did experiment stations across the U.S.—had their origins in and trace their expansion to the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 that established the cooperative extension service.