THE mammal. m: Mm 'pmsméas. A5 A swarm arms“ was: at: mvmm Gnfiamonsf. V ' (FEED AND "GRAIN . DEMERS) Asi'asssnmci: , firms :5 mm; MWR menus: Timm- a” ‘4“ ”Wm .oE-M. s; ' ' ' Mimi‘s” “AW UNNERSEW m” a. seam W65? 1 IlLl!lll!|1lfljfllflll1lwlflflljlifljll lullelllfllflll ' ROOM USE ONLY; (em-A %;?37 a if ABSTRACT THE DIFFUSION OF FARM PRACTICES As A FUNCTION OF THE ROLE OF ELEVATOR OPERATORS (FEED AND GRAIN DEALERS) AS REFERENCE OTHERS TO THEIR FARMER CLIENTELE by John G. Elliott The basic purpose of this study was: (1) to examine the inter- relationship between a part of the economic system as represented by operators of grain elevators and the diffusion system as represented by county extension agents and similar persons, and (2) to relate this to the reference others of farmers. The approach of the study was to look at the linkages between the farmers and elevator Operators. Specifically, since economic systems involve the production and distribution of goods and services, ele- vator Operators and farmers are "relevant others" to each other. "Relevant others" are reciprocal others in the performance of a role and constitute others who must be taken into account, e.g., the manager for the employees, the manager for the owner. However, there are "others" to which an actor may assign a particular importance. "Significant others" need not be relevant others and therefore there is much flexibility in what "significant others" the actor take into account. "Reference other" designates others an actor directs attention to in order to acquire some guidelines for behavior and the situation need not be reciprocal. Also "significant others" are reference others but ”reference others" need not be "significant others." This study investigated the "reference others" of elevator oper- ators by determining the degree of relationship with a system outside of their own economic system, i.e., the diffusion system. A total of 5 elevator operators were found with high contact with representatives of the College of Agriculture of M.S.U. and 3 operators with no such contact. A list of 25 names of regular dairy customers was obtained from each elevator operator. Then 20 of these customers of eachoperator were interviewed by telephone. Completed interviews were obtained from 97 customers of operators with close contact with the diffusion system and 57 customers of Operators with no or limited contact. The first hypothesis asserted that elevator Operators with close contact with the diffusion system will more frequently be named as reference others by their farmer clientele than will be the elevator operators without this contact. Supported, p«(.001. There was the unanticipated result that 5 of the clients of operators without association with the college named another elevator operator other than the one who provided his name in listing regular customers. None of the 97 customers of operators with close associations gave an operator other than the one expected. The second hypothesis stated that the proportion of farmers who are higher adopters and customers of operators with contact with the diffusion system.will be greater than the proportion of farmers who are higher adopters and customers of operators without the contact with the diffusion system. Supported, p;( .05. Furthermore the mean adoption level declines as level of agent contact declines from frequent to no contact for both sets of customers. However, among the customers who have no contact with county agents, it was found that customers of operators with contact with the diffusion system had higher mean adoption scores than customers of Operators without the contact with diffusion system (p.< .005). It was concluded that elevator operators with contact with the diffusion system do play an important role in the diffusion of farm practices. Furthermore, the Extension Service could better utilize this outlet in the development of extension programs. THE DIFFUSION OF FARM PRACTICES AS A FUNCTION OF THE ROLE OF ELEVATOR OPERATORS (FEED AND GRAIN DEALERS) AS REFERENCE OTHERS TO THEIR FARMER CLIENTELE By John G. Elliott A Thesis Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Institute for Extension Personnel Development 1965 I) v‘l'uf ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my indebtedness first of all to the Quebec Research Council for having granted me the scholarship by which all this was possible. My thanks go to my advisory committee: Drs. Mason E. Miller, Milton Steinmueller and Erwin P. Bettinghaus. A special thanks to Dr. Carl J. Couch, my committee chairman, for his inspiration, guidance and infinite patience in the development of this study. My appreciation is given to Drs. Harold Ecker and George Dike of M. S. U. and Mr. Norman Marquart of the W. R. Grace and Co., for their help and information concerning the choice of elevator operators. To my fellow graduate students, Jack Murray and Jim Bebermeyer go my thanks for their comments, suggestions and constructive criticism along the way. Lastly, my love and appreciation to my wife, Gale. The many evenings and weekends she had to spend alone while I was concerned more with my role as a student than those as a husband or father. By rights, she should be co-author but perhaps would appreciate more that this study is dedicated to her. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments. List of Tables . List of Illustrations. Introduction . . . . . Economic Systems as Instruments for Diffusion. Elevator Operators and Diffusion . . The Dependent Variable . . . . . . . . . Objectives of Study. Chapter I Theoretic Rationale . Reference Groups, Significant Others and Refer- ence Others . . . . . . . . . . The Social Systems and Linkages. Definitions. Economic Systems and Their Intradependency. Diffusion Systems and Interdependency with Economic Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary and Hypotheses. . . . . . . . . . . . . II Research Setting and Procedures . The Sample of Elevator Operators. . . . . . . . The Sample of Farmers . . . . . . . . . . Analysis of Farmer Contact with Extension Agent . Analysis of Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . III Analysis of Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Part I Statistical Analyses. . Demographic Data. . . . . . . . . . . Testing Hypotheses. . . . . . . . . . . . . Reference Others and Adoption Level . . . . Agent Contact and Adoption Level. . . . . . . Part II Discussion. Summary and Conclusions . Appendix A. Statistical Data. . . . . . . . . . . Appendix B. Adoption Scale. . . . . Appendix C. Total Number of Responses Given by Farmers to Questionnaire. . Appendix D. Questionnaires and Other Devices. . Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii Page ii iv <1 WWNHH COM 12 16 19 19 21 23 23 25 25 25 25 30 35 38 42 46 68 8O 90 115 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Most salient non-farm reference others named by clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Most salient non-farm reference other (Table 1 expanded) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. Distribution of farmers' adoption score for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators. 4. County agent contact (as perceived by the county agent) for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. Farmers' adoption score in relation to their reference others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. Relationship between county agent contact (as per- ceived by the county agent) and mean adoption scores for.clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. Relationship between adoption score and reference others for farmers who have no contact with county agent (as perceived by the county agent) . . . . . . iv Page 26 28 29 30 32 34 37 Table 10. ll. 12. 13. APPENDIX A TABLE OF-CONTENTS Age composition for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators . . . . . Education composition for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators . . . Number of milking cows for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators . . . . . Size of holding in tillable acres for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators . Relationship between adoption score and reference others when education is held constant . . . . . Relationship between adoption score and reference others when age is held constant . . . . . . . . Relationship between adoption score and reference others when size of dairy herd is held constant. Relationship between adoption score and reference others for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . County agent contact in relation to reference others for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . County agent contact in relation to adoption score for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion ele- vator operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Relationship between county agent contact (as pere ceived by county agent) and adoption score for clients of diffusion elevator operators. . . . . Relationship between county agent contact (as per- ceived by county agent) and adOption score for clients of non-diffusion elevator operators. . . . Relationship between county agent contact (as per- ceived by county agent) and adoption score for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 47 48 49 50 51 53 55 57 59 6O 62 63 64 Appendix A continued Table 14. 15. 16. Relationship between county agent and farmers that have rare or no contact with county agent (as per- ceived by the county agent) for customers of diffu- sion and non-diffusion elevator operators. . . . . Relationship between adoption score and reference others for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators and who (clients) have rare or no contact with county agent (as perceived by the county agent). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Relationship between adoption score and reference others for farmer customers of diffusion and non- diffusion elevator operators and who (clients) have frequent or occasional contact with the county agent (as perceived by the county agent) . . . . . vi Page 65 66 67 APPENDIX B TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Discussion of adoption scale and source of information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Table l. Frequencies of adoption for the practice on dairy grain feeding (Question 13 of questionnaire) . . . . 73 2. Frequencies of adoption for the practice of minimum tillage (Question 14 of questionnaire) . . . . . . . 73 3. Frequencies of adoption for the practice on the use of commercial fertilizer as a top dressing to hay stands (Question 15 of questionnaire). . . . . . . . 74 4. Frequencies of adoption for the practice of early planting of corn (Question 16 of questionnaire). . . 74 5. Frequencies of adoption for the practice on the variety of alfalfa (Question 18 of questionnaire). . 75 6. Frequencies of adoption for the practice on the use of supplemental nitrogen fertilizer (Question 19 of questionnaire). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 7. Questions on adoption scale - Sources of informa- tion for adopted practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 8. Questions on adoption scale - Potential sources of information for non-adopted practices. . . . . . . . 78 vii APPENDIX C TABLE OF CONTENTS Table 1. Total number of responses given by farmers as to the people talked to most frequently about farm- ing (reference others). