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 stations, 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, 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.
Congress amended the act in 1955 to add a formula that uses rural and farm population factors to allocate the annual appropriation for
agricultural experiment stations 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 This act has been superseded by the 2007 ...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.).
See also
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Adams Act of 1906
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Purnell Act of 1925
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Bankhead–Jones Act of 1935
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George W. Atherton
External links
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United States federal agriculture legislation
United States federal public land legislation
1887 in American law
49th United States Congress
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