Okaloosa County BOCC — May 6, 2014 — Smith Leaver Proclamation — reading text

crate Of Florid, RESOLUTION WHEREAS, in 1862 President Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, also known as the “Land Grant Act”, donating to states tens of thousands of acres of public land to sell and invest the proceeds in an endowment fund that would provide support for colleges of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, known as land-grant universities; and WHEREAS, Florida’s land-grant universities were established under the Morrill Act which consist of the University of Florida (UF) and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (Florida A&M University); and WHEREAS, the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 established the Cooperative Extension Service, a partnership between federal, state, and county governments, to connect the research and information gathered by the land-grant universities with the general public through educational programs; and WHEREAS, the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, administered by the University of Florida and Florida A&M University, has helped millions of Floridians by converting their agricultural research and discoveries into practical knowledge that is used every day; and WHEREAS, at the University of Florida, Extension is located in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), along with the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) and the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, and is called UF/IFAS Extension; and WHEREAS, at Florida A&M University, Extension is the outreach arm of the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences (CAFS) and is responsible for coordinating activities and events of mutual benefit with UF/IFAS; and WHEREAS, the Florida Cooperative Extension Service educates the public on issues such as sustainable agriculture, competitiveness in world markets, natural resource conservation, energy conservation, food safety, child and family development, consumer credit counseling,.and youth development; and WHEREAS, educational opportunities. offered to the public by the Florida Cooperative Extension Service include programs such as Distance Diagnostic & Identification System, Fishing for Success, Florida AgSafe Network, Florida Bird Monitoring, Florida’s Forest Stewardship, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Florida Lakewatch, Florida Master Gardner, Florida Master Naturalist, Florida Wildlife Extension, Green Communities, Program for Resource Efficient Communities, Integrated Pest Management, Pesticide Certification, Plant and Animal Production, Florida Small Farms, Florida Master Money Mentor, Florida Saves, Community Development, Youth and Family Nutrition, Strengthening Florida Families, and Florida 4-H. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Governor and Cabinet of the State of Florida do hereby recognize the 100 ANNIVERSARY OF THE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE and encourage the citizens of Florida to participate in their local extension office educational programs to increase their knowledge of agriculture, human and natural resources, and real life issues affecting their communities. IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, the Governor and Cabinet of the State of Florida have hereunto subscribed their names and have caused the Official Seal of the State of Florida to be hereunto affixed in the City of Tampa on this 6" day of February, 2014. Aw RICK SCOTT * G@VYERNOR PAM BONDI ATTORNEY GENERAL i Neal JEFF MIW AYER CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICE ADAM H. PUTNAM COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE