Extension Specialist

Extension Specialists work with land-grant colleges and universities, conducting research and then helping translate the latest findings of that research into everyday language. Almost every county in the nation has a cooperative extension program providing off-campus, adult education outreach in relevant fields. The extension services divides it resources between research and education. While the cooperative extension agent works with the public in a specific local, the extension specialist may work throughout the state, area, or region.

Extension specialists provide information on specialized subjects and situations to the local cooperative extension agents, as well as to the public. Specialists are resource people above the local level that the community extension agents can call on when they do not have the expertise or resources to solve a problem or provide instruction.

Specialists work in a variety of specialized fields, hence the name “specialist”, which range from forestry to animal science and plant pathology. The state level Cooperative Extension Service may employ a number of specialists in one or more areas of agricultural production. Many specialists work closely with the state commodity associations in their specialty area. Some specialists work in specialized programs that support the technical area specialists. These include publication, graphic design and administering 4-H programs above the local level. Many specialists work with volunteer groups as well.