The Hatch Act of 1887 (ch. 314, , enacted 1887-03-02, et seq.) gave federal funds, initially of $15,000 each, to state land-grant colleges in order to create a series of

agricultural experiment station An agricultural experiment station (AES) or agricultural research station (ARS) is a scientific research center that investigates difficulties and potential improvements to food production and agribusiness. Experiment station scientists work with f ...

s, as well as pass along new information, especially in the areas of soil minerals and plant growth. The bill was named for Congressman William Hatch, who chaired the House Committee of Agriculture at the time the bill was introduced. State agricultural stations created under this act were usually connected with those land-grant state colleges and universities founded under the

Morrill Act of 1862 The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds from sales of federally-owned land, often obtained from indigenous tribes through treaty, cession, or ...

, with few exceptions. Many stations founded under the Hatch Act later became the foundations for state

cooperative extension service The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) was an extension agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), part of the executive branch of the federal government. The 1994 Department Reorganization Act, ...

s under the

Smith–Lever Act of 1914 The Smith–Lever Act of 1914 is a United States federal law that established a system of cooperative extension services, connected to land-grant universities, intended to inform citizens about current developments in agriculture, home economics, p ...

. Congress amended the act in 1955 to add a formula that uses rural and farm population factors to allocate the annual appropriation for

s among the states. Under the

2002 farm bill The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, also known as the 2002 Farm Bill, includes ten titles, addressing a great variety of issues related to agriculture, ecology, energy, trade, and nutrition. This act has been superseded by the 2007 ...

(P.L. 107–171, Sec. 7212), states will continue to be required to provide at least 100% matching funds (traditionally, most states have provided more). On average, Hatch Act formula funds constitute 10% of total funding for each experiment station. (7 U.S.C. 361a et seq.).

External links

* * * United States federal agriculture legislation United States federal public land legislation 1887 in American law 49th United States Congress {{US-fed-statute-stub

See also

External links