We’ve learnt through the self-awareness module that we’re all different: we think differently, we act differently. We have different learning and problem-solving styles and are influenced by different factors (values, ambitions and people). This is true for both the collaborators we work with to help enable change, and the primary producers we aim to support in changing practice. The following resource is designed to enhance your confidence and skills when working with others to effect change (‘The Art of Collaboration’) and how to best influence positive change in primary production based on producer differences (‘Know your audience’).

The Art of Collaboration: Relationships are everything

Developing and maintaining successful working relationships hinges on being aware of different working styles as well as understanding the strategic drivers and cultures that exist within collaborating organisations. Unfortunately, this isn’t something that can necessarily be fast-tracked, it is developed through interactions over time (i.e. we can’t immediately gauge which one of the 16 Personalities our collaborators are………and we probably shouldn’t ask them 😉!). The development and maintenance of positive relationships hinges on accepting that not everyone we work with will agree on the pathway or, in some instances, even be looking for the same outcome. The earlier in the process that you can recognise the existence of differences and address them, the more likely you are to achieve positive outcomes.  The aim is to ensure as much of your energy and time is focussed on influencing change within your target populations rather than managing differences with collaborators. Managing differences involves both compromise and standing your ground; an important skill to develop. Knowing when to apply either of these strategies is something that again comes through experience. However, always remember these are not decisions you have to make in isolation. Discussing your experiences with colleagues, managers or mentors helps derive a sense of “truth” and informs the best course of action.

Know your audience: how to best influence practice change

Producers operate within their own socio-cultural, economic and geographical context (i.e. they do not form a homogenous group) and if this is not recognised and incorporated into extension planning and delivery, then there is a risk of:

• missed opportunities i.e. producers failing to perceive a change in practice as beneficial and actively choose not to engage any further in learning or trialling. This failure to connect or understand the technical and/or economic components of a beneficial practice can be a result of many factors including information packages that lack key evidence and context, lack of peer-support eg. community of practice, right message/wrong messenger eg. researcher lecturing when a key industry influencer is required etc.
• time-wasting i.e. promoting practices that are not suitable for many of the producer participants. Their time can be wasted by attending workshops and online forums, accessing online information and/or, worst-case scenario, trialling a practice that would never be appropriate. Continued delivery of time-wasting extension activities erodes credibility

Providing adoption support to primary producers at an individual level is no longer a part of the extension world we operate in. Instead, more and more, our approach to extension is to engage with large a number or producers at a time and, as a result, treat producers all the “same” and not recognise any heterogeneity. However, adoption is best achieved when we identify and promote changes in practice that are aligned with the needs and abilities of producers in an aggregated, but not generic, form.

“There are many ways in which diversity can be observed within the farming community; rich and poor, big and small, old and young, early in the life cycle or late in the life cycle, high mortgage and small mortgage, propensity to adopt new ideas (innovator) and propensity to retain tried and true methods (‘laggard’ in extension discourse), pro-chemical (or pro-GMO) and anti-chemical (or anti-GMO), and male or female. high mortgage and small mortgage. Farmers (family farm businesses) can be categorised on every single variable that can be logically considered in conjunction with agriculture. This means there are no problems, no single solutions, no single extension strategies, and no best medium that extension should solely utilise” (Vanclay 2011). Therefore, defining target populations for adoption is easy to say but a LOT harder to do (it takes considerable time and resources). But it’s critical. Without it effecting positive change will take far longer to achieve, if at all.

Awareness and understanding of the social principles with primary production is a key to knowing your audience. A great starting point in developing your knowledge is contained within Chapter 2 of Changing Land Management: Adoption of new practices by rural landholders. The chapter, Social principles for agricultural extension in facilitating the adoption of new practices is written by Frank Vanclay. Within it is 27 principles “relevant to enabling change in individuals, family farm businesses, communities and industries involved with primary industries and natural resource management”.

While there are a number of social principles that are important to explore, one we should never lose sight of is the fact that there is no risk for us as extension practitioners when it comes to the adoption of new practices. We have no ‘skin in the game’ and at the end of the day we get to go home and separate ourselves from our work. For a producer though they “depend on their farm systems for income, lifestyle, social and emotional benefits” and so “adopting a technology (or changing a management practice) is highly engaging for growers because change creates, to a degree, income, lifestyle, social and emotional risks” (Kaine, 2023)

Our extension efforts are still very one sided i.e. we push too hard on the feasibility of a practice (i.e. “our research project found…..” i.e. top-down) without ever coming close to understanding producers’ acceptability of the practice. This is a large part of why there is such a disparity between our expectations of the uptake of new practices and the amount that actually occurs.

So how do we segment producers for adoption and overcome top-down bias? By investing time and effort in to identifying the likely adopters of a new practice (population assessments) and recognising the social principles that exist within the Australian agriculture sector. When it comes to population assessments, knowing which variables to gather (eg. personal characteristic, circumstances, practices, drivers of practice) and when to collect, is a challenge. However, as you work through the other adoption mindset resources, particularly the next two (‘Awareness of practice/Problem definition’ and ‘Relative advantage’), and become familiar with the concept of adoption planning, the uncertainty of when and what data you need to collect will be resolved.

For further information

Frank Vanclay – Social Principles for agricultural extension in facilitating the adoption of new practices in Changing land management: adoption of new practices by rural landholders, 2011 CSIRO Publishing.

Geoff Kaine ‘Identifying the potential adopters of an agricultural innovation’. Presentation for a ‘A Lighter Touch’, November 2023

References