Preferred Methods for Delivery of Technological Information by the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service: Opinions of Agricultural Producers Who Use Extension Information.

The findings of a questionnaire survey of 702 North Carolina agricultural producers indicated that communication methods historically used by the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service for information dissemination are accepted by state farmers and continue to be popular. Information delivery methods most frequently preferred are newsletters, meetings, farm visits (agent to farmer), telephone calls, and on-farm tests and demonstrations. Newer extension information delivery techniques such as teleconferencing, video tapes, audio cassettes, cable television, and home study courses were rated quite low. Results indicated that only slight variation existed among preferences of individual commodity groups (field crops, tobacco, peanuts, hogs, beef cattle, dairy, forestry, poultry, Christmas trees, ornamental horticulture; and fruit and vegetable horticulture). When respondents were requested to project five years into the future as to their expected preferred methods, traditional methods continued to be most popular. Implications suggest that extension should avoid moving too rapidly into newer, impersonal forms of communications to meet informational needs of its agricultural audiences. However, there was an indicated desire to receive information more directly. Thus the continuing utilization of familiar teaching methods, coupled with the introduction/inclusion of newer direct methods of information delivery, will likely be acceptable to agricultural clientele. (NEC)