"Everything Extension"

If you have questions about eating healthier or making your budget dollars stretch further, chances are Extension has solutions that work.

“We cover a really broad spectrum,” Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) director Eve Brantley said. “It's because we serve all of Alabama.”

Service is at the heart of what Brantley does every day.  

Named the 1862 Extension director for ACES this past January, she steps into the role with deep, field-tested experience as both a multi‑county Extension agent and an associate director.

In her current role, Brantley guides more than 700 faculty and staff across both Auburn and Alabama A&M campuses and in all 67 Alabama counties.

“We have an army of people,” Brantley said.  “Our Extension agents work hard to learn everything about their communities so they can serve as local subject matter experts.”

ACES was formed following the passage of the federal Smith-Lever Act in 1914. It was designed to provide research-based education to rural populations, particularly to combat threats like the boll weevil and to teach home economics.

Today, ACES continues to advance Auburn’s land-grant mission, connecting the university with local communities by sharing practical, researched-based knowledge and information.

“It's not just a one-way street,” Brantley explained. “What makes Extension special is we ask people, ‘what do you need?’  Then, we do research to solve those problems.”

From school classrooms and college campuses to the career field, family life and retirement, ACES provides educational outreach opportunities for every stage of life.

“We're well known for agriculture, forestry and natural resources, but we also have a very large human sciences component, federal nutrition programs and community resource development initiatives,” Brantley said.

Every year, Extension staff coordinate more than 6,000 educational events across Alabama.  Extension’s Online Directory provides an interactive opportunity for every Alabamian to access a trusted, reliable source of information. 

“We're unique because we have a unified extension system that helps us serve both our urban and rural clientele,” Brantley explained.

Alabama Extension Week runs April 12 – 18.  It’s been held for the past four years to draw awareness and visibility to ACES’s programming, people and mission. This year, the focus is on the Auburn and Alabama A&M campuses, aiming to make students more aware of resources offered to them by ACES. Several events and 14 free webinars are planned, with agents sharing practical tips and research-based solutions for gardening, mental health, nutrition, financial planning and more.

“Extension professionals are going to be sharing different examples of what we do,” Brantley said.

At Auburn, a Career Exploration opportunity is planned for Tues., April 14 at 2 p.m. in 203 Upchurch Hall with Home Horticulture Agent Megan Jones. On Wed., April 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., ACES will host Extension on the Green featuring 15 engaging exhibits, free food, trivia and door prizes.

The entire week offers ACES county offices across the state a chance to remind communities that help and expertise are close to home.

“This is a real opportunity to say, ‘yes, Extension does that,’” Brantley said. 

