How farmers learn: improving sustainable agriculture education

How farmers learn: improving sustainable agriculture education

Summary

Research results from focus groups consisting of 41 participants including farmers and Extension agents and specialists indicate that farmers:
-encounter situations that stimulate learning
-gather information over time from experts and peers,

-try/experiment after reflecting on information and observations, and
-are motivated by saving time and money.

Agricultural education’s role in learning is the “gathering information” stage. Extension faculty need to provide comprehensive educational programs with sequential information delivered through a variety of teaching methods. Farmers value Extension educators who get to know them, facilitate farmer-to-farmer networks, work with agricultural industries, and have experience in their area of agriculture.

Objectives/Performance Targets

1. Farmers, Extension agents and specialists, and project staff as a group design and carry out an assessment of how Virginia farmers prefer to learn.

2. Farmers, Extension agents and specialists, and project staff assess Extension agent perceptions of how farmers in Virginia prefer to learn and determine how these perceptions are similar or different from farmer’s stated learning preferences.

3. Farmers, Extension agents and specialists, and project staff recommend how Extension educators should change or reinforce teaching methods and educational experiences to align with farmers learning preferences for more successful educational programming.

4. Farmers, Extension agents and specialists, and project staff recommend how this research model in Virginia could be expanded to other states in the Southern Region for year two and what training might be needed for Extension educators across the region in year three.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Farmers, Extension agents and specialists, and project staff helped guide the project towards obtaining the first year goals.

Focus Groups
– five focus groups with farmers and Extension agents and specialists were conducted in Virginia
– Extension agents and specialists were exposed to farmer’s thoughts about sustainable agriculture
– alternative agriculture producers had an opportunity to network with each other

Data Analysis
– transcripts of the five focus groups were anaylyzed to identify emerging themes
– the steering committee was involved in collecting and analyzing data
– a logic model was developed for planning and evaluating the project
– quantitative data was collected and analyzed from farmers in the focus groups on how they prefer to learn
– perceptions of Extension agents and specialists on how farmers prefer to learn were collected and analyzed through an online survey and compared with how farmers state they prefer to learn
– the steering committee of farmers and Extension agents and specialists learned more about the perceptions of alternative agriculture farmers through data analysis

Dissemination of Findings
– workshops are being designed to share findings with Extension agents and specialists in Virginia
– a poster of the findings was presented at the Virginia Tech Graduate Research Conference
– a conceptual model of the findings was developed to share with farmers and educators
– a Virginia Dairymen’s Association representative and an Extension dairy specialist
helped analyze the dairy focus group data and discussed ways to use the findings with Extension agents and dairy clientele

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Contributions from the Extension faculty and farmer steering committee helped the research project achieve a higher level of success. Impacts for year one included:

– The steering committee members gained research and other experience. In an electronic survey members stated,
*”I have gained insight on how Extension faculty perceive their role in educating farmers and how other farmers view the effectiveness of Extension agents.”
*”For me, the value is in working with a team of people that are interested in program development and concerned about the ineffective role Extension plays in the sustainable agriculture community. It is also valuable in that it inspires me to think about new and creative ways that my work can influence change.”
*”I’ve got a first-hand view of a participatory research project, and I’ve learned a lot about the life of farmers and their relationship with Extension.”

– Fifty percent of the steering committee members responding to a survey agreed to be involved because they want to make a difference in Virginia agriculture
– Based on the success of the Virginia model, steering committees in two other southern states will be developed to guide year two project work
– More relevant educational experiences for farmers can now be developed by Extension faculty based on the results from this project
– The Virginia Dairymen’s Association gained information on why farmers do and don’t attend meetings to help them with future event planning
– Farmers had fewer barriers to contribute to this research project due to a stipend provided to cover time away from their business
– Perceptions of Extension’s effectiveness and farmer learning preferences from this project will shape programs, agent competency, and other aspects of agriculture education to better meet the needs of farmers
– Workshops for Virginia Extension faculty will be conducted to inform this project for years two and three.

Overall, this research should contribute to better farmer learning through improved agriculture education focused on farmer’s preferred learning methods.

Collaborators: