Conferences
eFields: Extension-Farmer Collaborations Impact on Farm Management Decisions
Amanda Bennett, Elizabeth Hawkins, Michael Estadt, John Fulton, Amanda Douridas, Jason Hartschuh, and Dara Barclay
Summary
The STATE Extension service has a long-standing tradition of using on-farm research to provide practical answers to producers' questions about new agricultural technologies and farming practices. Annually, the STATE Extension Digital Ag Team team releases a summary report of on-farm research to share the results of trials with an average distribution of 17,000 copies distributed annually across the country and internationally.
The team conducted a designed to evaluate the reach and impact of the on-farm research program and to inform the extent to which producers were utilizing the information in their farm production decisions.
A general conclusion of this initial inquiry of agricultural producers is that there is perceived value of the team’s on-farm research efforts. When asked if their experience with the publication had changed their use of on-farm research-based information, almost half responded they utilize information more since learning about the publication. When considering the influence of the research publication on decision-making on their farm, about one-half responded they were considering changes in production practices and had already made changes to their production practices. About 40% were considering changes in technology adoption due to the publication’s information and 27% had already invested in new technology.
Results of the survey gave researchers a better understanding of how farmers utilized the publication as a tool for managing production and financial risk, as well as how they valued the work, and preferences on how they prefer to receive information to improve future efforts relating to farm-led on-farm research efforts.
Details
| Conference | 2026 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference |
| Presentation Type | 30-Minute Concurrent |