PERCEPTIONS REGARDING PREFERRED EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION SOURCES BY FARMERS: IMPLICATIONS TO INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION EDUCATION

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1 PERCEPTIONS REGARDING PREFERRED EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION SOURCES BY FARMERS: IMPLICATIONS TO INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION EDUCATION Awoke D. Dollisso 1, Robert A. Martin 2 1 Research Assistant Department of Agricultural Education and Studies Iowa State University 223 Curtiss Hall Ames, Iowa Phone: Fax: awoke@iastate.edu 2 Professor and Chair Department of Agricultural Education and Studies 201 Curtiss Hall Iowa State University Ames, Iowa Phone: Fax: drmartin@iastate.edu Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the perceptions of farmers regarding their preferred sources of educational information and to draw implications for program planning. Participants perceived that magazines, neighbors, and Extension were main sources of agricultural information. Respondents used Data Transmission Network (DTN), relatives and television less frequently for agricultural information. Over 60% of the participants reported the Internet as the least frequently used source for agricultural information. Overall, the participants of this study used mainly magazines, neighbors, Extension Service, and radio for agricultural information.

2 Introduction/Theoretical Frame Dillman (1986) connects the emergence of the American Extension system to three distinct eras: community control, mass society and the information age. In the community control era, extension agents knew and worked closely with leaders of the rural communities to bring about change. In the mass society era, the population grew, education and cities expanded and people became mobile. In this era, Extension adopted mass media to channel its educational programs. Today, we are in the midst of the overwhelming information age where many options are provided to farmers and the public at large. Blackburn and Flaherty (1994) stated, once again, Extension faces renewed pressure to make some fundamental changes in order to remain relevant to the needs of the existing social order (p. 10). Lanham & Cowan (1990) stated that the dominant resource currently in the world is information, thus, the scope, magnitude and dynamics of this Information Age makes education a difficult task. Nieto & Henderson (1992) reported that farmers preferred veterinarians, county extension agents, and neighbors as information sources. Bruening and Martin (1992) found that field demonstrations and county meetings were useful information sources on groundwater, water quality and soil conservation. They further stated that cooperative extension and state universities were useful sources of educational information for farmers. Spore (1997) stated that Extension pursues the mandate of disseminating knowledge to improve agricultural productivity. Dowlath & Seepersad (1999) stated that the terms knowledge and information are often used interchangeably, while Extension provides information that influences knowledge. They further asserted that only information could be exchanged while knowledge exists in people s minds. This study was designed to help identify young farmers preferred sources of educational information related to their farm operations and their reasons to look for information from other sources rather than seeking information from Extension. A few researchers have examined some aspects of preferred sources of educational information by farmers. However, recently no one has documented farmers preferred sources of educational information. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the perceptions of farmers regarding their preferred sources of educational information. Specific objectives of this study were to: 1) identify preferred sources of information by farmers, 2) identify the ranking and percentage distribution for each source of information, and 3) draw conclusions based on the findings and make recommendations for further research. Methods and Procedures The population for this study consisted of all (148) members of the Iowa Young Farmers Educational Association. Data for this study were collected using a mailed

3 questionnaire. The instrument was designed to measure a number of different items related to adult learning not least among them was farmers sources of educational information they use related to their farm operations. The data used for this paper were a part of a larger study. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) computer program was used to analyze the data. The alpha coefficients for the various sections were 0.54, 0.67, 0.74 and 0.83 (motivation, learning preferences, motivational factors and barriers, respectively). The data reported in this paper were gathered and analyzed from the quantitative data that were gathered using the questionnaire. Findings Ninety-three participants provided usable data for this study. Over 91% (N=85) of the respondents were male, and less than 7% (N=8) were female. The data in Table 1 presents the distribution of respondents by educational level. A majority of the respondents (over 95%) had high school or higher levels of education. Sixtytwo percent of the respondents had a two-year college education or more. One respondent (1.1%) did not identify his or her educational level. Table 1. Educational level of members of Iowa Young Farmers Educational Association (N=93). Educational level Frequency Percent <12th grade th grade years years or > years Missing Note: Total A majority (87.1%) of respondents were between the age of 21 and 45. Less than 13% of the respondents were age 46 or older. Data reported in Table 2 indicate the mean ratings (1 = frequently used; 8 = least frequently used) and standard deviations of the sources where farmers obtain agricultural information related to their farm operations. The respondents reported that magazines represent the number one source of information with a mean rating of Neighbors ranked second as a source of information with a mean rating of Extension ranked third with a mean rating of Radio ranked fourth with a mean rating of Relatives ranked fifth as a source of information with a mean rating of DTN, TV and Internet ranked

