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    Measuring farmers’ self-efficacy for managing perennial summer forages
    (Austraasia Pacific extension network, 10/10/2017) Drysdale D; Hartnett MK; Sewell A; Gray D; Kemp P; Wood B
    Farmers’ self-efficacy beliefs impact on their learning and decision-making processes, and as such provide vital information to agricultural extension providers. Self-efficacy is measured as an individual’s perception of what they ‘can do’, rather than what they ‘actually do’, providing an indication of their present efficacy to carry out a specific future task. This paper reports on the design, development and pilot study of a tool to provide quantitative measures of farmers’ self-efficacy when considering the introduction or management for perennial summer forages. Preliminary results indicate that this tool provides a robust means of measuring changes in self-efficacy beliefs within this specific domain of managing perennial summer forages. Understanding farmers’ efficacy beliefs may guide the design of more effective agricultural extension activities to better assist farmers in their learning and decision-making when adopting innovative agricultural practices.
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    Improved extension practices for sheep and beef farmers
    (New Zealand Grassland Association Occasional Publication, 14/04/2016) Gray, DI; Sewell, AM; Hartnett, M; Wood, BA; Kemp, PD; Blair, HT; Kenyon, PR; Morris, ST
    Innovation is critical for maintaining New Zealand’s competitive advantage in agriculture and central to this is farmer learning and practice change. Despite the importance of farmer learning, limited research has been undertaken in New Zealand. In this study, an extension programme was developed based upon educational theory and research and then evaluated over a 3 years to identify the factors that were important for farmer learning and practice change. This paper provides a brief overview of findings of a 3 year interdisciplinary study conducted at Massey University with 23 farmers that investigated the critical factors that support farmers’ learning. The five critical success factors and the seven educational principles identified from this study provide guidelines for how science should interact with farmers to foster effective innovation. These findings are also applicable to other extension approaches such discussion groups, monitor farms and sustainable farming fund initiatives where farmers work with scientists and/or rural professionals.