Departments of Plants, Soils and Biometeorology and Agriculture Systems Technology and Education

Utah State University

Logan, Utah

Traditional extension efforts do not meet the needs of the small farmers who make up a significant portion of the Utah Vegetable Industry. Progressive (large, influential, full-time) farmers have relatively larger holdings, and have experienced success in controlling their environment. Therefore, they are eager for information, and they demand assistance, complain if neglected, and have the economic stability to take the risks necessary when adopting new technology. Progressive farmers are regularly serviced by Extension and willing to adopt the changes necessary to remain competitive.

At the same time, Extension needs to balance traditional programs with new initiatives for small farmers if they are to be truly sustainable. The strategy we suggest is not to reject the progressive farmer as an approach to planned change. Rather, we suggest that efforts are needed to meet the needs of the progressive and small part-time farmer. The effectiveness of diffusion when targeted to homogeneous categories of farmers will serve small part-time farmers as well as the progressive farmer. The objectives for this study were to establish baseline descriptors and categories of farmers and begin the process of establishing a collaborative research agenda for the vegetable farmers in Utah.

We used telephone and mail surveys to gain information about the cultural practices used by these growers. Seventy producers (72%) responded to our telephone survey and 50 (50%) returned the follow-up mail survey.

A perceptual index was used to assess a farmer's knowledge and attitude toward conservation practices. This index was developed in the hope that a short questionnaire would act as a proxy for a more detailed assessment of individual growers practices.

A farming index representing the cultural practices used by each respondent was also formulated. The farming index, together with the actual practices will serve as baseline data and help determine if Extension and research efforts are being used by vegetable growers.

Utah's vegetable growers farm an average of 45 acres in their primary (anchor) vegetable crops (range 1 to 600).

Nearly 30% reported an anchor crop between 1 and 9 acres with 10% farming over 100 acres. Fifty-four percent of the growers owned 50% or more of their crop acreage while 46% rented half or more. A typical Utah vegetable crop producer is 51 years old, male (96%), has farmed for 33 years, and has a high school education (97%), or bachelors degree or better (30%). Thirty-four percent reported earning 24% or less of their income from vegetable production.

Development and use of a perceptual index measuring farmer attitude towards adoption and use of conservation (sustainable) practices was only partially successful. It has provided a partial identification of farmers who are good candidates for collaborative research and extension from vegetable crop producers who have not previously used extension resources. However, the perception index was not a good proxy for sustainable practices being used by the individual farmer though it did provide a description of their attitude toward conservation farming.

The farming index measured the practices used by farmers in growing a crop and indicated that most do not use conservation practices. The vegetable producers surveyed made from 1 to 12 machinery passes (average 4 but 31% made between 6 and 12 passes in the field prior to planting their crop). In our judgment, this makes many growers good candidates for extension efforts to reduce tillage. On the average, 3 sprays are applied for insect control, 2 for weed control and less than 1 for disease control. Most vegetable growers use some form of crop rotation and many use alternative nutrient source like animal or green manure and alfalfa plowdown. However, few growers credit the nutrient composition of these nutrient sources when figuring their fertilizer needs. Soil and tissue nutrient testing and field fertilizer were not generally used by vegetable growers. Many do not understand the relationship between water and fertilizer and few of the growers questioned could tell how much water they applied to grow their crops. Most respondents had heard of IPM and none were found to use a completely integrated system of pest control.

Since different vegetables have unique cultural practices, research and extension efforts need to be directed to address the specific concerns of each crop. This was evident in the differences in the use of conservation tillage and IPM practices or effective use of nutrients by onion or sweet corn growers. IPM practices were widely used by sweet corn growers but not by onion growers. Onion producers were more likely to rotate fields as compared to sweet corn producers. Differences in farming practices were also noted between land owners and renters, less and more educated farmers and those farmers who earn a greater portion of their income on (progressive farmer) or off (part-time farmer) the farm.

Through a group process coordinated by the Vegetable Specialist, farmers have begun the process of identifying their research priorities. These needs and priorities are being used to modify existing research and extension programs. The next step will be to begin a collaborative effort to provide a unified research agenda supported by farmers, extension, and researchers.

In summary, there are two predominant groups of vegetable farmers in Utah, the small, part-time and large, full-time (progressive) farmer. Continuing to work primarily with progressive farmers with the expectation that diffusion will result in adoption of best practices by small farmers matches the continuing decrease in Extension budgets. This approach, however fails to meet the needs of smaller, part-time vegetable farmers as indicated by the evidence collected in our study.

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