Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1985

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Agricultural Extension

Major Professor

Cecil E. Carter Jr

Committee Members

Robert S. Dotson, Lewis H. Dickson, William M. Miller

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine relationships between selected characteristics of Tennessee Grade A dairy producers and their farm operations and the Extension dairy educational program. This was done by characterizing the Grade A dairy producers and relating those characteristics, their production levels, and use of recommended practices to their self-reported participation in the Extension program.

The data in this study were obtained through Extension surveys with 885 dairymen in 51 Tennessee counties in 1980 and 844 dairymen in 50 counties in 1984. Measures of central tendency, frequencies, and percentages were used in determining characteristics. Relationships between dependent and independent variables were determined by the one-way analysis of variance (F-test), with significance assigned at the .05 probability level.

Major findings included;

1. Producers in the 1980 and 1984 surveys had an average age of 44-45 years and average education of 12.1-12.4 grades of school. Producers in the 1984 survey operated higher acreages, owned fewer cows, and employed slightly more fulltime workers than producers in the 1980 survey. Fewer of the producers in the 1984 survey had added buildings and/or silos to their farms in the previous five years, had upright silos, and had their milking machines checked in the previous six months than producers In the 1980 survey. More of the producers in the 1984 survey planned to remain at the same herd size than producers in the 1980 survey. Producers in the 1984 survey had higher herd averages in pounds of milk and in pounds of butterfat and had higher increases in herd average pounds of milk in the previous five years than producers in the 1980 survey.

2. Producers in the 1984 survey attended more Extension meetings, and more dairy Extension meetings, made more visits to the Extension office, and received more farm visits from Extension thus having more total Extension contacts than producers in the 1980 survey.

3. Producers in the 1984 survey used lower percentages of the pasture-forage practices, lower percentages of the feeding practices, higher percentages of the breeding practices, equal percentages of the milking practices, higher percentages of the herd management practices, and equal percentages of the total recommended practices as compared to producers in the 1980 survey.

4. In the 1984 survey, producers who were younger, had more education, operated higher acreages, owned more cows, had added buildings and/or silos in the previous five years, employed more full-time workers, made more Extension contacts, and used more recommended practices had higher levels of production than producers lower in each of these characteristics.

5. Producers in the 1984 survey who were younger, had more education, operated higher acreages, owned more cows, had added buildings and/or silos in the previous five years, employed more full-time workers, and made more Extension contacts used more recommended practices than producers who were lower in each of these characteristics.

6. Producers in the 1984 survey who had more education, operated higher acreages, owned more cows, planned to remain at the same herd size for the next five years, had added buildings and/or silos in the previous five years, employed more fulltime workers, had upright silos, had their milking machines checked in the previous six months, had trigon or herringbone milking parlors, used more milking units per operator, and had higher production levels made more Extension contacts than producers who varied from these characteristics.

7. Producers who used more practices in each bundle (pasture-forage, feeding, breeding, milking, herd management, and record keeping) and more total recommended practices produced higher averages in pounds of milk, pounds of butterfat, and had higher increases in herd average pounds of milk over the previous five years than producers who used less practices in the 1984 survey.

8. Producers in the 1984 survey who had more Extension contacts of each type and more total Extension contacts used more practices in each bundle (pasture-forage, feeding, breeding, milking, herd management, and record keeping) and more total recommended practices than producers with fewer Extension contacts.

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