Explore how rural communities organized for farming and home economics extension in the early days of agricultural outreach, and what worked to build social life around farming families.
This nonfiction work surveys the status of rural social organization within extension services across the United States. It describes how states organized projects, funded programs, and trained leaders to support communities facing changing farm life and new social needs. The text uses examples from multiple states to show how social life, youth programs, and cooperative effort fit with agricultural goals.
- Learn how states centralized rural community organization projects and varied their funding and staffing.
- See a wide range of activities, from leadership training and study courses to amateur dramatics, 4-H, and community camps.
- Understand how social programs were designed to support farming families while aligning with extension and marketing work.
- Discover how professionals described outcomes and the role of cooperation among granges, farm bureaus, schools, churches, and other groups.
Ideal for readers interested in agricultural history, extension work, and the development of rural social programs.