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . People talked to most frequently about farming (total responses) in relation to adoption score for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators . Total number of responses of sources or potential sources of information according to adoption score, for clients of diffusion elevator operators (for practices on adoption scale). . . . . . . . . . . . Total number of responses of sources or potential sources of information according to adoption score for clients of non-diffusion elevator operators (for practices on adoption scale). . . . . . . . . . . . . Total responses of sources or potential sources of information (for questions on adoption scale) by clients of diffusion elevator operators . . . . . . Total responses of sources or potential sources of information (for questions on adoption scale) by clients of non-diffusion elevator operators . . . . . viii Page 81 82 84 86 88 89 APPENDIX D TABLE OF CONTENTS Device l. Elevator Operator questionnaire . . . . . . . . 2. Answers of elevator operators to questionnaire. . 3. Letter mailed to the clients of elevator operators. . 4. Farmer questionnaire. . . . . . . . . . . 5. Total number of potential telephone calls and final total of completed calls. . . . . . . . 6. Letter to county extension directors requesting ratings of agent contact with farmers of study sample . . . . 7. Letter to county extension directors from.whose office the telephone interviews were done. . . . . . . . . . 8. Instrument used by county extension directors to rate farmers' contact with extension. . . . . . . . . ix Page 91 96 105 106 111 112 113 114 INTRODUCTION Traditional research on diffusion has focused primarily on variables such as (l) innovativeness, defined as adoption over time and from which the categories of innovators, early majority, late majority, and laggards were derived; (2) the stages of adoption comprising the awareness, interest, evaluation, trial and adoption categories; and (3) opinion leadership. One area of diffusion research that has not been investigated is the involvement of various extant social systems in the diffu- sion process. This study directs attention to the diffusion role of a small segment of the total economic system: the operators of grain elevators as diffusers of innovations to farmers. Economic Systems as Instruments for Diffusion Today a number of groups besides Agricultural Extension play roles in the diffusion of new information and ideas to farmers. For example, commercial firms are becoming more involved each year in extension kinds of activities. Farm implement companies, for one, have fieldmen and publish their own farm journals. Co- operatives and marketing boards are playing similar roles. Bankers, implement dealers and operators of grain elevators all can be sources of information relevant to farmers. If people and organizations like these are to operate as diffu- sion agents, they must have contact with the sources of ideas and also with the potential adopters. Elevator Operators and Diffusion The study of the North Central Committee1 on how farmers adopt ideas relegates dealers and salesmen to a low rank as sources of information and influence on the adoption of practices. However, Beal and Rogers indicated that commercial sources of information may be more important at the information or trial stage for in- novators, early adoptors and laggards.2 The present study separates elevators from other commercial sources in an investigation of ele- vator operators and their customers. As will be shown in Chapter I, the elevator operator is in a particularly good position to be influential in the farm community. Elevator Operators sell a wide line of goods including feed grains, seeds, hardware, fertilizers, spray materials and specialty side- lines. This variety of wares suggests that a farmer can come into contact with these businessmen on a number of occasions. More sig- nificantly, a long-lasting relationship with mutual trust, respect, and information exchange about many topics can grow out of this reoccurring interaction. 1Adopters of New Farm Ideas - Characteristics and Communications Behavior, North Central Regional Extension Publication No. 13, October 1961. 2George M. Beal and Everett M. Rogers, The Adoption of Two Farm Practices in a Central Iowa Community, Special Report No. 26, Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station, Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Ames, Iowa, Jdne 1960), p. 18. The Dependent Variable The thesis approaches diffusion with a modification of reference group theory. Though this theory has been used previously, it has not been employed in the context developed for this thesis. Reference groups suggest a way of determining how a person relates himself to others and how he fits into the social system. However a major problem is the lack of research done on reference groups or reference others or significant others. In much of the discussion of reference groups, the concept has been used in an after-the-fact approach to explain certain behaviors. Newcomb's Bennington study is a good 3 Itvms.a re-write of data after reference groups became example. "the thing to write about". In the agricultural diffusion studies, the concepts of "others" and "reference groups" have had limited use. This study will use the concept of "reference other" for reasons developed in the rationale. Objectives of Study Because of the lack of empirical research on reference groups and reference others, this study is largely exploratory. Adoptive behavior and reference others can be looked at in at least two ways: (1) who are the reference others of high or low adopters? and (2) to what extent do reference others influence farmers to adopt? 3Theodore M. Newcomb, "Attitude Development as a Function of Refer- ence Groups," Readings in Social Psychology, eds. Eleanor E. Maccoby, Theodore M. Newcomb, Eugene L. Hartley, (3rd. ed., New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1958), pp. 265-275. The study, then, has these objectives: (1) to examine the inter- relationship between a part of the economic system as represented by elevator operators and the diffusion system as represented by county extension agents and similar persons, and (2) to relate this to the reference others of farmers. Specifically, are elevator Operators who are closely interdependent with the sources of information about innovations more often named as reference others by their clients (farmers) than are elevator operators who are not closely inter- dependent with the sources of information about innovations. CHAPTER I THEORETIC RATIONALE The plan of this chapter is to sketch the evolution of the concept "reference group"; to point out the controversies which exist in connection with its use and to arrive at what seems a more workable concept of "Reference Other." First is a discussion of the social systems in which reference others are contained--in this case, the systems which comprise the agricultural community, including the linkage of relevant systems and the diffusion of ideas between them. These systems will be drawn together to out- line the communication network as a series of role relationships. Finally the specific rationale is developed around the concept of reference others within a social system. Hypotheses are then derived from this review. Reference Groups, Significant Others and Reference Others Since Hyman coined the term "reference group," the concept has grown to have a number of meanings which are not always con- sistent. Hyman was working with the "frame of reference" concept and divided "frame of reference"into two categories--"reference groups" and "reference individuals."4 Exponents of the frame of 4Herbert H. Hyman, "The Psychology of Status," Archives of Psychology, 38, 1942, p. 15. 6 reference approach are Sherif,S Shibutani6 and Newcomb.7 Since then, "reference group" is often used interchangeably to mean either a group, or individuals. Kuhn questioned whether, "reference group" ...refers to a normative or to an evaluative function; whether it must point to groups, to categories or both; whether it may best refer to relationships...., or whether we may better use it to refer to derivative orientations....8 Newcomb defined frame of reference as what ...is commonly used to indicate the kind of ground which actually influences the way in which perception is structured.9 This means that anything, whether it be an object, a person or a group, can be a frame of reference for a person or group. Newcomb also claimed that social norms can function as frames of reference and that a reference group's norms can influence the behavior and attitudes of a person.10 Sherif said: The concept reference group arose from the necessity of ascertaining precisely the groups which provide the main anchorages for experience and behavior. In fact 5M. Sherif, C. W. Sherif, An Outline of Social Psychology (Rev. ed., New York: Harper and Brothers, 1956). 6T. Shibutani, Society and Personality: An Interactionist's Approach to Social Psychology (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1961), p. 257. 7Theodore M. Newcomb, Social Psychology (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1950), p. 94. 8M'anford Kuhn, "Major Trends in Symbolic Interaction Theory," Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 5, 401, 1964, p. 69. 992. Cit., p. 94. ioIbld., pp. 224-225. the first use of the concept was directly linked to experimental work concerning frames of reference and anchorages.11 However, Hyman noted that in his original research over half the subjects gave evidence that they used particular other individuals as frames of reference. He later advocated more use of the term "reference individuals."12 Couch and Murray13 pointed out that while the term "reference groups" has been widely used, it constitutes a violation of the traditional sociological meaning of the term "group" and proposedthe use of the term "significant others."14 The term "significant other(s)" designates the other(s) that an individual takes into account in organizing his behavior. IISherif,.gp.‘gi£., p. 175. Reference groups can be categorized into normative, situational and comparative functions. However Herbert H. Hyman, "Reflections on Reference Groups," Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 24, Fall 1960, p. 384, said that "refer- ence groups must be determined by empirical means, not imputed arbitrarily." The latter reflects most of the writings on reference groups. Ralph Turner, "Role-Taking, Role-Standpoint and Reference Group Behavior," American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 61, 1956, poinfid out a way in which reference groups could be measured empirically. Included in the bibliography are sources of information of reference groups not cited in the development of the rationale. 12Herbert L. Hyman, pp, cit., 1960, p. 390. (Footnote 11) 13Carl J. Couch and John S. Murray, "Significant Others and Evalua- tion," Sociometry, Vol. 27, No. 4, December 1964, p. 503. 