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Transcript

0:06

Hey everybody, welcome back to the Everything Auburn podcast. We are excited today to have an exciting guest. But before we get into that, Carter, how are you doing? I'm doing wonderful. Welcome back. Thank you, thank you. North Alabama says hello. It's where I've been. Oh, well, the Rocket City says hey there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nice. A lot of time on the interstate, but we're we're back on the Lovelace Village on the Plains. And I couldn't be happier. Welcome back. Thank you. Today on the podcast, we are excited to have doctor Eve Brantley, the 1862 extension director for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Thank you. I appreciate being invited to be on this podcast. Absolutely, absolutely. Good to have you here. Well, we wanted to talk, get to know you a little bit better, know about more what you do, what your team does and just everything. Extension. Happy extension week, by the way. Thank you. I think it'd be a great way to start with you. Started back in January, if I'm not mistaken. I did January 1st was my first day as extension director. Welcome. Well, if you could just. Let's let's lead me through the broken road path. Whatever you want to say that led you to here in January, starting as extension director. Sure. Well, first, I'm, just really humbled and honored to have been selected as extension director. So, I'm really excited to be here as extension director and here on this podcast to share more about extension and our mission. So I'll start even further. Back then when I started with the extension, which is extension was established in 1914. And I mean, we might later get into the whole Land Grant mission, but for those of us who were at Auburn University, I mean, we are at the University of the people, right? Land Grant universities, established in 1862 for the sons and daughters of toil. It was the democratization of education. How do we make sure that everyone has access to education? So here we are, Auburn University, where the 1862 land grant. And when I mentioned that, I so you know, we have sisters like University of Georgia, University of Tennessee, Mississippi State and then we also have sister organizations are 1890s, the, Alabama A&M University, Tuskegee University. So extension put into place in 1914. Of course, that was not there, but, much, much later. Me neither. Right. Much, much later. You know, and I can tell you more about extension, but I'll say that I started in mobile in Baldwin County. Back in 2000. So, and that's something that I want folks to understand, that extension is in every county in our state. We're in every county in the nation. So I started there as a multi county agent, and I can talk more about what the different jobs look like and extension. And over time just moved to campus, became a state specialist then went into administration, spent a little time as associate director and then again, just really honored to been selected as director. That's fantastic. I said before we started recording, Carter and Kim both know I'm a history nerd. Oh, yeah. And, specifically, like in grad school, I spent hours in the archives for fun. Like, I have Auburn history. And so I was going to bring up the land grant mission. And that's one of the reasons why I love Auburn and just land grant institution so much is because they're. So mission really is to provide for the people of their state. Yes. And so that's exactly what extension does. And so the fact that we're partnered alongside one another, I think it's a shame that a lot of people know about it. And so, yeah, you know, well, I, I love the opportunity to share more. And when you go look at the seal in front of Langdon Hall, if you peer closely, you'll step on it. No, no, don't worry. Don't get too close. Yeah. No, my daughter has graduated fully, and I'm so proud of her. There you go. Yeah. War Eagle! Thank you. Auburn University and the seal. But the if you look at the seal it says instruction research. And then extension is that third part. And that's that's the land grant. That's what makes us special is that democratization of education meant that not only were we doing the work in agriculture or mechanical arts, the liberal arts, but we were making sure that that information was being given to folks who needed it, not just research for research sake, which, you know, it's research is incredibly important. And I can go back knowing that you're a history nerd. Yeah, I'll share with you. I've got some documents that were just shared with me, a 1954 extension, publication. And I'm soon going to get a 1926 USDA how to be an extension agent. So my gosh, I'm so excited. Wow. So anyway, so I digress, but but yeah, so our our land grant mission means we take that information and it's not just us a one way street. But what makes extension special is we ask people, what do you need so that we're doing that research that is solving problems. Today's problems we're looking at on the horizon what's coming. And we know what's coming from not only our research colleagues, but from people who are out working, seeing where the concerns are. What do you need to do to make research science based decisions to improve your quality of life? And and it's where the people are like it's every county in the nation, which, I mean, I don't know, off the top of my head, but I would be a challenge to say if there's anything that's that widespread, including like Dollar General, like they're making, they're giving us a run for the money. No. Yeah. It's it's so accessible to every single person. And it's just right there. Yeah. Yeah it is. So it and so yeah, we're asking for input and then that input is brought not only back to researchers on campus, but then we develop programs that we mean, we take a lot of time and effort and understanding meeting people where they are. So how do you want the information? What what's the most useful time of day, or is it a webinar or is it online resources that you know, as we are in this digital age, how can we make sure that we're informing our AI tools? Here's the research that you need. If you go and type something into a search engine. But sometimes there's problems that are so complex and so local, no clever prompt, and a search engine is going to help you solve that. Right? So that's where our county offices are extension agents. They are there to they're poised. They're ready. Give them a call email. So I know it's going to change county by county agent by agent. But what are some of those like most common. And what are some of the things that they're dealing with. Mostly data. One of those issues things are working on kind of I know it's yeah, we can spend all day talking about the range of things you guys can. Yeah. Right. Carter. No, I'm glad you said that because it occurs to me I'm talking about how great we are. But I'm not telling you what it is that we do. That's right. That's what we're here for. That's what we're here for. So we have some, our our big program areas. I think we're most well known for agriculture, forestry, natural resources. We