Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

What Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service does

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is a public state-government extension agency within the Texas A&M University System, established on January 29, 1915 under the federal Smith-Lever Act to extend land-grant university research to the public. It operates the largest cooperative extension service in the United States, with 1,750+ full-time employees, 900+ professional educators, 12 regional district offices, 13 research centers, and 250 county offices that collectively serve all 254 Texas counties. Its programs span four verticals: agriculture and livestock production, natural resources and environmental stewardship, Texas 4-H youth development (reaching 550,000+ youth annually), and family health and wellness.

The agency's core technology stack combines the AgriLife Learn online learning platform (self-paced courses, certifications, publications) with field-deployed diagnostic infrastructure including Texas's only public aquatic diagnostics laboratory (13 testing packages, 80+ test options) and AI-assisted digital agriculture tools. Notable proprietary capabilities include an AI-powered western flower thrips pest forecasting model with 85-88% prediction accuracy, drone- and satellite-based remote sensing for cotton biomass and fiber yield forecasting, and the co-developed IBM Liquid Prep irrigation decision tool. Distribution is executed through a hybrid model combining county extension agents, a 93,600+ trained volunteer network (Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, Master Wellness Volunteers), and digital self-serve channels.

Revenue is structurally appropriation-driven, with a disclosed $229 million annual budget primarily funded through state and federal government appropriations, supplemented by philanthropic grants via the Texas A&M Foundation, USDA/EPA programmatic grants, corporate research partnerships (Chevron, Horticultural Research Institute), and modest course and certification fees ranging from $15 to $100 per participant on the AgriLife Learn platform. Customer segments are highly diversified across agricultural producers, youth, families, veterans, county officials, and pond/aquaculture managers, with no single enterprise customer material to the revenue base.

Name

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Legal name

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Website

https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1915

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service delivers research-based agricultural, natural resource, youth development, and health education to all 254 Texas counties through 250 offices, 900+ educators, and a 93,600+ volunteer network, operating a $229 million public extension agency within the Texas A&M University System.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Extension and Continuing Education Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Crop Production (11511), Educational Services (611), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce & Career Transition Noncredit Programs (EDAAAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health, Wellness & Lifestyle Noncredit Programs (EDAAAEAH), Carbon, Sustainability & Farm Certification Support (Agro-Environmental Advisory) (AFACABAL), Plant Tissue, Soil & Water Sampling Coordination (Agronomy-Focused) (AFACABAH)

Keywords

• Agricultural extension services
• Youth development programs
• Rural health education
• Natural resources stewardship
• Continuing education courses

Headquarters

HQ city

College Station

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: State and federal government appropriations as part of the Texas A&M University System land-grant mission. Director Dr. Rick Avery leads the agency with an annual budget of $229 million.
2. Donations and Grants: Philanthropic contributions through Texas A&M Foundation and grants from government agencies, corporations, and foundations to support specific programs and initiatives
3. Course and Publication Fees: Fee-based continuing education courses, certification programs, and educational publications sold through AgriLife Learn platform

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is a statewide educational agency delivering research-based solutions across agriculture, natural resources, youth development, and family health through a network of 250 county offices, 12 district offices, and 13 research centers staffed by 900+ professional educators. The agency offers structured programs including Texas 4-H youth development, diagnostic laboratory services, Master Volunteer programs, self-paced online courses, in-person workshops, and continuing education certifications, all unified by the land-grant mission of extending Texas A&M University research to every Texas county.

Product overview

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is a statewide educational agency providing research-based solutions across agriculture, natural resources, youth development, and health through a network of 250 county offices and over 900 professional educators. The organization operates as a multi-program platform offering structured educational courses and certifications through AgriLife Learn, diagnostic laboratory services (including the Aquatic Diagnostics Laboratory), volunteer-based Master Programs (Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, Master Wellness Volunteers), youth development via Texas 4-H, agricultural business programs (BattleGround to Breaking Ground, Texas AgrAbility), environmental health programs (Texas Well Owner Network, Lone Star Healthy Streams), and public health education. The portfolio includes both self-paced online courses, in-person workshops and certifications, and diagnostic testing services, unified by the mission of extending university research to Texans in every county.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Texas 4-H Youth Development Program: The largest youth development program in Texas reaching more than 550,000 youth each year with programs in every county.
• BattleGround to Breaking Ground
• Texas AgrAbility
• Texas Master Gardeners
• Texas Master Naturalists
• Master Wellness Volunteers
• Texas Well Owner Network

