Alter, Theodore R. (author / Pennsylvania State Univeristy), Ruane, Dermot J. (author / National University of Ireland), Phelan, James F. (author / National University of Ireland), and Crewdson, Bud (author / University of Minnesota)
Format:
Proceedings
Publication Date:
1999-03-23
Published:
Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 138 Document Number: C20985
Notes:
Burton Swanson Collection, 8 pages, Session I, from "1999 conference proceedings -- Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education", 15th Annual Conference, 21-24 March 1999, Port of Spain, Trinidad, 25-26, Tobago
8 pages, The use of digital technologies in agriculture offers various benefits, such as site-specific application, better monitoring, and physical relief. The handling of these technologies requires a specific skill set. Therefore, the question arises of when and how farm managers learn about digital technologies. Aiming to analyse the current situation, the present research investigated the role that digital technologies play in vocational training for future farm managers. Taking the example of farm management information systems (FMIS), the present study also analysed various predictors of adoption, including the effect of training. To investigate these research questions, an online survey among teachers and students of the farm management vocational programme across Switzerland was conducted in the spring of 2021. In total, 150 individuals participated, 41 of whom were teachers. Participants answered questions about the learning content in the farm management programme and their perception of digital technologies in general. Students further reported whether they already had a farm they would be managing in the future and how they perceived FMIS. The results indicate that both teachers and students are convinced that digital technologies play an important role in agriculture and will gain more importance in the future. A substantial part of 43% of the students who participated indicated that they had learned neither about digital technologies during their basic agricultural training nor the subsequent farm management programme. In terms of FMIS, 51% of the student sample indicated that they had never heard about FMIS during their agricultural training. While having learned about FMIS was not a significant predictor for adoption, gender, perceived ease of use, and intention to use more digital technologies in the future significantly predicted the adoption of FMIS. The paper concludes that, to support the adoption of digital technologies and FMIS specifically, training for future farm managers should focus on how to operate an FMIS to increase the perceived ease of use of this technology.
James F. Evans Collection; See C04120 for original, The study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison seeks to determine how much a farmer will actually use his/her computer after purchase. The introductory study looked broadly at the farmers' background, environment, and personality. It set out to discover what focuses in farm life enhance or diminish a farmer's computer use. The variables suggested include: Complexity of Farm, Degree of External Support, Age, Views on Management, Time, Experience, network, Availability of Information, and Personality and Approach to Learning. Several implications are suggested by these preliminary findings that might facilitate the use of computers.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 119 Document Number: C13475
Notes:
6 p., APEN (Australasia Pacific Extension Network) 2001 International Conference, Oct 3-5,2001 at Univ. of Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Aurelie, Toillier (author), Baudoin, Alice (author), and Chia, Eduardo (author)
Format:
Paper
Publication Date:
2014
Published:
Burkina Faso
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 132 Document Number: D11346
Notes:
Paper presented during the 11th European International Farming System Association (IFSA) Symposium, "Farming systems facing global challenges: capacities and strategies," April 1-4, 2014, in Berlin, Germany. 11 pages in proceedings, The study involved "learning regime" as the set of mechanisms that are triggers for and lead to the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, allowing the head of the farm to improve production and management methods. Authors identified four types of regimes, calling into question the assumption of homogeneity of farmers' capabilities to change their routines to acquire new skills. Findings prompted suggestion that creating spaces for exchanges between producers who are at common stages of development or have similar problems, leveraging specific know-how of different ethnic groups and inter-cultural exchanges, and facilitating access to existing information in a given territory seem to be some of the many possible ways of strengthening existing dynamics of learning.
Azzam, Azzeddine M. (author), Azzam, Sara M. (author), Keele, John W. (author), and Keown, Jeffrey F. (author)
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1988
Published:
Finland
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 93 Document Number: C06963
Notes:
In: Proceedings of the VIth World Conference on Animal Production, Helsinki 1988. Helsinki, Finland : Finnish Animal Breeding Association, 1988. p. 264
Baker, James L. (author), Miller, Gerry (author), Vaughan, Marilyn (author), and Integrated Farm Management Demonstration Program, Iowa State University; Integrated Farm Management Demonstration Program, Iowa State University
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
1991
Published:
Ames, IA : Iowa State University, Cooperative Extension Service
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 93 Document Number: C06928
Bamberry, Geoff (author), Dunn, Tony (author), Lamont, Annette (author), and Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Australian Government, Barton, ACT.
Format:
Report
Publication Date:
1997-05
Published:
Australia
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C27013
Notes:
Executive summary posted at www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/HCC/97-030sum.html; full report posted at www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/HCC/97-030.pdf, RIRDC Publication No. 97-030. 165 pages.
Batte, Marvin (author), Arnholt, Michael (author), Prochaska, Steve (author), and Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, Ohio State University, Columbus.
Format:
Research report
Publication Date:
2001-12-20
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 148 Document Number: C23654
Batte, Marvin (author), Arnholt, Michael (author), Prochaska, Steve (author), and Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, Ohio State Univeresity, Columbus.
Format:
Research report
Publication Date:
2001-12-05
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 148 Document Number: C23656
"The case study farmers appear to derive more value from information gathering technologies (e.g., yield monitors and mapping) than from variable rate application technologies."
Batte, Marvin T. (author), Carter, Bryson R. (author), and Carter: Assistant Professor, Ohio Cooperative Extension Service, The Ohio State University; Batte: Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, The Ohio State University
Format:
Report
Publication Date:
1989
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 90 Document Number: C06363
Notes:
Carter, Mimeographed, [1989]. 12 p., Farmers' perception of important farm management educational topics and a technique for identifying interested clientele for educational programs are presented. Income tax, input prices, year-end analysis and agricultural outlook were important topics. Operator age, tenancy, size of farm business, and farm enterprise type were important predictors of topic preference. (original)
20 Pages, Springer Online, Aspirations to farm ‘better’ may fall short in practice due to constraints outside of farmers’ control. Yet farmers face proliferating pressures to adopt practices that align with various societal visions of better agriculture. What happens when the accumulation of external pressures overwhelms farm management capacity? Or, worse, when different visions of better agriculture pull farmers toward conflicting management paradigms? This article addresses these questions by comparing the institutional manifestations of two distinct societal obligations placed on California fruit and vegetable farmers: to practice sustainable agriculture and to ensure food safety. Drawing on the concept of constrained choice, I define and utilize a framework for comparison comprising five types of institutions that shape farm management decisions: rules and standards, market and supply chain forces, legal liability, social networks and norms, and scientific knowledge and available technologies. Several insights emerge. One, farmers are expected to meet multiple societal obligations concurrently; when facing a “right-versus-right” choice, farmers are likely to favor the more feasible course within structural constraints. Second, many institutions are designed to pursue narrow or siloed objectives; policy interventions that aim to shift farming practice should thus anticipate and address potential conflicts among institutions with diverging aspirations. Third, farms operating at different scales may face distinct institutional drivers in some cases, but not others, due to differential preferences for universal versus place-specific policies. These insights suggest that policy interventions should engage not just farmers, but also the intersecting institutions that drive or constrain their farm management choices. As my framework demonstrates, complementing the concept of constrained choice with insights from institutional theory can more precisely reveal the dimensions and mechanisms that bound farmer agency and shape farm management paradigms. Improved understanding of these structures, I suggest, may lead to novel opportunities to transform agriculture through institutional designs that empower, rather than constrain, farmer choice.
