Agenda - 05-02-2023; 8-d - Approval of Memorandum of Agreement between the Orange County Board of Commissioners and North Carolina State University

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4 Preamble North Carolina State Extension (NC State Extension) was established as a part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences of North Carolina State University (NCSU) by federal and state legislation for the specific purpose of "extending" the educational services of the University to the people of the state, on subjects related to agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, 4-H youth development, and community and rural development. The laws creating the Cooperative Extension Service were specifically designed to assure that the findings of research in these areas are communicated to the people of the State. Under the Federal Appropriations Act of 1972, funds were provided to the 1862 land-grant universities (including NCSU) to enhance the extension outreach of the 1890 universities, which included North Carolina A & T State University (NCA&T). The Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 further stipulated that these funds be appropriated directly to the 1890 institutions, and formalized the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Program as an official part of the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at NCA&T. North Carolina Cooperative Extension (Cooperative Extension) provides the opportunity for North Carolina State Extension and North Carolina A & T Extension to work together to better serve the people of the State through the delivery of locally relevant programs, education and expertise. The legislation further provided for a cooperative relationship among three levels of government — federal, state, and county — to ensure that the needs of all three levels are addressed. The primary purpose of Cooperative Extension is to provide the people of North Carolina with the most current and relevant unbiased research-based information — particularly that which is related to strengthening the economy through profitable, sustainable and safe food, forest and green industry systems; protecting the environment and natural resources; and empowering youth and families to lead healthier lives and become community leaders. These purposes are furthered by Cooperative Extension employees who are charged with carrying out the extension education programs of the universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Cooperative Extension has sufficient flexibility to permit attention to the special problems, needs, and interests of the citizens and leadership in each county. Therefore, the programmatic, personnel, and funding complement reflects the unique needs of each county. County Advisory Councils are consulted on a regular basis to assist in prioritizing the county educational program content. Program clientele or recipients of services include individuals, families, communities, municipalities, agricultural and seafood processing and marketing firms, other businesses and certain organizations. These services are delivered to adults and youth in both urban and rural settings. To assure that educational programs offered by Cooperative Extension meet the needs of the local clientele, it is important that both elected and appointed decision makers at each level of government understand their respective responsibilities and relationships in conducting and funding this work. To this end, this Memorandum of Agreement will detail the individual relationships and mutually agreed- upon responsibilities of NCSU and each county or tribal community that signs this Memorandum of Agreement. JN0040380.11 2