CASE STUDY: An Evaluation of Extension Communication Methods

The intervening ratings were 2 (slight preference), 3 (moderate preference), and 4 (high preference). Regarding receiving information from state faculty, county educators' most preferred forms of print media (mean ± SD) were miscellaneous publications (4.3 ± 0.80) and fact sheets (4.1 ± 0.98). For personal media, one-on-one consultations (4.2 ± 0.97) and demonstrations (3.7 ± 0.97) were rated as the most preferred, and for electronic media, electronic newsletters (4.2 ± 1.12) and e-mail (4.1 ± 1.08) were the most preferred. The county educators showed little preference for interactive or compressed videos (2.8 ± 1.05) and blog sites (2.2 ± 1.26). County educators' perceptions regarding how their animal and forage clientele preferred to receive information from the Cooperative Extension Service were printed newsletters (4.3 ± 0.68) and other printed material (4.2 ± 0.63). Their least preferred electronic media were electronic newsletters, e-mail, Web-based information, and interactive videos. For future communication methods, electronic media received the most support (66%), followed by personal (49%) and print media (43%). Many county educators noted that the current clientele were not using computers but they believed producers of the future will. Electronic newsletters and email will become important in the future.