4 sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively. These farmers reported the Internet as the least frequently used source of information. Table 2. Mean ratings for sources of information that are used by farmers Source N M SD Magazines Neighbor Extension Radio Relatives DTN TV Internet Scale: Rank based on frequency, 1 = Most frequently used; 8 = least frequently used information source Data reported in Table 3 indicate the percentage distribution for the sources where farmers obtained agricultural information related to their farm operations. A majority (71%) of the respondents ranked magazines as their first, second and third choices for agricultural information for their farm operations. Over 50% of the participants ranked neighbors as their first, second and/or third source of information. Forty-four percent of the participants selected Extension as their first, second and third choice for agricultural information. Thirtyfive percent of the participants selected radio as their first, second and third choice for agricultural information while 32% selected DTN; 28% selected TV and 25% selected relatives. Over 60% of the participants reported the Internet as the least frequently used source of information. Table 3. Percent distribution for sources of information that are used by farmers Source N Magazines Neighbor Extension Radio Relatives DTN TV Internet

5 Scale: Rank based on frequency, 1 = Most frequently used; 8 = least frequently used information source Conclusions/ Recommendations The findings indicate that these farmers still heavily depended on traditional sources for agricultural information. Although magazines and neighbors were leading sources of agricultural information for these farmers, Extension is still attracting a significant number of farmers to its services. On the contrary, the Internet has not yet attracted these farmers as their source for agricultural information. Refining traditional Extension publications by using, for example, pictures and real life stories rather than mere facts may possibly improve palatability of Extension publications to farmers. New technologies are here to stay. Thus, Extension should provide educational opportunities in new technologies to farmers so that farmers will be able to use Extension resources on the web. Above all, Extension should make sure its educational publications and web resources meet the needs of farmers. Educational Importance Extension agents should not assume that farmers are not interested in getting information and services that are relevant to their farm operations albeit less demand for their services. Findings of this study show that farmers are mainly using magazines, neighbors and Extension services for agricultural information. However, it is time to ask some questions. Why isn t Extension the leading source of information for farmers as it used to be? Where do the magazine publishers get their agricultural information? Most probably they are getting it from agricultural universities and research centers. Are they packaging it better than Extension does? What makes magazines attractive to farmers? What other means can we use to disseminate information that could be as useful as magazines, etc? We need to answer these questions through research. The implications of these findings to international agricultural extension programs are that all extension agents should be creative in packaging, communication and use of traditional and/or new delivery methods. Regardless of cultural and socio-economic differences, creativity in packaging, communication skills and effective use of traditional and/or new delivery methods will continue to be the keys to successful Extension programs. Waldron & Moore (1994) pointed out the social power of the new technologies does not reside in the technology itself but in the creative imagination of people in identifying a human need and harnessing the technology to serve that need. Good Extension has always been found in good programming and this continues to be the case. Nothing has changed with the new communications technologies except to emphasize this Extension principle (pp ).

6 References Blackburn J. & Flahrty J. (1994). Transitions and Directions in Extension. In Blackburn ( 2 nd Ed.), Extension Handbook Processes and Practices. (pp 8-17). Toronto, Thomson Educational Publishing, Inc. Bruening T. & Martin R. (1992). Farmer Perceptions of Soil and Water Conservation Issues: Implications to Agricultural and Extension Education. Journal of Agricultural Education, 33(4), Dillman, D.A. (1968). Cooperative Extension at the Beginning of the 21 st in The Rural Sociologist, 6(2), pp Century Dowlath P. & Seepersad J. (1999). Understanding Information Source in the Communication Process: Preparing for the Information Revolution in Extension Conference Proceedings, 15th Annual Conference. Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education. Lanham, M., & M.C. Cowen (1990). Learning logic in the global arena through telecommunication. (Eric Document Reproduction Service No. ED ). Nieto D. & Henderson L. (1992). Assessing the Educational Financial Needs of Small-Scale Dairy Farmers in Socopo, Venezuela. Spore (1997). Agricultural Extension for Small Farmers. Michigan State University (MSU) Rural Development Working Paper, Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University. (p. 81). Waldron W. & Moore G.A.B. (1994). New Extension Technologies. In Blackburn (2 nd Ed.), Extension Handbook: Processes and Practices. (pp ).