14Sullivan first used the term "Significant Other" in dis- cussing the socialization process. He apokes of others becoming significant in the development of personality by providing satisfactions and security. Harry Stack Sullivan, Conceptions of Mbdern Psyghiatry (Washington, D.C.: W. A. White Psychiatric Foundation, 1940), pp. 19-22. Couch, Miller and Murray made a distinction between "relevant other" and "significant other." ”Relevant others" refer to reciprocal others within the context of role performance, e.g., the professor for the student, the wife for the husband, the clerk for the manager. "Significant others" need not be the same as the "relevant others;" "significant others" are those others that are most important to the actor.15 The terminological confusion may be clarified by the following definitions: Relevant other(s): are reciprocal others in the performance of a role and constitute others who must be taken into account in order to maintain the role, e.g., the manager for the employees, the manager for the owner. Significant other(s): designates the other(s) that an actor takes into account and whose evaluation of the actor is of most con- cern to him, i.e., the actor is concerned about the evaluation elicited from the other. Reference other(s): the other(s) an actor directs attention to in order to acquire some guidelines for behavior, e.g., the rookie baseball player adopting the mannerisms of an established star. In contrast to relevant others this relationship need not be reciprocal. An "other" may have one, two or all three of these relationships for an actor. For example, a professor of a class may be only a relevant other to a student or the professor may also be a reference other and a significant other for the student. 15Carl J. Couch, Mason E. Miller, John S. Murray, "Specialist and Agent: Men in the Middle," Journal of Cooperative Extension, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1964, p. 38. The Social Systems and Linkages--Definitions Loomis and Beegle defined a social system as: A co-operative social structure consisting of two or more individuals who interact with each other at a higher rate than with non-members when the system is in operation.16 In other words, within the context of "others" that has been developed, a social system is a recurring pattern of roles. The social system is important to the actor because of the manner in which the system is organized. The way the actor accepts and perceives that system (the ”others”) will affect his behavior. A plausible way of looking at dealers, salesmen, farmers or anybody who is related to the agricultural community is to look at them as belonging to a common social system. Before proceeding to the description of the social systems of farmers, elevator operators and diffusion agents, two important terms must be defined. Interdgpendency: this term refers to the linkage of an economic system with a non-economic system such as the formal diffusion system. Even though the diffusion system falls within the economic system,for the purposes of this thesis, it is regarded as an informa- tion agency and not an economic agency, i.e., money making. When two such systems are interdependent, the linkage is such that they become articulated to function as a unit. Intradependency: this term refers to the linkage of two parts of a system, i.e., farms and elevators are both economic units. 16Charles P. Loomis, J. Allan Beegle, Rural Sociology: The Strategy of Change (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1957), p. 469. 10 The linkage then is inherent in that they are dependent on each other. Communication that exists in interdependent systems would be called communication between systems, while communication in intra- dependent systems would be called within systems (see Figure 1 for graphic illustration of these concepts). Economic Systems and Their Intradependency Systems have different functions to perform. The primary function of an economic system is the production and distribution of goods and services. Elevator operators can be regarded as part of an economic system. They buy and sell products. Farmers are also a part of this system; they, too, are involved in the production of goods and services. To produce their goods, they have to purchase from a number of sources such as the elevator operator, the implement dealer, banker, public utilities, etc. In addition to purchases, they sell their products. So, like elevators, the farm is a buying and selling concern. Elevator operators and farmers have some linkage to one another economically and to the total economic system. No nation, and equally no system can be self-sufficient. For any system to function, raw materials are required from widely scattered sources. This raw material (i.e., resources) can be in the form of physical material (feed, hardware, etc.) and in the form of information pertaining to these products. The fact that all systems are linked to some degree means that an event in one has some consequences for all others. To illustrate, elevator operators buy goods from a number of sources. Many of the goods come from farmers either directly or indirectly. For example, the operator may buy barley from a farmer ll mwmcnm H cwmmnmaamnwn HHHCmnHmnHoa om nsm Hunnm mam Hnnmnmmvmummnnw om monwmw mwmnmam. mHmdmnoH mnouoawn mwmnmaw_ dawn Hannmn Umumnmmno% wuss mwmnma moosoawo cswn \lll/ \ / N\I|II./ /, NW\\IIII/ ‘Illlllldoaecawomnwon wmnamms mwmnmam H anmnmmvanOSnw Amm mnnwncwmnmm no manonwos mm m cswnv wonsmw cwmmmeoD mwmnma .noBBannmnwon Zensw: mwmnmam 12 directly or from a company representative. He also buys hardware, drugs, feedstuffs, seeds and specialty lines. Therefore an elevator operator does come into contact with a number of people from.within and outside his system. Some elevator operators however, may go further than just the processes of buying and selling. An elevator operator may provide little additional service. For example, he may sell feed to farmers but may know nothing about feeding it. He may sell fertilizer to f“- farmers but know very little about applying it. He may sell sprays and again know little about applying them. To get information of this kind they could use the services of county agents, specialists from the agricultural college, or product salesmen. An elevator operator, then, can be part of a two-way flow of information--a receiver and an imparter of information. He also may take part in the diffusion within and between systems. It has been argued that the economic system (elevators, farms) is intradependent and linked in differing degrees. Furthermore, the communicative network holds the systems together and through communication there develops the sharing, or exchanging, of goods and information. Thus there is not only an intradependency within the economic systems but also interdependency between the economic and other systems, e.g., the diffusion system. The Diffusion System and Interdependency with Economic System Diffusion is the process by which a new idea spreads. Elevator operators, farmers and the various contacts of each are all part of a diffusion system. In this sense, the system may be regarded as a 13 communication network with interacting members, any of whom may be a source or receiver of information at any given time. These members include elevator operators, various suppliers and factory representa- tives to the operators, county agents, universities, mass media and farmers. However for this thesis it is not the purpose to look at all these potential sources, but only two: 1. The flow of information from universities or their representa- tives to the elevator operators. 2. The flow of information from the elevator operators to their farmer clientele. Functionally, an elevator operator is not there primarily as a giver of information but to run a business, keep books, inventory, keep up with competition and credit policies, deal with employees, etc. Due to the interdependency and flexibility of systems, information can and does flow between systems. Furthermore, the spread of new ideas takes place within a series of relationships among humans. Role performance is based on information that one receives in performing a role. Mbre specifically, The enactment of any role involves having some communicative contact with others. Attention to what others a role per- former communicates with, the ideas communicated and the nature of the relationship with others will more adequately account for how a role is performed and modified than will attention to prior socialization or "personality" factors.17 In looking at elevator operators and farmers and their intra- dependency, it does not follow that a high degree of diffusion must 17Carl J. Couch, Communication and Change (I.E.P.D. Publication No. 9, Michigan State University, East Lansing, April 1964), p. 2. 14 occur. An operator can be affable, have good policies toward clientele, but not necessarily diffuse any information about farm practices in the process. In other words it can be a straight sales transaction without any diffusion taking place. The fact that proximity exists does not mean that a large degree of interaction exists. The relationship between these two categories of people is demon- strated in the closeness of continued business relationships. The elevator operator markets a wide variety of goods and services, fulfilling the needs of the farmer throughout the year. Cattle feeds are purchased regularly by farmers and fertilizers and sprays are purchased yearly. In addition, many elevator operators sell addi- tional lines from fuel to specialties. The reason the main focus of this study is on elevator operators and not on other farm business enterprises can be readily illustrated. Research studies indicate that elevator operators are often named as people talked to most frequently about farming. Nearly every farmer has some contact with at least one elevator operator--for purchasing or selling products. Farmers are more likely to establish a stable and enduring relationship with an elevator operator than with any other farm-related businessman. A variety of businessmen may be contacted in regard to many other farm purchases. For example, when a purchase involves a capital investment such as a new tractor, there would be much more shopping around. Thus relationship with other business outlets is not likely to be the same as that with the ele- vator operator.13 18Carl J. Couch, Are Elevator Operators "Influentials?," (I.E.P.D. Pub- lication No. 6, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan), p. 2. 15 Thus far the social systems have been described to indicate that within the agricultural economic system elevator Operators are relevant others for farmers. This series of role relationships provides a setting in which elevator operators may serve as reference Others for farmers.19 Farmers and elevator operators both have also to take into account other roles within and between the various systems they contact and are a part of.r Those who play reciprocal roles that they must take into account constitute their relevant others. Some specific relevant others must be taken into account such as customers, suppliers, bankers, employees. There is flexibility in what "other" the elevator operators take into account. A particular role is part of a role-set.20 Some 19Role will be defined as "a set of behaviors which are expected of everyone in a particular position regardless who he is," Theodore M. Newcomb, Social Psychology (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1950), p. 329. There are two kinds of role expectations: rights and obligations. "Rights are role expectations in which the actor of the role anticipates certain performances from the actor of the reciprocal role; e.g., the child's right to be protected by his mother. Obligations (or duties) are role expeCtations in which the actor of a role anticipates certain performances directed toward the actor of the reciprocal role; e.g., the mother's obligation to provide protection for the child. A person cannot enact a role for which he lacks the necessary role expectations. These must be ac- quired through experience," Theodore R. Sarbin, "Role Theory," Gardner Lindsey, ed., Handbook of Social Psyghology, Vol. 1 (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Westley Publishing Company, Inc., 1954), p. 226. 