Effectively utilizing demonstration for Ag. Extension

Effectively utilizing demonstration for Ag. Extension.

“What a man hears, he may doubt; what he sees, he may also doubt; but what he does, he cannot doubt.” Seaman A. Knapp.

Peer teaching and learning is an important part of agricultural education. While volunteering with the U.S. Peace Corps in Paraguay, I noticed much resistance to adoption of new soil conservation practices that I was promoting throughout the community. As a foreigner, there was an aspect of distrust in me and in what I was promoting. This distrust was justified due to the farmers not knowing my background, and the fact that I had never ran a farm in that region of the world before. I eventually built relationships with some of the community members who were better positioned to take risks on new farming practices. After seeing positive results in the 1^st growing season, these growers shared their results with other growers, and the practices were slowly incorporated throughout the community.

This concept of using farmers land to demonstrate new technologies has been used since 1903. Seaman A. Knapp worked in agricultural extension at the beginning of the twentieth century. He believed that showing farmers new techniques on research farms operated at public expense was of little benefit. Alternatively he proposed and conducted well thought out demonstrations, based on research results, on land owned by farmers, in cooperation with the farmer. This model for disseminating useful and practical information has been wildly successful and a tool used by Extension ever since.

The process for conducting an on farm demonstration requires thorough planning. First off, a problem must be identified. The demonstrated practice must be something that is relevant for local area growers. This need can be identified through informal or formal grower survey and field observation. As a form of nonformal education, the use of demonstration as a teaching tool for growers must be relevant and engaging in order to effectively reach a large number or growers.

This planning should be conducted by a guidance committee. This committee should be formed of extension staff, concerned farmers, and local farm material dealers. The committee should work to fully plan all aspects of the demonstration and elect the cooperating farmer to host the demonstration. In depth planning ensures that the demonstration reaches as many growers as possible, that the demonstration is conducted successfully, maintaining a good relationship between the growers and Extension.

The planning committee then selects a cooperating farmer. This cooperator is usually part of the guidance committee. Cooperators should be volunteers who are dependable, honest, and who are community leaders. The cooperators should be “typical farmers” to the practice that you are trying to demonstrate. For example, if you are trying to promote a new practice for organic vegetable crops, the cooperating farmer should not be a conventional dairy farmer and visa versa.

On-farm peer demonstration has six goals for effectiveness;

1)      Audience interest. You topic should either arouse the learner’s interest or deal with something that people are already interested in.

2)      Understanding the purpose of the demonstration. The project should be widely publicized to that many stakeholders are aware of the project and what it is accomplishing.

3)      Simplicity. Demonstrations teaching one practice at a time are most effective.

4)      Repetition. Seeing similar results across several farms or several season reinforces confidence in the efficacy of a practice.

5)      Participation by observers. “A skill has neither been taught nor learned until the pupil can actually perform the task with his or her own hands.” (Hancock)

6)      Satisfaction. Habits are most easily formed when an act results in satisfaction, hence demonstrations are most effective when they present solutions that are possible, practical, and easy to implement.

Just as in the class room, thorough planning and concrete objectives are crucial for effectively sharing information and promoting techniques through on farm demonstration. Utilizing the farmer as the primary person sharing project results  is an important method for continuing this education and practice implementation. This concept of utilizing cooperative learning and resource people to reach a broader community of people is an important tool that should be widely utilized.

Hancock, J. 1997. Extension Education: Conducting Effective Agricultural Demonstration. University of Kentucky Extension Publication. Retrieved from  http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/id/id111/ id111.pdf