Work Force 2000: Is Extension Agriculture Ready?

The effectiveness of Extension has always depended on its human resource base. Most of its budget-80% to 90%-goes for salary and benefits for about 15,000 professionals nationwide.1 Thus, Extension will be greatly affected by trends now developing in the workforce.

Tomorrow's American workforce will differ dramatically from today's. It will be an aging one with fewer new workers entering. Growing numbers of women and minorities will make the workforce more diverse.2 Of the people working in the year 2000, 75% are already at work. Forty-five percent of today's workers are female, 15% are minority, and 25% are functionally illiterate adults. Of the people entering the workforce in the year 2000, 15% will be native white men and about 67% will be women. Also, more than 42% will be minority or immigrant, and 21% will be minority or immigrant women.3

Is Extension ready to respond to these changes in the workforce? To answer this question, a policy study was initiated as part of the Leadership Development Program (LDP) of the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy (NCFAP) in January 1991. The NCFAP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan Washington- based institution devoted to enhancing the quality of public debate about policy issues affecting the U.S. food and agricultural system. The 25 agricultural and rural leaders participating in the leadership development program participated in four weeks of seminars and special briefings with policy makers and experts on food and agricultural issues in and around Washington, D.C.

From these meetings, two consensus opinions emerged. First, the Extension delivery system needs to be updated. Second, the expected shift of 19 House of Representative seats among 21 states as a result of the 1990 Census means new support groups may need to be developed.4 To operate in this changing environment, Extension's human resource base must change as well.

According to Thurber, one of the best approaches for analyzing and understanding public policy is the analysis of subsystem politics often referred to as iron triangles, cozy triangles, power networks, or policy whirlpools.5 Subsystems vary depending on environmental conditions and type of policy being considered, but all have a low number of participants in the administrative agency, White House offices, authorization and appropriation subcommittees, media, interest groups, and state and local government. These people strongly influence the policy- making process.

The policy subsystem affecting Extension's workforce preparedness includes congressional subcommittees, ES-USDA, the news media, special interest groups, and state and local government. To gain a better understanding of future directions for human resource policy in Extension, 22 people representing this subsystem were identified and contacted. I conducted face-to -face or telephone interviews with 15 of the 22, or 68%.

The respondents included four ES-USDA personnel, one national media person who covers Capitol Hill, three representatives of special interest groups, two state Extension directors, and three state and two county Extension staff members. Eight of the respondents worked in Washington, D.C. and the remainder came from seven states-Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New York, Texas, and Virginia. Each interviewee was asked to respond to a series of policy questions. A summary of their responses follows.

Does Extension have the human resource base to maintain its competitive position in the delivery of agricultural and natural resources technology? The most common response to this question was a qualified "yes." Affirmative responses came from a state director and staff person. They responded that, even with severe budget cuts, Extension has different ways of staffing and using technology. They also said that Extension has been fairly aggressive in using technology such as computers and distance education. Contrarily, county staff members didn't think Extension had a competitive position, citing the following hindrances:

• Competition from private sector for workers.
• Unnecessary programs.
• A reward and recognition system that encourages individual competition rather than teamwork.
• A need for workers with more sophisticated skills in high technology.
• Reduction in staff due to budget cuts.
• Lack of training.

What can be done to identify and recruit some of the best and brightest young minds to agricultural, natural resources, and environmental careers? The respondents suggested numerous actions, including:

• Improve the image of agriculture and natural resource careers.
• Pay competitive salaries.
• Target youth early to remove biases against agriculture.
• Analyze how young people make career decisions and determine what factors motivate them.
• Tap their interest in being part of the solution to environmental problems.
• Let people know this sector works on contemporary concerns and people issues.
• Reclassify agent positions to suit future needs.

One respondent also said we seem to be attracting the best and brightest to environmental careers, but not to agricultural careers. Agriculture must also provide income and benefits similar to those provided by other desirable careers.

What role should agriculture and natural resources professionals play in helping economically disadvantaged youth select careers in these disciplines? People who have agriculture and natural resources careers with Extension must contact youth, provide resources to involve them, and continue to work with them over time. They can help create a passion for learning and make science exciting to youth by providing practical, hands-on projects. Extension also needs to target limited-resource people for new hires and make them aware of the dis-ciplines and what those disciplines contribute to society.

How can Extension identify, recruit, employ, and support a staff of diverse and competent personnel? Every employer is after the best and brightest, and Extension's weak at recruiting. Respondents suggested Extension needs incentives, educational opportunities, and a career ladder. The organization must identify what it wants, increase salaries, improve working conditions, and advertise. Extension must also work more closely with leadership groups that represent minorities and women to help identify prospective recruits, and the organization must make people of diverse cultures feel they're welcome and part of the system.

What are some innovative strategies to ease conflicts between work and family and to remove "glass ceilings" that may hold down many minorities and women? The organization must appreciate and accept workers with families. Extension doesn't practice what it preaches about family and community values, respondents said. Extension needs to provide child care on university campuses and in counties. However, liability problems may discourage local governments. If Extension uses options such as flex-time, compressed time, and part-time jobs, it will be able to market its family-oriented workplace as an employee benefit.

Extension should set a good example by having a competent and diverse workforce. The organization also should provide administrators with workshops on cultural diversity. Extension needs to value diversity; as one USDA administrator said, "Civil rights help individuals, while cultural diversity helps the organization."

What can a strong, innovative, and comprehensive staff development program do to maintain Extension's competitive position? All respondents acknowledged that, to be competitive, Extension must provide staff with opportunity, encouragement, and training. However, many conceded insufficient leadership and resources have been allocated to this area. They also said that staff development programs are often the first target of budget cuts. "Many states don't have much of a staff development program for Extension faculty," one respondent said. Programs for potential leaders should provide intensive training in public policy, budgeting, marketing, and the management of culturally diverse staff.

To the extent these comments accurately reflect the beliefs of those who make and influence policy, we can see the beginning of change in Extension human resource policy. Extension will be ready for the 21st century workforce when cultural diversity is viewed as essential to ensuring an adequate human resource base. Reaching that state of readiness requires a human resource management system that can identify, recruit, hire, and support competent and diverse staff. Policies must be set to restructure staffing patterns, enhance salaries and benefits, increase training and technical support, and implement a more family- oriented workplace. Without such efforts, Extension will be unable to maintain its competitive position in delivering research-based agricultural and natural resources knowledge and practices.

1. ES-USDA, Salary Analysis of Cooperative Extension Service Positions (Washington, D.C.: Personnel & Management Services Division, December 1990). With 1990-91 budget cuts, this figure will probably be lower.

2. U.S., General Accounting Office, USDA-Need for Improved Workforce Planning (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, March 1990).

3 William B. Johnson and Arnold E. Packer, Workforce 2000: Work and Workers for the Twenty-first Century (Indianapolis, Indiana: Hudson Institute, June 1987).

4. Richard E. Cohen, "Pushing for More Black House Seats," National Journal , XXIII (January 5, 1991), 34.

5 James S. Thurber, "Political Power and Policy Subsystems" (Presentation at 1991 Leadership Development Program, National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, Washington, D.C., January 1991).