The influence of the 1972 statewide extension soybean production practice survey on amounts of staff time planned and expended and clientele contacts, : with selected audiences and teaching methods, fiscal year 1972 and 1975

Abstract

Information from the 1972 Tennessee Soybean Production Practice Checklist Survey was related to data from the Tennessee Extension Management Information System, TEMIS, (i.e., agent day planned and expended and clientele contacts made) for Fiscal Years 1972 and 1975 to determine whether the survey had influenced agent time planned and expended according to state Extension Supervisory Districts and teach-ing methods. The relation between soybean survey practices and TEMIS primary subjects was found to be acceptable for this study. From the 1972 Tennessee Soybean Production Survey, it was found that the average production in bushels of soybeans per acre was approx-imately 28 bushels per acre for the state (i.e., actually 74 counties), little difference being noted among districts. Soybean producers with larger acreages (i.e., 50 acres or more) showed a tendency to have higher yields. Higher percents of those producing yields of over 28 bushels per acre, the 1972 survey average, used each and all of 12 recommended practices. Recommended practices under the Primary TEMIS Subjects One, Soybean Fertilization and Two, Soybean Pest Control were found to be least used by Tennessee Soybean producers suggesting the need to emphasize them most in Extension\u27s soybean educational program as priority areas. Stronger use areas included Subject Three, Soybean Management and Harvesting, Subject Four, Soybean Production, and Subject Five, Soybean Machinery. Percents of total agent days planned and expended, then, on the weak soybean subjects and related practices showed decreases or no appreciable increases between Fiscal Years 1972 and 1975. Numbers of agent days planned increased for all districts for a state overall increase of more than two agent years (i.e., 550 agent days planned). Also, there was an increase for all subjects in number of agent days planned between FY 1972 and FY 1975. In days expended between FY\u27s 1972 and 1975, all subjects showed increases in numbers of days spent excepting Subjects One and Three. A large decrease was noted in total contacts made by Agents with soybean producers between FY\u27s 1972 and 1975, especially on Subjects One and Two. Of Extension methods studied. Individual Contacts showed the greatest increase in agent days used, 356, and in contacts made, 6,046. The largest number of these, 141 days and 2,193 contacts, was reported for teaching Subject Two information. The largest decreases in numbers of contacts reported were in Mass Media, 8,817, and Planning and Prep-aration, 1,354. It was implied that factors other than the 1972 Tennessee Soy-bean Production Survey appeared to have influenced agent time planned and expended and contacts made by agents in the districts. Recommenda-tions were included