TY - JOUR
T1 - Grower communication networks
T2 - Information sources for organic farmers
AU - Crawford, Chelsi
AU - Grossman, Julie
AU - Warren, Sarah T.
AU - Cubbage, Fred
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© by Extension Journal, Inc.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - This article reports on a study to determine which information sources organic growers use to inform farming practices by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with 23 organic farmers across 17 North Carolina counties. Effective information sources included: networking, agricultural organizations, universities, conferences, Extension, Web resources, personal experience, books, organic buyers/certifiers, and consultants. Results suggest that grower-to-grower networking is a highly effective information-seeking behavior for organic growers. Recommendations for Extension personnel include reshaping educational programing for organic growers to include peer-to-peer information sharing, as well as increased investment to graduate and undergraduate programs that train future Extension agents in organic production approaches.
AB - This article reports on a study to determine which information sources organic growers use to inform farming practices by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with 23 organic farmers across 17 North Carolina counties. Effective information sources included: networking, agricultural organizations, universities, conferences, Extension, Web resources, personal experience, books, organic buyers/certifiers, and consultants. Results suggest that grower-to-grower networking is a highly effective information-seeking behavior for organic growers. Recommendations for Extension personnel include reshaping educational programing for organic growers to include peer-to-peer information sharing, as well as increased investment to graduate and undergraduate programs that train future Extension agents in organic production approaches.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84936879189&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84936879189&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.34068/joe.53.03.31
DO - 10.34068/joe.53.03.31
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84936879189
SN - 1077-5315
VL - 53
JO - Journal of Extension
JF - Journal of Extension
IS - 3
ER -