Iowa Farmers’ Use of Information Sources and Preferred Ways of Receiving Information J. Gordon Arbuckle Jr. March 27, 2013

Where farmers go first for information on… –Crop production –Pest and disease management –Nutrient management –Conservation –Finances and marketing Preferred ways of receiving info from ISUEO? –Field days –Workshops, trainings, meetings –Downloaded publications –Online videos and webcasts –Apps 2012 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll: Farmers and information sources

Drew on 2004 ISU survey of farmers and CCAs –Farmers rely on private sector, while private sector relies on ISUEO Examined literature about use of info sources –Most studies employ rankings of usefulness of different information sources for highly generalized topic area: “agricultural decision making” “production decisions” –Not particularly helpful b/c farmers make decisions in many areas, access info from different sources 2012 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll: Farmers and information sources

“Where would you go first for information on the following topics? (Circle one on each line.)” Provided a list of major information sources: Fertilizer or ag chemical dealer Seed dealer USDA/NRCS/SWCD Service Center Private crop consultant Iowa State University Extension Commodity Association Other

Where do farmers go first for crop production information? Seed dealer Fertilizer or ag chemical dealer ISUEO Crop consultant

Where do farmers go first for pest and disease management information? Seed dealer Fertilizer or ag chemical dealer ISUEO Crop consultant

Where do farmers go first for nutrient management information? Fertilizer or ag chemical dealer ISUEO Crop consultant USDA Service Center

Where do farmers go first for conservation information? USDA Service Center ISUEO Other

Where do farmers go first for finances and marketing information? Other ISUEO Crop consultant Commodity association

Differences by farm size? More larger-scale farmers go to ISUEO first –Corn and soybean production $250K+ gross farm income: 22% Less than $250K: ~15% –Pest and disease management Insects –$250K+ gross farm income: 24% –Less than $250K: ~17% Weeds –$250K+ gross farm income: 18% –Less than $250K: ~10%

Differences by opinion leadership? Farmers who view themselves as innovative go to ISUEO first more frequently Leadership scale: six items, five-point agreement scale It is important for me to keep up with the latest farm management practices and strategies Other farmers tend to look to me for advice I consider myself to be a role model for other farmers Extension staff, crop advisers, and others involved in agriculture tend to look to me for advice I take a leadership role in local agricultural matters Compared to other farmers, I tend to use more innovative management practices and strategies My opinions matter in the local agricultural community

Differences in use of ISUEO by opinion leaders? Top 25% score on leadership scale vs. rest Corn production: 24% vs. 17% Soybean production: 24% vs. 18% Insect and disease: 28% vs. 20% Nutrient management: 26% vs. 16% Financial management: 31% vs. 24%

Some important findings… Farmers tend to go to private and public partner organizations first, especially for crop, pest, and disease management They tend to go to fertilizer dealers for nutrient management information: Conflict of interest? Substantial percentages look to ISUEO first for many types of information Larger-scale, more influential farmers tend to look to ISUEO more frequently than others

Introductory text: “Iowa State University Extension delivers information and educational programs in many ways. Please indicate which would be preferred ways for you to receive information and educational programs from Extension on the following topics. (Check all that apply.)” Field days Workshops, trainings, and meetings Downloaded publications Online videos, webcasts Apps Preferred ways to receive information and programing from ISUEO

Preferred ways: Crop production

Preferred ways: Pest and disease management

Preferred ways: Nutrient mgmt/conservation

Preferred ways: Finances and Marketing

Some important findings… Field days preferred avenue of communication about crop production: corn and soybean production, seed selection Workshops, trainings and meetings preferred for pest and disease management, nutrient management Larger-scale farmers and opinion leaders tended to prefer field days, workshops and meetings, downloaded pubs-across subject matter Older farmers much less likely to give preference to electronic forms of communication Substantial numbers (~30%) do indicate preference for internet- based communication: videos, webcasts, downloaded pubs Few farmers indicate that they would not use extension, suggests that although ISUEO might not be first stop, it might well be a stop

Questions that remain To what degree does ISUEO serve a supporting role? –For farmers Who do farmers trust for information on different topics? Degree of influence that ISUEO has on decisions? Use of ISUEO as secondary source (“second opinion”)? –For private and public sector partners Degree to which they rely on ISU for information that they pass on How to measure ISU impact on private sector entities? –If much of our impact is attained through the actions of private and public sector partners, we need to figure out how to demonstrate that impact

Thank you!