The Cooperative Extension educational services are available to all people of North Carolina regardless of race, color, national orgin, sex, age, or disability. It is different from other educational organizations in structure and purpose.
Extension receives support from three levels of government - state, federal, and county.
This unique partnership allows the Cooperative Extension Service to serve as a bridge between the people of North Carolina and the scientists of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the land grant universities. Extension agents, located in each county of the state and on the Cherokee Indian Reservation, are a major link between the universities and the people. Supported by a staff of university specialists, the agents have the science-based information people need for problem solving. The North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service has almost 27,000 lay leaders involved in its Extension Advisory Leadership System. These private citizens, who use Extension's services, help keep university researchers and Extension professionals apprised of local concerns and needs.