The extension and outreach component of tennessee state university's land-grant mission is carried out through the cooperative extension program in the college of agriculture

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Tennessee State University $8.919 million in formula grant funding on October 1, 2025, under the Extension Services at 1890 Colleges and Tuskegee University, West Virginia State College, and Central State University program (CFDA 10.512).

The award supports cooperative extension delivery across 62 Tennessee counties, with county-based extension agents, educators, program assistants, and support staff delivering training and educational materials developed by 23 campus-based extension faculty and specialists. Programming addresses four educational areas: Agriculture and Natural Resources, including field crop production, livestock management, forestry, horticulture, soil health, bioenergy, plant nutrition, entomology, drone technology, agricultural economics, communications, and organic agriculture; Family and Consumer Sciences, encompassing community nutrition education, nutrition security, family and child development, and health education; Extension 4-H Youth Development, focused on workforce preparation, STEM education, life skills development, and youth leadership; and community economic development. The program collaborates with the University of Tennessee, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and county governments to deliver research-based, practical information to Tennessee residents through informal education activities.

The award covers the period October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2030, with place of performance at Nashville, Tennessee. As a 1890 Land-Grant Institution, Tennessee State University is an eligible applicant under the program's authorization.

The program's mission and purpose are to provide research-based, practical information to tennessee residents through informal education activities aimed at enhancing the state's social, economic and environmental strengths. TSU extension places a specific emphasis on reaching out to assist farmers and producers, working collaboratively with the university of tennessee, the U.S. Department of agriculture, and county governments. TSU extension has a broad reach, with county extension agents/educators, program assistants, and support staff in 62 counties across the state. These county personnel receive training and educational/teaching material from TSU's 23 campus-based extension faculty/specialists. Our program is organized around addressing critical issues in four educational programming areas: 1) agriculture and natural resources (ANR), which enhances urban and rural prosperity by assisting farmers and local communities in producing field crops, raising livestock, managing forestlands, growing fruit crops, and tending home gardens, activities that produce food and enhance the environmental integrity of the agroecosystem. The ANR program provides farmers with a wide variety of research-based training programs to enhance their productivity, farm profitability, and quality of life, focusing on entomology, forestry, soil health, bioenergy, plant nutrition, horticulture, drone technology, economics, agricultural communications, and organic agriculture; 2) family and consumer sciences, which improves the health and well-being of tennesseans by providing programs on community nutrition education, nutrition security, family and child development, and health education; 3) extension 4-h youth development, which focuses on workforce preparation, stem education, life skills development, youth leadership, citizenship development, and communication skills; and 4) community resources and economic development, which provides information and education on community development, economic development, and leadership development and includes agribusiness/entrepreneurship training for farmers (management, basic accounting, economic principles, budgets, whole-farm planning, land acquisition, tax management) as well as training for local businesses (business planning, entrepreneurship, modern marketing and economic development).