20Role-set means "...that complement of role relationships--in which persons are involved by virtue of occupying a particular social status," Robert K. Merton, "Role-Set: Problems in Socio- logical Theory," The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 8, 1957, p. 110. The role-set as used in this thesis represents the rele- vant others. The concept of flexibility of roles means elevator operators do not have to go beyond their role set. However linkage of elevator operators to the diffusion system means they have gone beyond their general role set and look towards these people (in the diffusion system) as significant others or reference others. It should be made clear, however, that the role-set--the relevant others--can also be significant others or reference others. 16 of these relevant others may or may not be ”reference others." In other words elevator operators may assign a high importance to farmers, to wholesalers (economic system) and/or to the representatives of the College of Agriculture (the diffusion system). Here is where the flexibility of what others are chosen is apparent and decisive-- whether or not a dependency exists between the economic and diffu- sion systems in having or not having reference others and/or signi- ficant others in the latter system. Individuals who have fewer ideas and perspectives are those who participate in limited communicative behavior.21 Thus, if the ele- vator operator goes beyond his role-set, he will tend to have more ideas, perspectives, act in a greater communicative capacity, and be in a position to function in the diffusion of ideas to farmers. Specifically it follows that elevator operators, who have as reference others people who are part of a diffusion system, will have more new ideas to transmit to farmers. Consequently, it follows that elevator operators whose reference others are the sources of innovations are more likely to be used as sources of information by farmers who have an economic relationship with those operators. Summary and Hypotheses Systems depend on other systems to operate and in functioning, communication takes place. But communication does not necessarily lead to diffusion or adoption of an innovation. Communication need not be high within a role relationship (i.e., a straight sales 21Couch, Communication and Changg, pp. cit., p. 4. l7 transaction, an extreme case of this would be a vending machine) and the diffusion of information or ideas does not necessarily occur between parties to such a role relationship. The rationale was further developed by looking at the communica- tion network through role relationships. For every role there will be relevant others. Each actor however has reference others which may or may not be in accord with the relevant others. It is now possible to terminate by defining two classes of ele- vator operators. 1. An elevator operator who is a diffusion agent; he has high communicative contact with representatives of the diffusion system. Elevator operators who are diffusion agents are interacting with and/or selecting representatives of the diffusion system as refer- ence others (now called diffusion elevator operators). 2. An elevator operator who is not a diffusion agent; he has low communicative contact with the diffusion system and will not be select- ing representatives as reference others from that system (now called non-diffusion elevator operators). Unlike the diffusion agents, elevator operators without reference others in the diffusion system will not be as aware of the existing innovations. Knowledge of innovations is important to commercial farmers. They are likely to go back again and again to sources of news about innovations. Consequently farmer clientele are more likely to name an elevator Operator as reference other if he (the elevator operator) has contact with the diffusion system. The first hypothesis can now be derived. 18 Hypothesis 1 Elevator operators who are diffusion agents will more frequently be named as reference others by their farmer clientele than will be the non-diffusion elevator operators. Due to the greater awareness on the part of the diffusion elevator operator, their customers are more apt to use them as sources of informa~ tion. This does not imply that diffusion elevator operators would be the only source; but, because of their higher communicative behavior with the diffusion system, it is likely that their clientele would also have more exposure to the diffusion system. Therefore clientele of diffusion elevator operators are more plausibly to be higher adopters of farm practices and have more contact with the diffusion system (agricultural extension agent) than clientele of the non-diffusion elevator operators. Therefore, from this higher communicative behavior on the part of farmers with the diffusion elevator operators and greater exposure to the diffusion system, two more hypotheses can be derived. Hypothesis 2 The proportion of farmers who are higher adopters and clients of diffusion elevator operators will be greater than the_prqportion of farmers who are higher adopters and clients of non-diffusion ele- vator operators. Hypothesis 3 Contact with county extension agents will be higher proportion- ally for farmer clientele of diffusion elevator operators than for the farmer clientele of the non-diffusion elevator Operators. General assumption. This study is based on the assumption that differences exist in the communicative behavior of elevator Operators. This assumption is based on the questionnaire completed by elevator operators and evaluations of three judges. CHAPTER II RESEARCH SETTING AND PROCEDURES The data were collected in areas south of the Muskegon and Bay City in Michigan as most of the farming in the State is done in this area. The farmers and elevator operators samples were located in the following counties: Kent, Barry, Allegan, Ottawa, Muskegon, Ionia, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Washtenaw. The Sample of Elevator Operators In March 1964, a meeting of Michigan elevator operators was held at the Kellogg Center. An instrument was designed and submitted to them to determine diffusion or non-diffusion operators. Their instrument was designed primarily to measure the degree of contact with representatives of the College of Agriculture of Michigan State University. The complete questionnaire is given in Appendix D. The questionnaire was filled out on a voluntary basis. Twenty- two were completed, with only one refusal. All of these elevator operators had contact with representatives of the College of Agri- culture. This was the main criterion for differentiating between diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators. Therefore other means had to be used to search out the non-diffusion elevator oper- ators. Five diffusion elevator operators were chosen from the 22 questionnaires on the following basis: 19 20 l. elevator operators with the highest contact with represen- tatives of Michigan State University. 2. the elevators had to be located in dairy areas. 3. the elevators had to be as close as possible geographically to reduce costs of study. 4. the elevator operators were evaluated by a panel of three judges. Two were members of the M.S.U. staff and the third judge was a salesman who called on the elevator operators regularly. The non-diffusion elevator operators were chosen on the follow- ing basis. 1. Located in dairy areas and geographically in the same areas as the diffusion elevator operators. 2. Lack of contact with representatives of M.S.U. This latter point was determined by the same panel of judges used for selecting the diffusion elevator operators. However, because of the lack of contact that these operators had with M.S.U. it was more difficult to choose them. From a list submitted to the judges of possible non- diffusion elevator Operators, several Operators were eliminated. The potential non-diffusion elevator operators were visited personally and the same instrument given to them to determine whether or not they fell in the non-diffusion category. The non-diffusion operators were not as cooperative as the diffusion operators. Two refused outright to fill out the question- naire and submit names of their customers, and were suspicious or hostile toward M.S.U. One other non-diffusion elevator operator was not present on two successive visits. Other elevator operators visited were either found to be in the diffusion category or the elevator had been sold recently to another concern. 21 A final check was made by asking the appropriate County Extension Director to indicate if the elevator operators in question had any contact with them. All elevator operators were matched by their des- criptions in the Official Directory of the Michigan Feed and Grain Association, which also includes non-members. They were matched on the lines of goods sold, but primarily on fertilizer, feeds and seeds. A total of ten elevator operators were to have been chosen-- five diffusion operators and five non-diffusion operators. The final number was five diffusion operators and three non-diffusion Operators. A summary of the answers to the questionnaire 18 given in.Appendix D. The Sample of Farmers Each elevator operator was asked to submit twenty-five names of his regular dairy customers. It was hoped that 20 interviews (an arbitrary number) would be completed from each list. The sample of farmers had the following in common: (1) dairy farmers who were (2) regular customers of the elevator operators in question ("regular" as perceived by the elevator operator). A letter was mailed to every farmer (Appendix D). The purpose was to introduce the interviewer20 and inform the subjects that the interview would be done by telephone. Because country telephones are usually party lines, the letter "paved the way" for the interview. The letters were mailed so that a minimum of time (one or two days) had elapsed between receiving the letter and the telephone call. 20The interviewer was also the thesis author. 22 Arrangements were made with county extension directors to use the office telephone for interviewing. The samples were grouped in such a way that all calls were completed from four county agents' offices. This reduced the cost, since many long distance calls were eliminated. All farmers' names were used. But when twenty calls were com- pleted for any one set, the remaining calls were not completed. However 20 calls were not completed in some cases due to no telephone listings, refusals or other reasons (see Appendix D for these details). The total number of completed interviews was 97 for the diffusion elevator operators and 57 for the non-diffusion elevator operators. The interview averaged approximately ten minutes. The instrument for farmers had three parts. The first covered demographic data: age, education, number of tillable acres and number of milking cows. The second part was the reference other item, the question being "Who are the people you talk to most frequently about farming?". The farmers were not asked specifically to give names but rather to make reference to a specific person and his occupation. Whenever the elevator operator was named, however, the farmer was queried to determine which Operator he was referring to. The third part of the instrument was the adoption scale. The farm practices were chosen on the basis of potentially being used in any of the areas of the study. In other words, none of the practices was such that it would have been restricted to one area. The practices were decided upon by discussion with Specialists in the College of Agriculture in fields such as soils, entomology, dairy, veterinary 23 medicine, field crops. From these discussions, 3 list of 15 practices was compiled. The criterion by which these practices were chosen was primarily done on the ease in which the question could be worded-- particularly for telephone interviews. From the original list of 15 practices, 7 were finally chosen.21 The complete questionnaire is given in Appendix D.22 Farmer Contact with Extension Agents In addition to the questionnaire, the lists of farmers interviewed were sent to the county extension directors. They were asked to rate these farmers on their professional contact with them as frequent, occasional, rare or none. The lists were not identified with the elevator operators.23 Analysis of Design Most analyses were computed using a nominal level of measure- ment. The statistic chi-square was used at a confidence level of .05. 