Extension received almost 29 percent of its funding from federal sources, with the remainder provided by state and local sources. Real extension expenditures grew by less than 13 percent from 1982 to 1995, substantially less than the real growth rate of 33 percent for research. The largest expenditure area was Goal One, which represented 43 percent of all expenditures in the Plan for Action Goal areas. Other areas receiving major funding were Goals Three, Four and Five. Extension funding was much more evenly distributed among the five goal areas than was the case for research programs.
Extension has an extensive advisory committee structure.
Forty percent of the on-campus departments, centers and institutes had organized advisory committees. The average committee had almost 10 members, resulting in over 3200 individuals serving on-campus extension advisory committees. These committees involved tens of thousands of individuals and were more active than on-campus research or extension advisory committees. Aside from formal advisory committees, extension faculty in each state received, on average, input from 35.7 commodity commissions and other grower groups, 23.4 government agencies, and 29 special interest groups. Without question, state extension directors received input directly from many of these groups, as well as indirectly through the faculty.