National Program 216 Technology Transfer Project - End Users' Inputs

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Department of Agricultural and Extension Education

214 Ricks Hall, North Carolina State University

Raleigh, NC 27695-7607

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Survey of Farmer Preferences for Technology Transfer

This short survey will help us determine farmer preferences for receiving information about new technologies from Agricultural Research Service (ARS) programs to better meet your needs. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete. Your answers will be anonymous and kept private to the extent allowed by applicable law. Your input is greatly appreciated. Please respond to all relevant questions by checking your response.

1. Are you familiar with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS)?

Yes

No

2. Are you aware of ARS developed farming technologies (tillage practices, cover crops, crop and animal production practices, or others)?

Yes (If yes, please skip to question 6 and continue)

No (If no, please continue with question 3)

3. If you are not aware of farming technologies developed by ARS, would you like to receive this information periodically?

Yes (If yes, please continue with question 4)

No (If no, please skip to question 12 and continue)

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is [Insert OMB control number when it is available]. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 10 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

4. Please indicate your preference for receiving information about new agricultural technology through the following institutions.

Institution	Least preferred	Somewhat preferred	Most Preferred
Cooperative Extension
Natural Resource Conservation Service
Private consultants
Agricultural Industry — equipment, seed, or chemical reps
Commodity groups — corn, cotton, soybean growers assoc. etc.
Others (Please specify)______________________________

5. If you would like to receive information about new ARS technologies, please indicate whether you currently use the following methods and your level of preference for each.

Communication Method	Currently use	Least preferred	Somewhat preferred	Most Preferred
The Internet
Trade magazines
Research journals
Fact sheets/Brochures
News letters
Face-to-face meetings such as field demonstrations
Local radio station
Local TV station
Other (Please specify)_________________________

If you answered questions 3 to 5 please skip to question 12 and continue.

6. Have you used any ARS technologies in your farming operation?

Yes (If yes, please continue with question 7)

No (If no, please skip to question 9 and continue)

7. Please identify any ARS technologies you have used. (Check all that apply to you)

Increasing cover crop seeding rates to produce large amounts of residue for weed control

Subsurface tillage to reduce compaction caused by animals in mixed crop-animal systems

Increasing organic matter input and soil quality to improve potato production

Dual purpose small grains for cattle grazing and grain production

Cover crop roller-crimpers to manage cover crops in conservation tillage systems

Novel cover crop mixtures of legumes and cereals

“Purple bounty” hairy vetch as a cover crop

Irrigation management software to improve water conservation, pest control, and profitability

Other (Please specify)______________________________________________

8. For the ARS technology you are most familiar with, how satisfied are you with it in achieving the following objectives?

Objectives	Not satisfied	Somewhat satisfied	Very Satisfied
Increasing profitability
Enhancing sustainability
Conserving soil
Conserving water
Reducing risk
Saving energy
Improving environmental quality

9. Please indicate if you currently use the following communication methods and how often you receive information about ARS technologies through each one.

Communication Method	Currently use	Never	Sometimes	Always
The Internet
Trade magazines
Research journals
Fact sheets/Brochures
News letters
Face-to-face meetings such as field demonstrations
Local radio station
Local TV station
Other (Please specify)____________________________

10. Please indicate how often you receive information about ARS developed technologies from the following Institutions?

Institutions	Never	Sometimes	Often
Cooperative Extension
Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)
Private consultants
Agriculture Industry — equipment, seed, or chemical reps
Commodity groups — corn, cotton, soybean growers assoc. etc.
ARS scientists (Please give location)__________________________
Others (Please specify)______________________________

11. How satisfied are you with your current method of receiving information about ARS technologies?

Not satisfied

Somewhat satisfied

Satisfied

Very satisfied

12. When making decisions about the use of an agricultural technology how much weight do you give the following qualities?

Qualities of Technology	None	Low	Medium	High
Contributes to profitability
Conserves the environment
Can be tried at a small scale
Contributes to soil conservation
Contributes to water conservation/quality
Technical complexity
Time requirement
Other (Please specify)_____________________________

13. How do you describe your farming operation? (Please check all that apply to you)

Conventional farming

Organic farming

Conventional and organic farming

Mainly livestock farming

Mainly crop farming

Livestock and crop farming

14. Please indicate the commodities you produce or participate in? (Check all that apply to you)

Corn	Beef
Soybean	Dairy
Peanut	Hog
Cotton	Poultry
Small grains (wheat, barley, rye etc.)	Sheep
Rice	Goats
Forage	Ratites
Vegetables	Equine
Tobacco	Other (Please specify)________________
Turf
Potato
Fruit or Nuts
Others (Please specify)__________________

15. How many years of farming experience do you have? ____________

16. Is your operation defined by USDA as a Small Farm (Small Farms are farms with sales less than $250,000/year)?

Yes

No

17. What is your age category?

Less than 30 years

30-40 years

41-50 years

51-60 years

Above 60 years

18. What is your highest level of education?

Middle school

Some high school

High school graduate/GED

Some college

College graduate

Post graduate (Masters or Doctoral degree)

19. What is your gender?

Male

Female

20. Are you a Hispanic or Latino?

Yes

No

21. What is your race? (Mark all that apply)

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Other______________________________

22. Please provide any suggestions you might have for improving farmer access to ARS technologies?

Thank You

6 February 2, 2021