21Four of these practices correSponded to an adoption scale used in a Ph.D. dissertation. These were the practices of minimum tillage, early planting of corn, top dressing hay stands, dairy grain feeding. The wording was changed slightly because of the interviews being con- ducted by telephone. Juan F. Jamias, The Effects of Belief System Styles on the Communication and Adoption of Farm Practices, Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1964. 22One practice was dropped from the adoption scale after eight inter- views were completed. This is question 17 of the instrument~-the use of a milk quality control test. Some farmers were doing it on their own while the dairy company did it for others if they were on grade A milk. 23In the event that some of these farmers resided near the county border the lists were also sent to the county extension director for the ad- joining county. This exhausted all the farmers' names and possible contact with the extension agent. 24 All computations utilized the following formula which requires expected cell values of five or-greater:24 x2 36%? £2 - N F In cases where expected values met the criterion, the results were regarded as the final significance test. In cases where the criterion was not met, the results from the computation were regarded as preliminary for screening purposes only. In the latter cases where screening computation produced a chi-square significant at .05, the test was recomputed using a correction for continuity.25 The following formula was used for calculating the chi-square when the correlation for continuity was necessary (Yates correc- tion).26 2 xc (0-:-.5) The t-test was used to compute mean adoption scores. The as- sumption was based on unknown variances but presumed equal.27 2 2 2 2 ; x + x -( x ) __( X2) N1+N2-2 t= 221-222 g. ‘7'— ‘ N1 + N2 .:;‘ N1N2 Level of confidence was .05, 2 tailed test. 24Helen M. Walker, Joseph Lev, Statistical Inference (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1953), p. 97. 251bid., pp. 105-107. 26 Allen L. Edwards, Statistical Methods for the Behavioral Sciences (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962), p. 383. 2 7Walker and Lev, pp, gi£., pp. 155h156. CHAPTER III ANALYSES OF DATA This chapter has two parts. Part one is mainly a descriptive analysis of the demographic data, the hypotheses and relationships between reference others, county agent contact and adoption level. Part two discusses the results in further detail and attempts to draw inferences and implications, and to synthesize toward a co- herent whole. PART I STATISTICAL ANALYSES Demographic Data The ages, education and size of herd of clients of diffusion elevator operators are significantly different from those of the non- diffusion elevator operators (p<.05). There is no significant dif- ference between the size of farms owned by farmers of the two samples. There is no need for a detailed discussion of these variables, because when they are held constant and cross tabulated with adoption score and reference others no relevant trends appeared. (The data are shown in Tables 1 through 7, Appendix A.) Testing Hypotheses Hypothesis 1. Elevator operators who are diffusion agents will more frequently be named as reference others by their farmer clientele than will be the non-diffusion elevator operators. 25 26 Table 1 shows the frequencies of farmers' most salient non-farm reference other.28 The data support the hypothesis that customers of diffusion elevator operators named the elevator operator more frequently than customers of the non-diffusion elevator operators named their elevator operators (p4(001). Table 1. Most salient non-farm reference other named by clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators. Reference Others Neighbor, Relative Clients of: or No One1 El. Op. Other Total D. El. Op.* 12 (l8.90)*** 34 (24.56) 51 (53.54) 97 N. D. El. Op.** 18 (11.10) 5 (14.44) 34 (31.46) 57 Total 30 39 85 154 x2 = 16.9 p(.001 1 Neighbor, relative or no one means that no one else was named. *D. El. Op. designates diffusion elevator operators. **N. D. El. Op. designates non-diffusion elevator operators. ***Brackets designate expected values. This applies for all tables. If Table l is expanded as shown in Table 2, further differences can be seen. Clients of diffusion elevator Operators list neighbors 28Saliency: If a neighbor or relative was the farmer's first mention, the next mention was taken as the reference other. The purpose of this was simply to remove farmers from their immediate surround- ings, since the question on the instrument was open ended. 27 as reference others less frequently than do the clients of non-diffusion elevator operators. They also name miscellaneous others29 less fre- quently than the clients of non-diffusion elevator operators. Of particular significance is that clients of the diffusion elevator operators did not name any elevator operator other than the expected ones, whereas this was not the case with clients of non-diffusion elevator operators. The county agent was named in higher proportion for the clients of diffusion elevator operators than for the clients of non-diffusion elevator operators. 29Miscellaneous others include bankers, implement dealers, salesmen, people outside of the agricultural industry, etc. 28 .mosmfi m.uoanmm on» vmuuwanom 053 omonu mono Honuo muoumuomo Houm>o~mN .oEmc m.uoaumm osu wouqunsm 0:3 Houmumao Houm>onH .udmoamacwwm .HooJV u a .N.HN u Aaowuoouuoo moumwv mx «ma as on m on on Sauce Am Asm.cav we ANm.maw AH (Amw.av m Am¢.smo m Aoa.aav ma .ao .Hm .a .2 Am AHA.ANV om Aws.-v mm Amz.mv o Aom.qmv em Aom.wzv NH .ao .Hm .a Hmuoe Hmzuo ucmw< Nvouommxm uoz Hpmuoomxm muonoz .00 .mo .Hm .ao .Hm po ponemamz A.copcmmxo H oHanv .Hosuo mucouowou Bumwuco: anomamm umoz .N maan 29 Hypothesis 2. The proportion of farmers who are higher adopters and customers of diffusion elevator operators will be greater than the proportion of farmers who are higher adopters and customers of non- diffusion elevator operators. The hypothesis is supported. Table 3 shows this relationship. The X2 is significant at the< .01 level of confidence. Table 3. Distribution of farmers' adoption scores for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion ele- vator operators.1 Adoption Score Clients of: Low High 0-1-2-3 4-5-6 Total D. El. Op. 46 (53.54) 51 (43.46) 97 N. D. El. Op. 39 (31.46) 18 (25.54), 57 Total 85 69 154 X3 (Yates correction) = 6.39 p.-.005 significant. 1Mean adoption scores and a tstest were computed for the two samples. Mean adoption score for farmers of diffu- sion elevator operators was 3.57 and for those of non- diffusion elevator operators was 2.27. The computed t=5.08 and is significant at the .001 level of con- fidence. Hypothesis 3. Contact with county extension agent will be higher proportionally for clientele of diffusion elevator operators than for the farmer clientele of the non-diffusion elevator operators. The hypothesis is supported. Table 4 shows the relationship between county agent contact for the two samples of clients. The sta- tistic chi-square is significant at the .05 level, and the distribu- tion indicates that clients of diffusion elevator operators have more frequent contact with the county agent than farmers of non-diffusion elevator operators. 30 Table 4. County agent contact (as perceived by the county agent) for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators. Rare or Clients of: Frequent Occasional None Total D. E1. Op. 43 (35.90) 22 (23.94) 32 (37.16) 97 N. D. El. Op. 14 (21.10) 16 (14.06) 27 (21.84) 57 Total 57 38 59 154 x2 = 6.15 p.<.05. fl r_fi The proportion of farmers who have rare or no contact with the county agent and are clients of diffusion elevator operators is less than the proportion of farmers with rare or no contact with county agent and clients of non-diffusion elevator operators. For clients with occasional contact, the reverse is true--a higher proportion of clients of non-diffusion elevator operators have more occasional con— tact with county agent than clients of the diffusion elevator operators. Reference Others and Adoption Level Farmers of non-diffusion elevator Operators, as shown in Table 5, select neighbors and miscellaneous others as reference others more frequently than do farmers of diffusion elevator operators. Neighbors and others account for 63 percent of the farmers' responses for the clients of non-diffusion elevator operators; whereas for clients of diffusion elevator operators, neighbors and others account for 38 percent. Farmers with low adoption scores who name neighbors or others account for 12 percent of the clients of diffusion and 35 percent of 31 the clients of non-diffusion elevator operators.3O Furthermore these farmers with low adoption scores account for 22 percent of the clients of diffusion elevator operators versus 40 percent of the non-diffusion elevator operator clients. Elevator operators and county agents were named as reference others by 60 percent of the clients of diffusion elevator operators. Some 50 percent of these clients had medium and high adOption scores. For the clients of non-diffusion elevator Operators, elevator operators (expected) and county agents are named as reference others by only 28 percent of the farmers, of whom only 24 percent had medium or high adoption scores. Diffusion elevator operators were named as reference others by 35 percent of those they named as their clients. County agents were named by 25 percent of the clients of the diffusion elevator Operator. Non-diffusion elevator operators, (expected) however, were named by only 8 percent of their clients. The county agent was named by 19 percent of the clients of the non-diffusion elevator Operators. In general, clients of diffusion elevator operators who name the elevator operator as reference others have medium adoption scores. Those who name the county agent have high adoption scores. There are more clients of non-diffusion elevator Operators who name neighbors and miscellaneous others as reference others and have lower adoption scores than clients of diffusion elevator operators. 30Low adoption represents scores of 0-1-2. Medium adoption represents scores of 3-4 and high adoption represents scores of 5-6. 32 .w wanna .4 xwucmaa< CH oHnmu muoHanUH Nao.ma no Noa.om 0m Nmm.o¢ mq Noo.mm NN mHmOOH Nwo.o~ om NHN.N m Nmm.a~ Ha Ndm.m m umnuo smk.m~ mm qu.oa SH Ns~.m m smo.a A samw< oo o o o o emuumaxm uoz .ao .Hm Nmo.mm «m Nma.m m Noo.om om Nnm.m m pmuoom -xm .ao .Hm som.ma NH Noo.m N NwH.o o sma.s a Rpoaoz no Honnwwoz Hmuoa can «um Nufino "mumsuo swam samba: sou oodouommm ouoom cowumop< mmoymAm onmDmmHD H .muosuo monogamou Hwonu ou cowumaou a“ ouoom ooflumopm.muo8umm .m manma 33 .m mHan .< prcoam¢ cH oHnmu oumHmaooH Nmo.mm mm Nmm.mH oH Nwo.~¢ ¢N Nmm.oq mm mHmuoa Nom.Hm wH NHo.n q Nnm.w m .Wan.mH m Honuo Nwm.mH NH No~.m m NNN.