also have a very big human sciences extension component, federal nutrition programs, and then community resource development. So again, our, our county extension directors working in their counties to understand economic development, resource development, probably what we're best known for that people say I'm not don't know if I know extension, but when I ask what about for h people. Oh yeah, I know for h that's our positive development component. So we serve from the very young to all stages of life. So examples and thanks for if you have a question about a tomato, you know you can call our home horticulture agents. And in fact you know mentioning home horticulture agents are really bright home horticulture agent. Megan is going to be, coming to campus. I think it's, on April 14th. So tomorrow she'll be at 2 or 3 Upchurch Hall to give a presentation on a life in the day of an extension agent spectacular. So let's say someone calls the county office. I've got this weird bug on my tomato plant or my squash. Looks like. Is that so? We have Megan and others like her who are ready to answer the question for a homeowner on that. Now we can scale that up big time. Say you're a row crop farmer, or you're a livestock producer, and you've got a question about what's the right variety or what's going on in my pasture. I need to make sure my forage. And for those of you who didn't grow up in rural areas, that may not resonate, but what that equals is a lot of savings and time input, which eventually gets passed on to the consumer. The more efficient we are, the more the more we are able to help farmers be productive and profitable. We all like to eat. So we've got homeowners, we've got farmers. And then, you know, looking at that youth development, we work to help youth be beyond ready. What is the spark? What is that next step, whether it's, career, college and listing, what is it that we can help youth cultivate within themselves to be ready that. You know, I recently had a chance to be part of the Condoleezza Rice America 250 event. And if you were there, you'll recall, she said, that K-through-12 education is key for our nation to really focus on. And that's for eight. We're really working with those youth. So we've got youth, we've got farmers, we've got homeowners, and then we've got family financial management opportunities. Not everybody knows how to do a budget. Okay. We've got folks who are again waiting on a phone call ready to answer an email. Health and wellness and nutrition. What does it look like to eat on a balanced budget. Healthy foods nourishing your home your families, your communities. So I mean there's you're right. We cover a really broad spectrum, but it's because we serve all of Alabama. My assumption would be something you hear a lot. Or people working in stitches. Oh, I didn't know extension did that. Yeah, I would imagine that's a very common thing that you hear just because it it does really everything. We're here to help. Yeah. I want to help you. Let me know what I can help you. You know what makes me smile? I feel like, you maybe saw the banners that we have on College Street that says extension does that, and that's exactly right. Every day, everything from tourism to cotton to homeowner education. Yeah, we we do so much. But that's reflective of the good work that's being done at Auburn University and Alabama A&M University that we need to make sure that we're pushing out and sharing. Well, that's a great lead in to one of the things we want to talk about is walk us through this partnership that we have with other universities. You have in the state. Yeah. You mentioned other universities are neighboring states and across the country. What's that kind of partnership looks like? Alabama is a great example. Yeah. Oh, well, we're unique in the nation and I think it's one of our strongest points that we have a unified extension system. Alabama A&M and Auburn University are joined in. That helps us serve, our urban clientele. And and as well as our rural clientele. So that partnership means that I think we're really able to expand our reach, so that, you know, we're really fortunate to have that strength with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. That's why we're a system and not a service as compared to other states. And having our sister institution, Tuskegee, just 30 miles down the road from us, brings a huge strength to as we look at, opportunities to serve in the black belt and to understand our partnerships and where they have expertise, that we can leverage those strengths. Again, I mean, if we're keeping count of how many times I say serve Alabama, but that that is what we do. So yeah, it's in. And then having the system across the nation of our lean, great universities means that if we haven't had the question, someone else probably has. And then as we're in our southern region, from Texas A&M to LSU to Mississippi State University of Georgia University, if someone has an answer that we can again go to and collaborate and learn more about answering questions, because at the end of the day, we're here to help, right? Yeah. So I have it here on my cheat sheet just to show scope and scale, which is I think it's so incredible that we have, if I'm reading, I mean, I want to make sure I got this number right here, 700 faculty and staff across Auburn, Alabama A&M and the state of Alabama. That's correct. Yeah. That is an incredible army of people willing to help and serve Alabama. It is it is. So in the way those are broken out is yeah we have an office in every county. So 67 county extension directors who then have, extension agents in that office that are working in 48 human sciences, ag forestry, natural resources, and, you know, federal nutrition. So we have these county directors who were there to really work and understand their counties and what those communities need, partnering with those extension agents who are the local subject matter experts. So they're bringing their that bridge to campus. And then on campus, we have extension specialists who are research faculty that are conducting the applied research, that then they're helping to package and create programs and work with extension agents and directors to make sure we get. So yes, we have an army of people, and it's the feedback loop, is it? I think what separates us from from others, you know, we were there. We're embedded in communities. We shop at the same grocery stores, go to the same churches. Our kids go to school together. It's so we're they're hearing and understanding. So again, that we can bring that back. Spectacular. So while we're talking about that, you know, army of people, right. And all these different communities, let's say I'm insert whatever county you want in the state. What's the how do I find my local? How do I find that person to reach out? Oh, I found this bug on my tomato plant. Yeah. Where do I go from there? How do I ask that person, what is this bug? And do I need to be worried about it? No, I appreciate that question, Dalton. It's very easy. It is like anything. We're on the, we're on the internet. And probably the easiest way to get there