Horticulture industry awareness and use of lawn and landscape Cooperative Extension education resources

Little research has been conducted on Cooperative Extension Service resource use and consideration among horticultural professionals. A multistate survey was created and shared through 12 University Extension programs at in-person Extension events (i.e., field days, conferences, and workshops) in the Central United States to attain a better understanding of how horticultural industry practitioners (e.g., golf course superintendents, sports field managers, lawn and landscape contractors, sod producers, nursery and greenhouse growers, tree care, and retailers) are using Extension resources, their challenges with Extension, and considerations for future use. Most professionals (74%) who attended in-person Extension events were aware of Extension resources and indicated that it was either their primary (23%) or secondary (16%) source of plant health-related information. Practitioners suggested that resources being easy to find and updated in the past 5 years were the two most important considerations for future use. Professionals who attend in-person events prefer more in-person Extension events and online Extension publications and they are more likely to use video resources and emailed newsletters compared to other educational methods. More research is needed to determine if the less-used tools indicated in our survey (social media, Extension website blogs, mailed newsletters, and phone calls or phone-based apps) are favored by professionals who do not regularly attend in-person events. Regardless, updating and creating new resources through multiple avenues that practitioners prefer to use can help increase awareness and use of Extension materials.