~H m Nmm.H H ucow< oo Non.m m fimu.H H Nom.n m Nmm.H H pouooaxm uoz .ao .Hm Non.w m NmH.H H Nom.m m NmH.H H panama -xm .ao .Hm som.zm mu Nmn.u a NNm.oH o Nam.ma SH suonoz Ho Honstmz HmuoH cum qnm Nano "muonuo szm asHpmz 30H monouommm ouoom COHumov< mmOHmmmmo MOH<>mHm onmbmmHnnzoz H.muo:uo mucouomou uHosu ou aoHumHou CH ouoom coHumoom.muoEHmm .poscHucoo m mHan 34 .umou vaHmu N H0>0H no. um unmofimwduwm¥ #om.~ #o.~ ow m was a .muoumuono acum> wH.H oo.~ em c was 0 noHo GOHmamevuaoa was GOHmammHv mHH. No.N mm m was < «o muQOHHo coosuon anomHummaou *mm.¢ oo.~ Hm m can u s¢m.m qo.~ mu U was m .muoumuomo Houm>oHo nonsmep mo.H no.N mm m was m noon mo mucOHHo macaw memHHmmEoo mw.H oo.~ cm a can 4 .muoumummo noum>oHo Gown *«m.~ No.N «m U can 4 uDHMHv «0 mudOHHo macaw meowHummaoo u pound noHHmu N .m .c memHumaaoo .a8 .22 J «o . :8 osz> HwOHuHuo m w .m a Suz fluz , Suz , Suz iuz 25.5 no.H u cums no.~ n can: mH.m u com: oo.¢ u coax consmmHouaoz n o m d Suz Suz fluz NNuz . msnz .AoJm HN.m u can: .mo.~ n dams wo.m u emu: m¢.m n cam: aonammHn kuoa mcoz whom Hmaonmooo newswoum "mo muaOHHo uomuaoo uaum¢ .muoumummo Houm>OHo :onammHvuaOd was oOHmDHMHv mo mucmHHo you mouoom aoHum0pm some can Auaowm wuaaoo osu >9 vo>Hoouoa may uomuaoo ucmwm munsoo :ao3umn aHsmaoHumHmM .o mHan 35 Agent Contact and Adoption Level Several t-tests were computed comparing mean adoption scores with different degrees of contact with the county agent. For clients of diffusion elevator operators, comparisons were made between: frequent and rare contact, and frequent and no contact with the county agent. For clients of non-diffusion elevator operators mean adoption scores were compared between: frequent and occasional contact, frequent and rare contact, and frequent and no contact with county agent. Comparisons also were made between mean adoption scores for clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators for three categories of agent contact: frequent, rare and none. The data indicate: the more agent contact, the higher the adoption score. No significant differences in mean adoption scores were found for clients of either class of elevator operator, who had frequent, occasional or rare contact with the county agent. However, for clients who have no contact with the county agent, the mean adoption score of clients of diffusion elevator operators is significantly higher (t=2.8 p<.Ol) than the mean score of clients of non-diffusion elevator operators. A further investigation of the clients of elevator operators who have no contact with the county agent reveals several things when com- pared on reference others and adoption score. Table 7 represents the clients who have no contact with the county agent. Of the clients of diffusion elevator operators, nine out of nineteen name the elevator operator as a reference other and are in the high adoption range. On the other hand, of the twelve clients of non-diffusion elevator oper- ators whom the county agent said he had no contact, six named neighbors 36 neighbors or no one as reference others and three named miscellaneous others. These nine clients also tended to be low in adoption score. Specifically, if a farmer has no contact with the county agent but is a customer of a diffusion elevator operator, he is more likely to name the elevator operator as a reference other and have a high adoption score; whereas a farmer with no contact with the county agent but a customer of a non-diffusion elevator operator is more likely to name neighbors or miscellaneous others as reference others and have a low adoption score. 37 .thumeao uoum>oHo :onsmmHvuao: mo mNGOHHu mOHmHame unz *N .muoumuomo Houm>oHo :onsmeu mo muQOHHo OOHHHamNm u a s NN NN - N - a N N N m N m N N a - mNmNoa N o N N N N IN N N museuo N N N N Ncmm< oo I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Euumaxm Noz .ao .Nm N a N N N N m N N canoes -xm .ao .NN o N N N N N N N Nuonoz no nonstoz .n.z .n .n.z .n .n.z .n .n.z .n .n.z .n - .a.z .n .n.z .n **.a.z *.a mNmuoa o m a m N N o NNNm ssNemz soN ouoom aoHumoud .Aufiowm hucsoo mau mp uo>wmoumm may uamwm hucsoo nuH3 uomuaoo o: o>m£ 0:3 whoaumm How muozuo mucouowou can ouoom cOHumopm cmoaumn QHSmaoHumHom .5 OHan 38 PART II DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS The data seem to indicate two populations of elevator operators and two populations of farmers. All the hypotheses tested were found to be statistically signi- ficant. Hypothesis One stated that diffusion elevator operators would be named more as reference others by their clients than would the non-diffusion elevator operators by their clients. Furthermore the diffusion elevator operator was named more frequently by his clients than was any other reference other. Consequently the general hypothesis has support--that elevator operators who have interdependency with the diffusion system will more frequently be diffusion agents than those without interdependency. Clientele of non-diffusion elevator operators, on the other hand, leaned more towards neighbors and miscellaneous others as reference others. Of particular interest, farmers of this population (non-diffusion elevator operators) named elevator operators other than those who claimed them as clients (elevator operators not expected). The ele- vator operators "not expected" were found upon investigation to be diffusion elevator operators, i.e., have contact with the diffusion system. The point should be emphasized that farmers were claimed as regular customers by non-diffusion elevator operators, yet these customers were naming other elevator operators as reference others. This leads to the assumption that non-diffusion elevator operators are losing money in that their so-called "regular customers" are giving some of their business to other elevators. This clientele would seem to "shop around" more for their purchases and information. This 39 statement is based on the number of times the elevator operator not expected was named and also the number of times he was named as a source of information for the six practices on the adOption scale (dis- cussion of information sources for the adoption scale is not included in the text--see Appendix B and C for total responses). What may attract farmers to non-diffusion elevator operators may be the attrac- tive prices on certain goods and thus the farmer is retained as a "regular customer". Evidence for this is given by a study done by Ecker.31 In Ecker's study, elevators were classified as high profit and low profit. Economic variables such as inventories, advertising, major services (e.g., services that involve a cost such as feed grinding) were not significantly different for the two groups. However margins of profit were different. High profit elevators had greater mark-ups on goods than low profit elevators. The sug- gestion was made that these differences in margins of profit could be attributable to minor services (e.g., services that have no cost attached such as information and good management policy toward clientele) and that high profit elevator operators gave this type of service while low profit elevators did not. If the assumption can be made that low profit elevators are like, or are non-diffusion elevator operators, it would seem that their customers when it 31Harold J. Ecker, A Management Audit of Forty-Four County Ele- vators in Western Ohio, Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State Uni- versity, 1959. 40 comes to information may seek it elsewhere.32 This may explain why some farmers name unexpected elevator operators. Hypothesis two tested whether differences existed in adoption score for the two samples of farmers. Hypothesis three tested whether there were differences in county agent contact for the two samples of farmers. Both were supported. However, high adopters more fre- quently name the county agent as a reference other while the diffu- sion elevator operator is named as a reference other more frequently by farmers in the middle adoption range. It is worth noting the number of clients in both samples, but particularly those of non~ diffusion elevator operators, who have low adoption scores and have named neighbors or miscellaneous others as reference others. This seems further evidence supporting the general hypothesis that the greater the interdependence with the diffusion system the more likely the elevator operator will be a diffusion agent. For farmers who have contact with the county agent there is no difference between the two samples in mean adoption score. However the data do indicate that the more contact with extension the higher the adoption score. In mean adoption score, there is a marked difference between the two samples for farmers who have no contact with extension. Spe- cifically, clients of diffusion elevator Operators have mean adoption scores significantly higher than those of clients of non-diffusion 32This statement is based on the relationships of the findings of this study and that of Ecker's study (_p.'git.). Also this possible rela- tionship between low profit and non-diffusion elevator Operators was discussed with Dr. H. Ecker who concurred that the relationship is a likely one. 41 elevator Operators. Furthermore, the clients of diffusion elevator oper- ators who had no contact with extension named the diffusion elevator oper- ator as a reference other; whereas the clients of non-diffusion elevator operators who had no contact with extension named neighbors, miscellaneous others or no one as reference others. Generally, the data would support that diffusion elevator Operators have the greatest impact on farmers who have no contact with the county agent and who are in the middle adop- tion range. However there is a "core" of clients of elevator operators who have little or no contact with the county agent and name neither the county agent nor the elevator Operator as reference others. These farmers could be classified as that group of farmers that extension never reaches. Some of these farmers are regular customers of the diffusion elevator Operators and as such extension could reach them by better utilizing the abilities of the elevator operator. However, these diffusion elevator operators may not be completely aware of their potential role as diffusion agents. This would mean cultivating an awareness on their part either through the Feed and Grain Dealers Assoc- iation, through the training of students as elevator operators in Uni- versity Short Courses specifically designed for elevator operators, (or through other media.) The five diffusion elevator operators in this study have a total clientele of 2400 farmers. This number alone is sufficient evidence that their influence could be great. In regards to non-diffusion elevator operators, the fact that some of their "regular customers" were naming another diffusion elevator operator would imply that these customers can be reached also. Another area of research that would have practical implications would be to look at the elevator operators who become marginal or 42 even bankrupt each year. A hypothesis would be that marginality is positively correlated to their non-interdependency with the diffusion system. In other words elevator operators who become marginal or fail would be non-diffusion elevator operators. Summary and Conclusions There is evidence to indicate that some elevator operators can and do play an important role in the diffusion of agricultural prac- tices in the farming community. Also the data suggest that inter- dependency with the Extension diffusion system is important to the economic success of elevators. The main findings of the study are: l. Elevator operators who are diffusion operators were more frequently named as reference others by their farmer clientele than were the non-diffusion elevator Operators. 