is our acronym. It's a c ss edu. So Alabama Cooperative Extension System, our acronym is acs.edu. And you can go there. There's a directory that will take you interactive to every county in our state. And and I want to put a plug in. You know I mentioned online resources artificial intelligence. If you are going to a search engine and you have a question, my recommendation is tag extension. Oh yeah. So if you say, Auburn Alabama my grass is turning brown extension, then that's going to take you to research based information that you know you can trust in. Again, as we are a trusted, reliable source of information. Don't waste your time. Don't just go to a random website. Then it's going to eat all your cookies and you're going to think, what just happened? I'm going to put extension tag extension. So, I just, you know, want to give that plug as people are looking, go ahead and add extension in and it'll make sure that the information you get has some science to it. Absolutely. Well, as we're starting to get towards the end of the podcast, we have to talk about your degree from Auburn. Okay. And so you're a three timer. You have a bachelor's from Barry College. I do a master's from Clemson. Yes. And you have your doctorate from Auburn? I do. So tell us about your journey of how you got to Auburn, how you chose Auburn for your doctorate. Just tell us your Auburn story. I well, well, I felt so lucky when I got hired in 2000. July 1st, 2000 was my hire date and, a good friend of mine was a 1942 Auburn Engineering grad. Oh, fantastic. And he said, you've just started an amazing journey being able to work for Auburn University. The pride of being at Auburn was so complete. But people who I knew that were alumni. So, I mentioned that I started work on the coast when we moved to campus. In 2002, I was working in College of Agriculture, and had close ties with the the now College of Forestry. And so I was I took advantage of the employee education benefit to go back to school while I was working, and it was the best of both worlds. Little Hannah Montana there because I was able I know the new movie, happy 20th anniversary. So I was able to be immersed in extension work in the College of Agriculture, conducting research in the College of Forestry, and in working in water. So that's my specialty areas, water resources. And so that journey of, of being able to work in one college, get a degree from a different college and having those experiences, just I understand I really appreciated having the opportunity to be an employee of Auburn. And I'm so proud to be a graduate of Auburn. And, I'll just say my friend Carrie Bentley, who was a 1942 graduate, he was so proud the day that I graduated with my PhD and and just said, congratulations, you've you've made it. I hadn't done enough yet. Yeah, but now I'd made it. Wow. Yeah. It's fantastic. Spectacular. It's it's so interesting. I mean, if I had a nickel for every time I say something to this effect. But the work that you do, the work that everyone in extension does, is so is Auburn, the Auburn family, the Creed. It is, the seal of interest, a great thing manifest in human action. It's just we're there to help you do all that work. And it's it's incredible to to to to know that we're doing that and we're there. We're part we're here to help, you know. That's right. Well, there's a quote I won't quite get it right, but there's nothing more inspirational than being part of something that matters. And that's how I feel about extension. You know, it's been a career, an extension. And as we invite people to to interview with us to consider career with us, it's not for everyone. You have to have a real servant heart. You have to really have a focus for and need to listen, understand and then act in. That action has to be based on science and it's it is being a part of something that is improving lives around Alabama, which what's a better what's a better mission? What's a better place to be in that partnership with Auburn University and Alabama A&M? So if you want to learn more this year in Extension week, not not only going to the internet and looking up acs.edu, but come see us on the green April 17th. We will be out on the green. I I'm pretty sure it starts mid-morning 10 a.m. or so and we'll go through lunch. But we're going to be out there with different extension professionals and different examples of what we do. Everything from, again, you said from beekeeping, which is a huge deal, to turfgrass, to understanding. Again, how do you select healthy foods on a budget? So it's it's families, farmers communities and everything in between. Fantastic. What's wonderful during this extension week, it's been going on for the last four years. But if you don't mind, just elaborate a little bit more about why it's so important and just, you know, dive a little bit deeper into what goes on this week, right? Oh, no, it's it's important not only here on campus, you know, and I mentioned that April 17th on Friday, we're going to have a big event for students and faculty to get a chance to learn more about extension. But the entire week is an opportunity statewide for our county offices to hold, to hold events to to remind the community that they're there. We do a lot. And sometimes because we can be a humble sort who we're here to listen, to, understand, to help. We don't often I think enough, and I'm trying to do it myself, make sure we're broadcasting the work that we do. So this is a real opportunity to say yes. Extension does that from again, soil testing to for to master Gardeners to our our working families and consumer sciences. So yeah it's this is a real chance each day of the week for us to showcase, to highlight, to make sure that we are as loudly as we can, proclaiming that we're we're that third part of the land grant mission and Auburn University and Alabama A&M University, that research, extension and teaching, we all go together. And it's a package deal. That's that's what big part of what makes Auburn special? Absolutely. And not enough people can learn about it and hear about it and utilize it. Thank you for giving me the chance to come in today and brag on it. I clearly I love extension. I believe in it, and I think we model the Auburn Creed as you invoke the oven creed at Auburn family. That's that's what we're here to do I love it. Well, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate you. Tell us a bit about your story, but what you do every day, you clearly do have a passion for it. I love for it. And people being passionate about the work they do is just infectious. So we really appreciate all the hard work that goes into it. And happy extension week. Yeah thank you. Happy extension week. Wonderful. Well, we'll be back again next month with a member of the Auburn family and get in the chat, learn about what they do. And until then, if you want to listen to more episodes, we have more on, on podcast apps wherever you listen to us. Now, there's more. We got years and years worth of podcast. You'll hear about Auburn family and Auburn members here. And until then, we'll be back again next month. War Eagle! War Eagle! War Eagle!