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What does a county extension agent do?

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

A county extension agent is responsible for traveling to different areas within a county, facilitating various learning programs, and helping citizens learn about the advances and topics of industries like agriculture. They are responsible for coordinating with governmental and non-governmental organizations, developing materials to promote agricultural research, empowering investment opportunities, and facilitating meetings. Most county extension agents work for the local government and function in a team setting.

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County extension agent responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real county extension agent resumes:

  • Develop, implement and evaluate educational programs relating to commercial and consumer horticulture IPM including field demonstration trials.
  • Design and implement community trash disposal, recycling and composting project.

County extension agent skills and personality traits

We calculated that 25% of County Extension Agents are proficient in Consumer Sciences, Natural Resources, and Food Safety.

We break down the percentage of County Extension Agents that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Consumer Sciences, 25%

    Administered, promoted and maintained a county-wide Family and Consumer Sciences community education program.

  • Natural Resources, 17%

    Oversee educational programming related to agriculture, natural resources and horticulture*Share 4-H and economic development programming with additional extension agent

  • Food Safety, 8%

    Conduct educational programs in nutrition, food safety, money management & parenting.

  • County Government, 7%

    Work with city & county government on community & economic development issues.

  • Community Development, 7%

    Worked with local groups and agencies on a multitude of agriculture and community development programming.

  • Nutrition Education, 4%

    Provided SNAP health and nutrition education programs for over 2000 youth and adults.

Common skills that a county extension agent uses to do their job include "consumer sciences," "natural resources," and "food safety." You can find details on the most important county extension agent responsibilities below.

See the full list of county extension agent skills

The three companies that hire the most county extension agents are:

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County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume
County Extension Agent Resume

Compare different county extension agents

County extension agent vs. Farm management specialist

A Home Advisor's task is to develop a business system infrastructure to provide a pathway for the growth of executives, mid-management, and staff for a management consulting company. Home Advisors adapt to various communication styles for troubleshooting, which depends on the customers' technology level. They evaluate customer communications and elevate customer or client concerns to the proper department. They also demonstrate flexibility to varying communication styles and modify the approach to accommodate others' needs.

We looked at the average county extension agent salary and compared it with the wages of a farm management specialist. Generally speaking, farm management specialists are paid $22,981 higher than county extension agents per year.Even though county extension agents and farm management specialists are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require financial management, educational programs, and management practices in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between county extension agents and farm management specialist. For instance, county extension agent responsibilities require skills such as "consumer sciences," "natural resources," "food safety," and "county government." Whereas a farm management specialist is skilled in "farm management," "greenhouse," "farm equipment," and "customer service." This is part of what separates the two careers.

On average, farm management specialists reach lower levels of education than county extension agents. Farm management specialists are 13.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

County extension agent vs. Agriculture consultant

On average, agriculture consultants earn a $13,166 higher salary than county extension agents a year.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, county extension agent responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "consumer sciences," "natural resources," "food safety," and "county government." Meanwhile, an agriculture consultant has duties that require skills in areas such as "agricultural practices," "usda," "soil samples," and "agricultural technology." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

In general, agriculture consultants achieve similar levels of education than county extension agents. They're 1.9% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

County extension agent vs. Home advisor

On average, home advisors earn higher salaries than county extension agents, with a $25,872 difference per year.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, county extension agents are more likely to have skills like "consumer sciences," "natural resources," "food safety," and "county government." But a home advisor is more likely to have skills like "windows," "product knowledge," "customer service," and "phone calls."

Most home advisors achieve a lower degree level compared to county extension agents. For example, they're 15.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

County extension agent vs. Home management supervisor

Home management supervisors typically earn higher pay than county extension agents. On average, home management supervisors earn a $28,860 higher salary per year.Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A county extension agent uses "consumer sciences," "natural resources," "food safety," and "county government." Home management supervisors are more likely to have duties that require skills in "medication reminders," "home management," "catheter," and "local pharmacy. "home management supervisors reach lower levels of education compared to county extension agents, in general. The difference is that they're 14.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of county extension agent

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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