2. Clients of diffusion elevator operators tended to have higher adoption scores than farmer clientele of non-diffusion ele- vator Operators. 3. Clients of diffusion elevator operators had higher county agent contact than farmer clientele of non-diffusion elevator oper- ators . 4. A few clients of non-diffusion elevator operators named other elevator operators as reference others. In other words these clients who are supposedly regular customers of the non-diffusion operators did not name the non-diffusion operator as a reference other but rather other operators (referred to in tent as elevator operator not expected). These elevator operators not expected were found upon investigation to be diffusion elevator operators. 43 5. Farmer clientele of non-diffusion elevator operators more frequently name neighbors and miscellaneous others as reference others than do the farmer clientele of diffusion elevator Operators. 6. Farmers who name neighbors, nobody or miscellaneous others as reference others have low adoption scores. 7. Farmers who name the diffusion elevator operator as a refer- ence other tend to be in the middle adoption range. 8. Farmers who name the county agent as a reference other tend to be in the higher adoption range. 9. Among the farmers who have no contact with county agents, those farmers who are clients of diffusion elevator operators have higher adoption scores than those clients of non-diffusion elevator operators. 10. Among the farmers who have no contact with the county agents, those farmers who are clients of diffusion elevator operators name the diffusion elevator operator as reference others while clients of non-diffusion elevator operators name neighbors or miscellaneous others as reference others.n. 11. The more contact farmers have with the county agent, the higher their adoption scores. 12. Farmers who have no contact with the county agent and are clients of diffusion elevator operators and name those elevator oper- ators as reference others are more likely to have high adoption scores than the clients of the non-diffusion elevator operators that have no contact with the county agent. 13. For clients of diffusion and non-diffusion elevator operators who have close contact with the county agent there is no difference in adoption level. 44 Implications A number of practical implications seem apparent in this study. They are practical in the sense that the role of a change agent can be made more efficient in a direEt application of results of this study. Also the suggested research could eventually lead to greater understanding of the diffusion process in agricultural communities. 1. Some of the farmers with no contact with extension can be reached through the elevator operators who have developed an interdependency with extension and other sources of agricultural innovations. 2. Extension, in its over-all programming, might consider work— ing with elevator operators to diffuse new farm practices. 3. If diffusion elevator operators were made more fully aware of their potential role as change agents, they could play a larger part than they now do. 4. If somehow non-diffusion elevator operators were made aware that clients look to elevator operators as sources of information, some might become effective instruments of diffusion. 5. Within this study there is an economic implication for non- diffusion elevator operators. Specifically, it is unlikely that the farmers who name the elevator operator not expected use these oper- ators solely for information and never make any purchases. Therefore there is an economic loss on the part of the non-diffusion elevator operator simply because he may not, or cannot, be a source of infor- mation. The present study did no follow up on the elevator operator not expected to determine whether this operator classified that farmer 45 who had named him as one of his regular customers. This approach may be another area for further investigation and could be expphded to determine what farmers and why farmers go to certain people for infor- mation or purchases. 6. A further study in depth is needed on elevator operators to test more elaborately their part in the diffusion process in rela- tionship to economic success. 7. In light of the findings that reference others included a variety of names in different agricultural businesses, a study of the relative importance of several of these in the diffusion process would be worthwhile. APPENDIX A STATISTICAL DATA 46 47 Now .uoumummo Noum>OHm cOHmammHnucoa How aoHumH>ounnm .mo .Hm .Q .2 ¥«« .NONmuoao uoum>mHo aonsmme How coHumH>munnm .ao .Hm .Q.RR A.%w=um mqu GH mmHnmu HHm aoHumameOO vumwcmumv .mosHm> vouoomxm ou Momma unabasc pmuoxomum N quOHmHame .mo.nvm .H.o u Nx umuamaou .o.© n .m@ N How Hm>mH mo. um NN mo msHm> emN om NoN NN Nmuoa Nm HNN.NNV NN NmN.NNV Nm NsN.N NI mN ANA.No .Nm .n .2 Na Nam.wNv NN AmN.¢ov oN. NAoN.NNV a A«.ao .NN .n Nmuoa +mm -sm-mm an pass: "No mNmuamNNo .muoumummo NOum>mHo consmevuaoc was aonsmmHv mo muaOHHo How :oHuHmomEoo mwm .pN mo. Np NN «0 mst> qu mH mm mm Ho HmNOH mm Amm.nw\ a Nem.omv RN mHm.m v m Awm.mmv mm .mo .Hm .n .2 Na Ams.av NN Aso.smv NN Ams.qu ON ANN.NNV NN .No .NN .n HmuoH mumsnmuo mumsumuu Hoosom mmmH ”mo oHouoOHHo owOHHoo No Hoosom :me No omoHHoU maom smHm oEom w ovmuw .muoumuoao Houm>oHo aonsmmHouaoc was aondmmHv mo muaoHHo Now coHuHmoQEoo coHumosvm .¢N oHan .uamoNNNaNNm .mNo. Ame. vs .N.N u Nx cousaaoo m... as u is N .33: no. Na NN aims smN oN mm NN Nmuoa Nn Noa.N N m NNo.NNN «N ANN.NNNI mm .ao .NN .n .z Na Noo.NNv mN Awm.mmv mm ANo.NmV ma .ao .Nm .9 Nancy ma-om as-om NN ewes mmmN ”No.mNmucmNNo anon can scamsmmHv mo .muoumuomo uoum>mHo aonsmeu mucOHHo now waoo waHxHHa mo nomad: oak .OH mo. um ax mo oaHm> smN mm on so Nmuos Nm Noo.st NN ANm.NNv NN Ams.st NN .No .NN .a .2 Na Nsm.va 0N “NH.NNV mm ANm.NsV mm .Ao .Nm .n Han—OH. mwhum mmuom mmmH .HO "HO mHmquHHU whoa No ONN NNN-osN wagon oNN .muoumnomo Houm>on aonsmevuao: paw aonsmmHv mo mucOHHo How mouom oHawHHHu :H wcHoHon mo ONHm .<¢ oHan 51 c mn.H cm.m om.m w~.~H on.m~ mH.m #N.® HN.N nw.m mm.wH Nm.HH g - N N N N N N N N NN S I NN N33 - N - N N a N N N N NN N 32:0 .. N N N .. - .. .N N N N - ”Emma oo - N - N - N N N N N N s .8 Nu .o.z .n .n.z .n .n.z .n .Q.z .a .n.z .n .n.z, .n mum cum NuHuo cum #nm NuHuo ouoom aoHumov< ouoom aoHunoud Hoonom mmmw meow _ mmmH no w opmuw .uamumaoo pHo: mH coHumuspo dons mumnuo mucouomou can ouoom aoNuaovo noosuon mHsmaoHumHmm .«m oHan 52 o mH.o Ho.N NH.¢ c mo.H wN.NH om.oH ow.NN oq.mH mN.NH mo.m N u o a q u H N CH MH mH N m HmuoH u N H N u n . e m m m N H mnonuo - a N N - .. , N N s N 3 N New? 8 .. .. N N - N - N, - N __ .... N .8 Na .n.z .n .942 .G .sz .n T .n.z .Q .n.z .n .n.z .Q cum «In NnHuc mum Oum NnHuo onoum aoHumoud unmom conuaou< vmnw umeHou no omeHoo meow _ . oumavmnw Hoonom mem .uosawuaoo me aonamvanao: mo muaowHo u .ao .Hm .n .z ** .nonmnoao nonm>OHo GONNSMNNv mo NuaONHU n .ao .Hm .n N NNo.NN. NNN.NN NNN.NN NNN.NN NNN.oN NNN.N NNN.NN NNo.N NN «N oN NN N N N N Nmuon NN.N NNN.N NNN.N NNN.N NN.N NNo.N - NN.N -- N N N N N N N -- nmeuo NN NNN.N -- -- NNN.N -- -- NNN.N N N -- -- N -- -- N Namm< ou NNN.N o NNN.N -- -- -- -- -- NNNONNNN N o N -- u- -- -- .- Noz .No .Nm NN.N NN.oN -- NNN.N .. NNN.N NNN.N -- Nmuummxm N oN -- N -- N N -- .No .NN NNN.N NNo.N N.N NNo.N NNN.N NNo.N N.N -- NNoNoz no N N N N N N N -- noNNNNNz .n.z .a .n.z .Q .Q.z .0 «#.mo .Hm %.mo .Hm nnonuo .n.z .n moamnowom N N N o onoOm aownmou¢ .mnoumnomo noum>mHo conswwNpuaoa vam :oNNDMMHv mo muaoNHo now mnm£uo moaonmmon cam mnoom moHnaonm coo3non QHnNGOHumHOM .mNm :onDHMancoa mo muamNNo u .a.z *« .NOumummo Noum>mNm aon:MMNv mo muaoNNU n .n % NooN NooN NN.oN NNm.mN oN.0N Nmm.mN NN.NN Noo.NN om.qN NNN.q¢ Nm Nm NN NN mN mN oN NN «N NN mNmuoa NN.n NNN.o NNN.N Nmo.N NNN.NN NNN.N NON.m Nom.NN NN 0N m o m N N N m NN mpmNuo NmN.N Noo.N NN.m Nmo.N uu NNN.N NNN.NN NN¢.qN NN mN N N m N uu N N «N Namm< ou uu uu NN.m uu NmN.N uu NmN.N uu umuomaxm m o uu uu m uu N uu N uu uoz .ao .Nm Nm.m NNN.N uu NNN.N Nm.m Nmo.m NmN.N NN¢.qN wauomaxm m «N N m uu N N m N «N .mo .NN NNm.oN Noo.N No.N Nmo.m Nm.oN NNN.¢ Nm.m Nmo.m Nuonoz no NN NN o N N m o N N m Honanmz .a.z .n .n.z .n .n.z .a .a.z .a u.o.z «on muosuo .Nmm .No .Nm mNmNOH mcoz mumm Nmaonmouo Newswmum uumuaoo uaww< .wuoumummo Houm>mNm :onamva uaoa van conDMMNv mo muamNNo now mumsuo mucmummmu ou GONumNmu cN uomuaoo ucmwm hucsou .mNm GONmsmmeuaoa cam GONmsmva mo mucmNNo How muoom coNNQOcm ou aoNumNmN :N uumusoo uammm huaaou .«oN oNan 61 .muoumumao noum>mNm GONmSNNNvuaoa mo muanNu u.a.z** .muoumummo uoum>on GONmamva mo muauNNo n.n« Nn Nm NN mN mN mN 0N NN ¢N m¢ mNmuoe nu nu nu Nmo.N nn un nu nu Nm.m NNN.N o N w nn N nu un nu nu N N .o.z .n .n.z .a .a.z .n .n.z .a **.a.z *.n u muoom GONumov< .mo .NN mNmuoa maoz mumm Nmaonmooo uamsmoum uumuaou ucmw< .vmsaNuuoo mN mo. um NN ost> Nm om m¢ NN mNmuoa Nm Noa.N V m ANN.NNV mN NoN.Nv NN Nomuaoo oz no mumm NN Now.o v w ANN.oNV m Amm.¢v m uumuaoo Nmaonmooo Nq Nom.NNv NN NmN.va NN NmN.mv m uomuaoo acmsvmum mNmuoa cum ¢um NnNno mmoum onHmon< .mHOumumao Heuw>wNo aon:MMNU mo mucmNNu Mom muoom :oNuaovm vcm Auamwm Nuance kn um>Noouma mmv uomuaou uammm Nuance amm3umn mNanONumNmM .m3os :ONuwuumsNNN mom .Noo. moc. .9 ..mn N .N.NN was aoNuomuuoo mmumw auN3 Nx waNuNsmmu 0:8 .mNNmu me ouaN uwmmmNNoo mms wNNmu mau m>Nm amsu mmmN mo mmNoawsvmuw kuummxm m>m£ mNNmo mmucu mmsmommN .ucmonNcmNm .No. .ANo.V a 2.2 :oNuomuNuoo mmumw :33 NN vmusmaou .m.m .Nu q you Nm>mN no. um Nx mst> Nm oN «N . NN mNmuoe NN NNN.¢JV N NNN.NNV a uNom.oNV NN uomuaou oz no mumm oN ANN.N V q ANN.o V o Nm¢.o V o Nomuaoo Nmaonmouo qN Noq.N V m Nam.m V m Nmo.m V o Nomuaoo uawsvmum Nmuoa cum «um NuNuo mmoom ZOHHmOQ< N.muoumumao noum>mNm aonDMMancoa mo mucmNNo How muoom GONuaowm vam Aucmwm Nuance Np wm>Nmouma mmV uumucoo ucmwm Nuance ammSuwn mNsmaONumem .mN no. um Nx maNm> qu oq No mq mNmuoa an NNm.mNV o N¢¢.0NV «N NNN.NNV NN uomuaoo oz no mumm mm ANN.N V NN NNo.NNV mN NoN.NNV NN nomucou NmGONmmooo Nm NON.NNV NN qu.mNV om Noo.oNV m Nomuaou Namsvmum mNmuoa mun qum NuNuo mmoom ZOHHmOQ< .muoumummo naum>mNm :onsmwanao: vcm CONmsmva mo mucmNNo How muoom GONumoum van Anamwm Nuasou Na vm>Nmouma mmv uumucoo uammm Nuance ammsumn mNanONumNmM .¢MN mNan 65 .moamonNawNm on mN mumnu mmmo some aN .mumsvm N50 amusmaou msu HmuNm uoa mwov mmNuamsvmnm vmuommxm NNmam man muchaNNm Cu mNNmu m5» waNmmmNNouN .uamoNMNchm Non .N..m o.¢ u Nx nmuaaaoo .c.o .mu N How Nm>mN mo. um NN mst> mm o «N mN mNmuoa NN NNN.NV N Nma.oNV m NNN.NNV NN .ao .Nm .n .2 NM NmN.mV m NNo.mNV mN ANN.mNV NN .No .Nm .n mNmNON cum «um NuNuo .muoumummo acum>mNm aonsmmNnnaoa cam GONmsmva mo mumaoumso How Aucwwm Numsoo mnu Np cw>Nmoumm mmV uamwm Nuance nuN3 uomuaoo on no mum» m>m£ umnu mumaumm van uomucou ucmwm Nuasou ammaumn mNnmaoNumNmM .¢¢N mNan 66 mm NN Nm N m N mN NN NN mNmuOH m N nu un N ¢ 0 m umnuo N m N N N N N uu 26$ 8 m 0 un un N un N uu cmuommxm uoz .90 .Nm N NN uu N N m N o umuuoaxm do .Nm oN m nu N N N w m 660 02 no muonawNwz .902 ID OQOZ Co IGOZ 0Q QQOZ 0Q "mhmguo "mo mucmNNo moamummmm mNmuoa cum Nun NuNuo mmoom zoNHmon¢ .Ausmwm muasou m£u Na um>Nmoumm mmv ucmwm Nucaoo suNB uomuaoo on no mum“ m>m£ AmuamNNuV 0:3 van muoumumao uoum>mNm :onsmvauaoa van consmva mo muamNNo Mom mum£uo moamuommu cam muoom :ONuaovm fimozumn mNsmaoNumNmm .Nmouma mmV ucmwm Nucsoo msu LuNs uomuaoo Nm60Nmmooo no uamJUmum m>m£ AmuamNNuV 0:3 tam muoumummo Neum>mNm consmvanaoc tam consmva mo muamNNu How mumnuo woamummmu cam muoom coNumocm cmmzumn mNnmcoNumNmm ..001, significant. 