Mykel Taylor, Kansas State University | Choices Theme Organizer | June 6, 2019
The field of Farm Management Extension has been a mainstay
of applied and agricultural economists for decades. Today it holds unique
challenges and opportunities for economists. New technologies affect both our
stakeholders and how we communicate with them, making it imperative to embrace
these technological advances while still applying sound analysis to assess
their impact. Additionally, our audiences are changing as farmers require
information at a faster pace and filtered through an objective lens.
As noted by Langemeier and Shockley, “There is still demand
for traditional extension meetings. However, many of the topics that will need
to be addressed, due to the complexity of the topics and time needed to learn
the concepts, are better suited to workshops spread over several weeks,
webinars, and distance education. The nature of the topics places a premium on
programs that extend beyond state boundaries, and the involvement of multiple
economists with various specialty areas.” This demonstrates how universities
will need to work together to meet the demands of stakeholders.
Part of meeting these evolving needs of the field is
recruitment and training of new extension specialists. More and more our
candidate pools are not comprised of people with a U.S. agricultural
background. How we grow those candidate pools with diversity and
extension-ready skills will determine our success in meeting the latest
evolution in farm management. Getting students on the grad school track
toward a career in extension economics begins with attracting them to the
profession. Often, those students ask about real world application of
economics. “Look no further than extension economists to showcase real world
economics that impacts private decisions and public policy,” observe Lawrence,
Hadley, and Henderson.
If we can recognize the changes occurring in our
profession and among the stakeholders we serve, then we can be successful going
forward with our educational efforts. Farm management extension economics is
just as vital a part of our profession as it ever was and this most recent
edition of Choices Magazine challenges readers to think of creative ways that
they might help their universities move forward to serve a dynamic agriculture
industry.
Articles in this theme include:
- Theme Overview: The Future of Farm Management Extension
Mykel Taylor - The Farm Management Extension Audience of 2030
Alejandro Plastina, Kelvin Leibold, and Matthew Stockton - Impact of Emerging Technology on Farm Management
Michael Langemeier and Jordan Shockley - Training the Next Generation of Extension Economists
Mykel Taylor and Wendong Zhang - The Future for Extension Farm Management Economists: The Director’s Cut
John Lawrence, Gregg Hadley, and Jason Henderson
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