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Within extension, coordination and planning with the research 

 components is done basically every day. We're finding many more 

 linkages with our own Texas Department of Health, and particu- 

 larly as that relates to food safety and disease and that type of 

 thing that occurs in the valley with health-related problems. 



Just recently I was in a meeting in which ES-USDA has now 

 stationed an extension specialist at the Children's Nutrition Re- 

 search Center in Houston, again, with the idea of being able to 

 more rapidly transfer that knowledge from the research base out 

 into the extension education programs. By the way, we will also 

 have a person stationed there at that unit for that connection to 

 our State program, since the ARS unit is located in the State. 



This collaboration is moving very rapidly with the health profes- 

 sion industry, and I believe that it's timely and certainly on target 

 because of the real health care concerns we have. Extension should 

 be given the charge to work on the prevention side through edu- 

 cational programs and in that way alleviate some of the real health 

 care problems we have in this country, and I believe that we're 

 doing that in a very extensive way in virtually all of the States. 



Mr. Stenholm. What's been the reaction of the public health sec- 

 tor? Are these ideas that have been initiated by them to you or you 

 to them? How has this contact been made and then effectuated? 



Mr. Carpenter. I would say that's been both, and also by con- 

 gressional encouragement; for instance, a new national initiative 

 that has just been initiated, the plight of young children, and being 

 able to work through educational programs with them and their 

 parents. That came from the Chair of your own Ag Committee say- 

 ing, "What can the extension system do on this because of some of 

 the disease problems that are also related to learning issues 

 through time?" That comes from our needs assessment process in 

 the local communities, through our commissioners courts. They, in 

 fact, are paying for indigent health care. In fact, they say, "You 

 folks can be a part of the solution to this problem that's breaking 

 our counties and the tax issues if you'll focus your educational 

 problems on some of these." 



So I would say, Mr. Chairman, that encouragement is coming 

 from all sectors, encouraging of linkages, and in the process that 

 comes both from our department of health, and public health offi- 

 cials who are recognizing that Extension has the infrastructure and 

 network of having professional educators in virtually every county 

 in the country. They need the mechanism whereby they can get 

 some of that information out to the people on a local basis, because 

 we have that educational component. 



So I would say that also is creating some of the pressures on the 

 Extension system and some of the concerns about, "Look, you're 

 going toward social issues." I'd rather call them societal issues that 

 relate to the economic well-being of the State. Our economy is de- 

 pendent upon us doing a better job, a more effective job on this. 



Mr. Guernsey. Could I follow up on that? 



Mr. Stenholm. Certainly, Mr. Guernsey. 



Mr. Guernsey. As a user and as a farmer, I'm also a county com- 

 missioner, which you weren't aware of, and I look at the Extension 

 addressing a more hoUstic approach to the farm as opposed to just 

 farm production. Because in my county — I'm a rural county — ^my 



