SOURCES OF AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION
Thinking back over your years as a certified organic producer, how important were each of the following as sources of information about organic production practices, farm management, and marketing strategies?
| Information Sources | Mean Scores on a Scale from 1 (”Not Important”) to 5 (“Very Important”) |
|---|---|
| Own experimentation, creativity, or innovation | 4.25 |
| Other farmers | 3.76 |
| Conferences, workshops, or seminars | 3.29 |
| Organic certification agency | 3.26 |
| WA Department of Agriculture | 3.23 |
| Agricultural input suppliers | 3.22 |
| Newsletters, magazines, or newspapers | 3.21 |
| Internet-based resources | 3.07 |
| WSU scientists or researchers | 2.94 |
| Field days or farm walks | 2.80 |
| Washington Tilth Association | 2.73 |
| WSU Extension educators | 2.73 |
| Formal education or continuing education classes | 2.55 |
| Family members | 2.52 |
| Private consultants | 2.50 |
| ATTRA (National Sustainable Agriculture Info Service) | 2.42 |
| USDA-SARE (including SAN) | 2.12 |
| Marketing cooperative | 2.07 |
| Commodity or growers association | 2.04 |
| Nonresponses ranged from 10 to 20 | |
In 2007, how many times did you have the following types of contact with Washington State University (WSU) representatives with regard to your organic farm operation?
| Contact with WSU Representatives | Not at all (%) |
At least once (%) |
About two times (%) |
Three times or more (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visited a WSU Extension office | 69.3 | 16.4 | 7.9 | 6.4 |
| Visited a WSU Extension website | 50.1 | 14.9 | 13.7 | 21.3 |
| Read a WSU Extension bulletin or report | 33.6 | 18.4 | 22.5 | 25.4 |
| Attended a WSU Extension meeting, workshop, or field day | 57.8 | 19.3 | 13.5 | 9.5 |
| Had a WSU scientist or Extension educator visit my farm | 74.3 | 11.6 | 6.4 | 7.8 |
| Collaborated on a research project with a WSU scientist or Extension educator | 78.5 | 10.8 | 5.8 | 4.9 |
| Nonresponses ranged from 8 to 14 | ||||
In your opinion, how successful have Washington State University (WSU) representatives been in serving the needs of organic producers in the state?
| Frequency | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Very successful | 50 | 15.9 |
| Somewhat successful | 203 | 64.4 |
| Not successful | 62 | 19.7 |
| TOTAL | 315 | 100.0 |
| Nonresponses = 41 | ||
How interested are you in working directly with Washington State University (WSU) scientists or Extension educators on a research project related to organic agriculture within the next one to three years?
| Frequency | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Very interested | 129 | 37.8 |
| Somewhat interested | 153 | 44.9 |
| Not interested | 59 | 17.3 |
| TOTAL | 341 | 100.0 |
| Nonresponses = 15 | ||