The Faces Of Extenson: Win Cowgill
July 12, 2011 
New Jersey has certainly not been immune from the budget cuts that have eaten away at Extension programs across the country. There are only 30 agents left, as well as 12 program associates, who may be able to visit a farm and give advice. There used to be 45 agents about 15 to 20 years ago. More cuts are likely ahead because they’re currently under a hiring freeze, says Cowgill. “There are 15 of us who could retire in the next five years, and many won’t be replaced,” he says. “If I quit, I probably wouldn’t be replaced. That’s partly because there is another agent here, but he specializes in livestock and field crops.”
Extension is unusual, says Cowgill, because as far as he knows it is the only organization that is dependent on three levels of government, federal, state and county, for funding. “It’s a unique model, that’s the beauty of it,” he says. “It’s good because you usually don’t see budget problems at all levels, but this recession is different.”
His own role reflects the uniqueness of Extension, as he is a department head at the university or state level, but also an administrator at the county level. But make no mistake about his true love. “I have a 100% extension appointment — I teach farmers,” he says. “If a commercial grower calls, he will get personal attention.”
If there are further cuts — in addition to the freeze — there will be less applied research, says Cowgill. The lone exception to that is because of the threat of the brown marmorated stink bug, he says it looks like they will get an entomologist. This is that odd case where the exception proves the rule. Cowgill says his ability to address local needs declines because he has to chase grant dollars to get any research money. Because he’s not going to stop helping growers in need. For example, he goes so far as to do a full orchard design. “I don’t draw a blueprint, but I do give advice on varieties, irrigation, what equipment he would need, soil prep, crop insurance, and overall financial impact,” he says. “We do a lot of financial management for growers. That enables farmers to stay in business. If we’re not here, who’s going to do that? Nobody.”
The average person would be surprised at how many tasks his job entails, says Cowgill. In fact, the average grower might even be taken aback. “Most people just think I just solve apple problems. But I do a lot of general horticulture, and a lot of emergency planning,” he says, some of it really only tangentially ag-related. “I do a lot of emergency management planning. For example, if there is nuclear fallout from New York City, how do we handle animal evacuation in northern New Jersey? Extension is responsible for that.”
Cowgill says his ability to do applied research and solve local problems would be lost if there are further cuts. He’s part of a national project for growers, the NC-140 rootstock program, and New Jersey growers would likely lose access to that information. But it gets even more basic than that. “If I’m not here, who’s going to do a fruit visit? I can’t answer that. I do twilight meetings for growers, pest meetings, as on the brown marmorated stink bug,” he says, listing other information growers might miss out on. “I’m doing three different stinkbug research trials looking for control on green peppers and apples — both crops favored by stink bugs.”
Extension’s a good buy. Every dollar invested gets back four dollars in return, says Cowgill. Growers can access information for no cost or a minimal cost. Growers get production manuals that are tremendous resources, such as the New Jersey Tree Fruit Production Guide. There are hundreds of hours of research, writing, and editing involved in putting that together, which is information that growers need. Re-certification on pest application permits are also done at Extension meetings. “I would bet you 95% of the training on pest control is done by Extension,” he says. “They need 25 units every five years, and we arrange the meetings and provide the content. The Department of Environmental Protection might issue the license, but we do all the training. If we stopped, that would be a big loss.”
Extension’s responsible for making all the pest recommendations for the Rutgers Integrated Pest Management Program. Cowgill hires summer interns and staff who scout for pests. When nearby New York had their IPM program initially red-lined, he was really concerned. It made him even more conscious of yet another hat he finds himself donning more and more often, that of “money finder.” You have to be a money finder when the powers that be keep whacking your budget.
“You must constantly look for grant money to keep the research programs going. There’s money available if you know where to look. We don’t get many big grants, but we get little ones here and there. You piece them together to make it work,” he says. “You end up working nights and weekends searching for grant money. I don’t know anybody that works 40 hours. When we hire people, we ask the question, ‘Do you mind working long hours, including weekends and evenings?’ I got asked that when I was hired a long time ago (1978), and it hasn’t gotten any easier. With Extension, nobody ever takes a job away; you just keep getting more jobs.”
Part of the reason Cowgill wears so many hats, but still takes his role of farm adviser so seriously, is that growers in New Jersey don’t have a lot of options. Bigger states have another whole layer of people — the private consultants. “We don’t have PCAs. We tried to privatize IPM, the administration wanted private industry to do it, but there was no private PCA industry,” he says. “It’s not like there are 10,000 acres of apples in one spot. Our growers are retailers. There are only 1,600 in the whole state. It’s a different marketing situation, but it doesn’t mean they need the information any less.”
Cowgill obviously has strong feelings about Extension, and after keeping them to himself for many years, he has decided it’s time for a change. There’s an important reason for that. “We always say we’re the best-kept secret in the world, but being a secret is not good when budget time comes,” he says. “We need to get our message across. Major cuts never come back. We can’t afford to be the best kept secret.”
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