Products and services

• Texas 4-H Youth Development Program The largest youth development program in Texas reaching more than 550,000 youth each year through hands-on learning in agriculture, healthy living, leadership, and STEM, with programs available in every county.
• Texas A&M AgriLife Aquatic Diagnostics Laboratory The state's only public laboratory dedicated to private pond and aquaculture diagnostics, offering 13 testing packages comprising more than 80 test options including water quality analysis, fish disease diagnostics, and cyanotoxin testing for harmful algal blooms.
• Texas Well Owner Network Program offering free well water screenings testing for total coliform bacteria, E. coli, nitrate-nitrogen, arsenic, and salinity, operated in partnership with Texas Water Resources Institute and local county extension offices.
• Lone Star Healthy Streams Program focused on protecting water resources through watershed protection planning and water quality education, funded through Clean Water Act grants from Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and EPA.
• BattleGround to Breaking Ground A 4-phase educational program for veterans, active-duty military, their families, and beginning farmers and ranchers covering agriculture business concepts, planning basics, and best practices.
• Texas AgrAbility Program supporting farmers and ranchers to remain in production agriculture, addressing the aging farmer/rancher situation and helping feed the nation's people.
• Texas Master Gardeners Volunteer program providing in-depth horticultural and environmental training to implement education programs and community projects across Texas.
• Texas Master Naturalists Volunteer program providing education, outreach, and service dedicated to beneficial management of natural resources across the state.
• Master Wellness Volunteers Volunteer program educating the public on health-related topics including food safety, childhood health, and nutrition.
• AgriLife Learn Online learning platform hosting educational resources, publications, self-paced courses, and certifications for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension covering topics from gardening to agriculture to childcare.
• Drought Proofing the Ranch Self-paced online course teaching risk management strategies for drought, including drought management plans, risk management products, nutritional strategies, rangeland management, wildfire mitigation, and economic management strategies.
• New World Screwworm Online Training Course Four-hour free course providing research-backed information on screwworm inspection, reporting, and treatments. Serves as foundational course to become a Texas Animal Health Commission certified inspector.
• Aquatic Vegetation Herbicide Webinar Series 90-minute webinar on aquatic vegetation herbicides and application techniques for pond managers and aquatic vegetation control professionals, priced at $35 per participant with one continuing education unit available.
• More Bass, Less Grass Workshop In-person workshop on pond management including aquatic vegetation control, fish stocking strategies, and equipment demonstrations. Offers five continuing education units for Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license holders, priced at $75 per registration.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25.4 million annual direct teaching contacts
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Illumina, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 February 2026Texas A&M AgriLife participated in early access trial of Illumina NovaSeq X 1.5B 600-cycle kit, reporting 30% average increase in data yield since acquiring the system.
• Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas at Texas A&M UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 January 2026Multi-institution collaboration launched in 2022 (DRIP program) to help under-resourced flood-prone communities access modern planning tools and actionable data.
• Texas Water Resources InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 August 2025Partnered with Texas Well Owner Network to host water well and soil screening events, providing testing for contaminants including total coliform bacteria, E. coli, nitrate-nitrogen, arsenic and salinity.
• Cibolo Creek Watershed Protection PlanminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 August 2025Hosted free water well and soil screening event for residents in Wilson and Karnes counties, funded through Clean Water Act grants.
• IBM Sustainability AcceleratorcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2024Collaboration to develop Liquid Prep irrigation tool for Texas farmers, an AI-powered irrigation solution addressing water conservation challenges in agriculture. IBM developed the tool with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Indigo Ag: Indigo Ag is a private digital agriculture and biologicals company offering agronomic intelligence, microbial seed treatments, and carbon programs to row crop producers. Comparable in offering data-driven agronomic decision support to the same farmer customer base, though delivered through a digital-first model.
• Granular (Corteva): Granular is Corteva's farm management software platform delivering precision agronomy, input optimization, and farm economics tools to commercial crop producers. Emerging peer targeting the same commercial farmer audience with digital decision-support tools that may compete with extension agronomic advisories.

Direct peers

• University of Nebraska Extension: University of Nebraska Extension delivers research-based programming across Nebraska counties in agriculture, natural resources, 4-H, and family sciences. Direct peer in the cooperative extension network.
• Kansas State Research and Extension: K-State Research and Extension is Kansas's land-grant extension service providing applied research and education in agriculture, family and consumer sciences, youth development, and community vitality. Directly comparable peer with analogous service model.
• Penn State Extension: Penn State Extension is a state-level cooperative extension service delivering research-based education in agriculture, natural resources, youth development, and family health to Pennsylvania. Directly comparable as a land-grant extension in the same national system, with parallel funding model, county office network, and 4-H youth programming.
• Purdue Extension: Purdue Extension delivers research-based education in agriculture, natural resources, 4-H youth, and family sciences across Indiana. Direct peer in the national cooperative extension system with parallel mission, county delivery network, and continuing education focus.
• Iowa State University Extension and Outreach: Iowa State Extension is the land-grant extension service for Iowa delivering agriculture, natural resources, 4-H youth, and community development programming. Directly comparable peer in the same extension system with parallel funding and county delivery model.
• University of Florida IFAS Extension: UF/IFAS Extension is Florida's land-grant extension service providing research-based agricultural, natural resource, youth, and family education across all Florida counties. Directly comparable to AgriLife in mission, structure, public funding model, and county-agent delivery network.
• University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR): UC ANR is the University of California's land-grant extension division providing applied research and education in agriculture, natural resources, and youth development across California counties. Direct peer with similar scale, research-extension integration, and 4-H youth programming.
• NC State Cooperative Extension: NC State Extension delivers research-based education in agriculture, food, youth (4-H), and communities across North Carolina's counties. Direct peer with same land-grant mandate, county agent structure, and program mix as AgriLife.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/txextension
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCJ8Y-CcfqiSzC6zR-HFqRVQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/agrilifeextension
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/90956195
• Instagraminstagram.com/txextension

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service