In this paper we discuss the contributions that the education and extension systems in developed countries make towards building human capacity for grassland/rangeland farming practice. We approach this by reviewing a recent study on learning networks that involved nine European Union countries and by outlining the development of some new institutional arrangements that have emerged in Australia and in France. We show that farmers and agribusiness are playing a more dominant role in setting the agenda for capacity building in their respective industries, that this in turn depends on the emergence of innovative networking arrangements, and that shared perspectives of learning and change are required to adjust the expectations of multiple stakeholders.