Selected characteristics of Tennessee MANAGE program participants and their rating of the program in relation to their satisfaction with the changes they made after participating in MANAGE

Author

Patricia Darnell Jones

Date of Award

12-1988

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Agricultural Extension

Major Professor

Cecil E. Carter Jr

Committee Members

Clark Garland, Roy Lessly

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to characterize MANAGE program participants by their personal characteristics, characteristics of their farm, how they benefitted from the program, what changes they made in their farming operation, how satisfied they were with those changes, and how they rated the usefulness of the information and assistance they received, and to determine the interrelationship among these variables.

As of October 1987, 681 farm families received intensive farm and financial planning assistance from farm Extension management specialists and plan implementation assistance from the County Extension staff. Four hundred fifteen participants later completed a Participation Evaluation survey which was administered by area farm management specialists. Data obtained included the participant's personal characteristics, farm operation characteristics, changes participants made in their farm operation, what the participants gained from the information, and the participant's rating of the information and assistance received as a participant in the Tennessee Agricultural Extension MANAGE program.

The data were processed for computer analysis and computations were made by the University of Tennessee Computing Center. The chi square test was used to determine the significance and strength of relationships between the dependent and independent variables. The .05 level of probability was chosen for determining significance.

Major findings included the following:

1. The MANAGE program participants' age ranged from 19 to 74 with the average being 42. Nearly 40 percent had completed high school, while about 30 percent attended college and another 30 percent graduated from college.

2. The majority of the participants either owned, rented or operated more than 200 acres.

3. About 35 percent of the participants indicated a need for a major change in their organizational plans. As a whole, the participants made an average of two changes each in their operation; the majority either improved crop and livestock production rates and/or reduced costs and/or they changed the quantity of certain enterprises.

4. About 80 percent of the participants were pleased with the results of the changes they made in their farm/family operation. Only in the case of those who left farming (8 participants) was the percentage of dissatisfied (approximately 50 percent) and satisfied (approximately 50 percent) participants equal.

5. The benefits which more than 60 percent of the participants reported to have received from the program were answers to their questions, increased planning capabilities, and a greater understanding of their financial situation. The average number of benefits each participant received was three.

6. There was a significant difference between the participants' age and whether or not they increased certain enterprises or sold real estate. Those who were age 35 or younger were more likely to increase their enterprises than those 46 or older; those who were 46 or older were more likely to have sold real estate than those who were 35 or younger.

7. There also was a significant relationship between the participants' educational level and whether or not they received a greater understanding of how debt affected farm business and whether they increased their planning capabilities. The college graduates were more likely to have increased their planning capabilities than the high school graduates, but the high school graduates were more likely to have received a greater understanding of how debt affected their farm business than were the college graduates.

8. More than 80 percent of the participants rated the program to be useful and more than 95 percent stated they would use the program again if needed. Neither the participants age, education, or farm size was found to be significantly related to how they rated the program.

Implications and recommendations also were included in the study.

Recommended Citation

Jones, Patricia Darnell, "Selected characteristics of Tennessee MANAGE program participants and their rating of the program in relation to their satisfaction with the changes they made after participating in MANAGE. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1988.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/7227