76 Table 7A. Questions on adoption adopted practices. scale-~sources of information for Sources: E1. Op. Expected El. 0p. Not Expected E1. Op. & E1. Op. Not Expected E1. Op. & Other Co Agent & Other Co Agent Co Agent & El. 0p. Mass Media No Place or Don't Know Other Neighbor TOTAL ADOPTED TOTAL NOT ADOPTED TOTAL Ques. l3 Ques. 14 Ques. 15 Feeding Milking Minimum Top Dressing Cows Tillage Hay Stand D.* N. D.* D. N. D. D. N. D. E1. Op. El. 0p. El. Op. El. Op. El. 0p. El. Op, 3’ l -- -- 8 -- -- l -- -- -- 3 1 -- -- -- 2 1 3 4 ll 6 6 6 4 4 7 3 12 2 l -- -- -- 5 -- 5 l 9 10 6 7 6 l 3 3 6 3 10 3 l6 5 12 4 -- -- 9 2 l 2 33 15 55 29 58 28 64 42 42 28 39 29 97 57 97 57 97 59 *D. El. 0p. = Clients of diffusion elevator operators. **N. D. E1. 0p. = Clients of non-diffusion elevator operators. 77 Table 7A continued. Ques. l6 Ques. 18 Ques. 19 Early Planting Alfalfa Use of Nigrogen of Corn Varieties Fertilizer D. N. D. D. N. D. D. N.LD. El. Op. El. Op. El. Op. El. Op. El. Qp. El. 9p. E1. 0p. Expected -- -- 35 7 35 -- E1. Op. Not Expected -- l 1 5 1 6 El. Op. & El. Op. Not Expected -- -- -- l -- -- El. Op. & Other -- -- 5 -- 2 1 Co Agent & Other 8 6 3 3 2 4 Co Agent 4 l 4 2 4 2 Co Agent & El. 0p. -- -- 4 -- 3 1 Mass Media 5 4 ll 4 4 1 No Place or Don't Know 22 7 l 7 4 1 Other 18 7 7 5 10 6 Neighbor 3 2 2 -- 3 3 TOTAL ADOPTED _ 60 28 73 34 68 25 TOTAL NOT ADOPTED 37 29 24 23 29 32 TOTAL 97 57 97 57 97 57 78 Table 8A. Questions on adoption scale. Potential source of information a for non-adopted practices. Ques. 13 Ques. l4 Ques. 15 Feeding Milking Minimum Top Dressing Cows Tillage Hay Stand D. N. D. D. N. D. D. N. D. Sources: El. Op. E1. Op. E1. Op. El. Op. E1. Op. E1. Op. E1. Op. Expected 18 4 1 -- 8 1 E1. Op. Not Expected 3 5 -- 1 l 6 El. Op. & El. 0p. Not Expected -- 1 -- -- -- -- El. Op. & Other -- l l -- 2 -- Co Agent & Other 7 7 7 3 2 5 Co Agent 18 12 14 10 15 6 Co Agent & El. Op. 3 2 -- -- 3 1 Mass Media 1 2 2 2 -- -- No Place or Don't Know 3 2 3 6 3 2 Other 11 5 7 4 4 8 Neighbor -- 1 7 2 l -- TOTAL NOT ADOPTED 64 42 42 28 39 29 TOTAL ADOPTED 33 15 55 29 58 28 TOTAL 97 57 97 57 97 57 79 Table 8A continued. Ques. 16 Ques. 18 Ques. 19 Early Planting Alfalfa Use of Nitrogen of Corn Varieties Fertilizer D. N. D. D. N. D. D. N. D. El. Op. El. Op. E1. Op. E1. Op. E1. Op. E1. Op. El. Op. Expected 3 l 12 6 10 2 El. Op. Not Expected -- 2 2 7 -- 12 El. Op. & E1. Op. Not Expected -- -- -- -- -- 1 E1. Op. & Other 1 -- 3 l 2 -- Co Agent & Other 2 6 -- -- 2 2 Co Agent 12 7 1 6 5 4 Co Agent & El. Op. 1 -- 4 -- 1 1 Mass Media 1 l -- -- -- -- No Place or Don't Know 4 5 l 2 l 2 Other 11 6 l l 5 7 Neighbor 2 l -- -- 3 1 TOTAL NOT ADOPTED 37 29 24 23 29 32 TOTAL ADOPTED 60 28 73 34 68 25 TOTAL 97 57 97 57 97 57 APPENDIX C TOTAL NUMBER OF RESPONSES GIVEN BY FARMERS TO QUESTIONNAIRE 8O 81 m Table 10. Total number of responses given by farmers as to the people talked to most frequently about farming. (Reference othersp) Clients of: D. El. Op. N. D. E1. Op. Reference Others: El. Op. Expected 52 12 E1. Op. Not Expected 2 9 Co Agent 42 12 Other Farmers 65 38 Business Not Related to Agriculture 14 4 Banker 10 7 Relatives l6 14 Nobody 3 5 Implement Dealer 10 9 Business Related to Agriculture 16 13 Miscellaneous 20 9 Totals 250 132 m 82 Nq no mN Nm mN aN a m mNmuoH N o nu N m N nn nu .omNz m e m N N uu uu uu .Num4 ou .mm mamaNmam N N m N nu un nu nu Honmn uaoaoNaaN nu nn N nu N N N nn MUso 02 q n ¢ ¢ nn un N nu mo>NumNoM m m m m nn N un un uoxomm uu N N m uu N N uu .Nuw< ou cmumNmm uoz mmocwmam NN mN 0 ON m o q N muoaumm Honuo q NN nu nu N N nu N ucom< co m N N uu uu uu uu uu .axm “oz .No .Nm 0 mN N m uu m N N .ao .NN "unusuo monogamom .ao .NM .90 .Nm .mo .Nm .mo .Nm .mo .Nm .mo .Nm .mmu.Nm .mo Heumuomo Noum> .n .z .n .n .z .9 .9 .z .n .n .n uwNm mo muamNNU N N muoom :oNummo4 .mHONmNomo acum>oNo aonammNonnoo can aonammNc No munoNNo How ouoom coNumoum cu coNumNmu 6N Amomoommmu Nmuouv waNEhmm usonm NNuoosvouw umoe cu womeu mNmoom .UN mNan 83 NMN omN on an mNmuoa m ON N N .omNz mN 0N ¢ ¢ .Num4 0» .0m mmoaNmsm m oN N m Nonon unmEmNmaN m m N N moo oz «N 0N N o mm>NumNmM N oN N N Roxana q «N N nu .Nuw< ou poumNom uoz mmoaNmsm mm no NN 0N muoaumm Hunuo NN N¢ mN m uoowd 00 N N N uu .axm uoz .ao .Nm NN Nm NN NN .ao .Nm "mumnuo oudoumwom .mo .Nm .mmu.Nm .mo .Nm .no .NM .90 .Nm .m0r.Nm .mo .Nm .mo .Nm Houmummmxuoum> .n .z .Q .Q .2 .n .n .z .n .n .2 .Q non «0 muooNNo mNoNoH c n ¢ ououm ooNuaov< .nmsaNuaoo oN mNnma 84 NON «0 ON oN em mN NN NN N N mNmNOH .umNz socx u.aoa mo>NumNmm oomNm oz .oo .uumm .oo ummm mNumz mama muoaumm umsuo .axm uoz .ao .NN .ao .Nu umNNmNomam .o.m.z .p.m.z ucom< oo woumow¢ uoz umumou< m umumou< Noz umumoua commou< uoz umumoua Niamummv< Numummv< uoz Q ooNuomum whoom aoNumov< Na u z .Aonom aoNuaoom do mooNuomua nomV muoumumao Houm>mNo aonsmmNo mo muaoNNo you .muoam aONNQOpm On chmuooom aoNumauomoN mo moousow NmNuoouoa Ho moongm No momaoammu mo unease Nmu0H .om oNan Pl 85 A.coNumauomaN mo moousom so mcoNumoov now ouNmoooNumosv Hoaumm .n xNuaoma< oomV .vmuaovm uoa oUNuomua man now coNumauoch No mouoom NNNuaouom 6:9 ¥* .ooNuumua omumoom o:u now ooNumauoch «0 coupon Nmauom oaa ¥ .nnnanmmn Nemu, mu . No on NNN Ne NNN mNmNoa NN w nu N nn nu N m .omNz N wN nn N nu o N 0 Boom u.aon o w nn m nu N nu nu mo>NumNom mN mN nu m nn m m NN oomNm oz NN m nu N nu N N N .00 .uuom «N NN un N N m N N .00 vomm mN mm nn NN q Nm q wN «Nun: mmmz 0N mq nu w nn NN m N muoaumm nonuo 0. 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N ON «New: mam: NN mN un un N q nu m whoaumm Hmzuo o« 0N uu uu N N N m .Nxm uoz .ao .Nm 0N NN uu uu N m « N .ao .Nm o N un nn un nn nu nn umNNmNommm .D.m.z NN m nn nu nn nu N m .z.m.z «.m m« mu o S S m. S New? oo cosmoo< cmumou< nmuaon< umumoc< smuNOu< omummm< nmumou< umummv< ooNuumum uoz uoz uoz uoz mNmuoH n « ouoom aoNumov4 .cosaNucoo o« mNnmN 88 N N u. N uu u. N N N N m N .umNz nn N uu m N m N m un N m uu 30am u.zon un N nn un nu N nn N nu N nn N mo>NumNom N N N nn 0 ¢N m m ¢ « m o momNm oz N 0 un nu nu N m N N un nu nn .ou .uuom nu N m N oN oN nu nn N un un nn .oo ovum m N N oN m mN N mN oN mN 9 ON vamz mmmz m m nu N « NN N 0 ON NN N N muoaumm nosuo uu N N N uu uu N uu uu uu N uu.axm Noz .mo .NN «N o« NN «« m uu NN mN N uu NN m .ao .Nm nn nu un N nu nn nn nn uu N N « .mmm .D.m.z N nn N c N q m w m a oN m .Dom.z ON a N. oN NN NN NN NN mN NN NN N uamw< oo .mov< .mov4 .moo< .aoo< .mov< .aov< .mov< .mov< .mmo< .mov< fimow< .moc< uoz uoz uoz uoz uoz uoz uoNNNNuumm moNumNum> auoo mo vamum mam owwNNNH wsoo cowouuNz mo om: «NNmmN¢ waNuamNm NNumm waNmmmun moH azaNsz maNxNNz wanwom mN .moso wN .mooo oN .mooc mN .mmso ¢N .moso mN .mooc .Nm u z .mHOumumao Noum>oNo aonomwNv mo muaoNNo hp AmNmom aoNumoom so maoNumosv HomV doNumEuomaN mo moousom NmNuaouoa No mouusom mo momaommou Nmuoa .on oNan 89 N N N N N nu N N N m N .omNz N N N N N o uu m N c N un 30oz u.:oo nn N nn nn nn m nu m uu nu nn N mo>NuoNom nu un nn nn m m N un q un m N ooon oz oN m nu nu N nn NN N N nu un un .00 .uuom un un N N oN N nn un N un nn nu .ou ooom un o N oN N NN N NN m mN e o oNooz moo: N ¢ nn nn m o N m m m m un muoEuom HoNNuo mN « oN m m N oN m N uu N N.axm uoz .ao .Nm 0 N oN N N uu N N uu uu N N .ao .Nm un un uu nn nn nu nn nn nn un un N .omm .D.m.z N un m N m nn ¢ N N N w nu .z.m.z oN N oN m nN N «N N mN a NN N “coma oo .mou< .aou< .aou< .Nooa .aou< .m0c< amon< .mou< .mo«< .ooo< .mmv< «mou< uoz uoz uoz uoz uoz uoz HoNNNNuuom ooNuoNuo> once «0 vcoum mom owoNNNH ozoo cowouuNz No om: omNomN< waNucmNm NNuom moNomoun mos aoaNaNz woNxNNz waNooom aN .mooo wN .moso 0N .moac mN .mooo «N .moso MN .moso .Nm n z .ouououoao Mouo>oNo aoNoommanaoa mo ouaoNNo ma AoNoom coNuaooo co maoNumoov uoNV ooNuoENomaN mo moouoOo NoNuaouoa No moounom mo oomcommou Nouoa .oo oNnoH APPENDIX D QUESTIONNAIRES AND OTHER DEVICES 9O v.91 WAIT 1 Please read this page before lookipgpat the questionnaire We wish to thank you for giving a few minutes of your time in helping us gather data that we feel is important. The information you give will be kept in strict confidence. Any information published from this questionnaire will be in statistical form only and no individual will be identified. We would like to ask you: 1. To please answer all questions. 2. To please not read ahead - answer the questions in the order given. A summary report of the findings will be available to you upon request. 92 CONFIDENTIAL Name Address fl 4? 1. Age 2. Education 3. Number of years as an elevator operator 4. Number of years at present location 5. What are the five most important aspects of your job? 1. 2° N 3. 4. 5. 6a. Whose opinion of you as an elevator operator is of greatest concern to you? (Do not give names of people but list them by position (occupation) or relationship to you. You may name groups). 5. 6b. For each of the above answers (keeping the same order) indicate one thing you do that makes them have a good opinion of you. 1. 2. 6c. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 93 CONFIDENTIAL For each of the questions in 6a, (keeping the same order), indicate one thing that you do that makes them think poorly of you. 1. pi 2. 3. 4O 5. Describe yourself as an elevator operator by completing the following 5 statements beginning with "I am." 1. I am 2. I am 3. I am i 4. I am r T 5. I am What type of farming are your customers engaged in - rank them according to size - percentages of total clientele. Dairy , Cash Crops , Mixed Farming , Hogs , Poultry , Beef , Other An elevator operator encourage his customers to try out new ideas and products (must, should, may, should not, must not). (CIRCLE ONE) I encourage my customers to try out new ideas and products. (frequently, sometimes, seldom, never) (CIRCLE ONE) How often do you read material published by the M.S.U. College of Agriculture? very frequently, frequently, sometimes, never (CIRCLE ONE) Approximately how many times during a year do you talk to a repre- sentative of M.S.U. such as a county agent, professor, specialist, etc. What is the name of the agricultural agent in your county? Approximately how long ago did you last talk to him? 94 CONFIDENTIAL 15. When was the last time you suggested to a customer that he consult with the agricultural agent? 16. Where do you get information about: (rank in order of importance; #1 most important) a. How to run your elevator Operation? bulletins, newsletters, etc., from your suppliers. personal contacts (specify) mass media (radio, t.v., newspapers, etc.) other (specify) b. Farm practices? (rank in order of importance; #1 most important) bulletins from agricultural college farm magazines or programs (radio, t.v., etc.) personal contacts (specify) other (specify) 17. Please rank the following on their importance to you for a success- ful operation. (#1 is the most important) ____modern physical facilities (plant, trucks, etc.) ____friendly pleasant manners _____sound but competitive credit policy ____1earning useful up-to-date information for farmers ____bookkeeping and inventory system a wide line of products and services conscientious and honest employees other (specify) 153- How would you rank yourself on the amount of information about farm- ing you give to farmers in comparison to farm implement dealers? (CHECK ONE) much more more same less much less 19. 20. 21. 95 CONFIDENTIAL How would you rank yourself in the amount of farm information you give to farmers in comparison to country bankers? (CHECK ONE) much more more same less much less How would you rank yourself in the amount of farm information you give to farmers in comparison to county agents? (CHECK ONE) much more more same less much less How would you rank yourself in the amount of farm information you give to farmers in comparison to other elevator Operators in Michigan? 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Nmnonoo unmaonaN snow on somNanEoo oN mnoEnmm on m>Nm ooh moNanmm unonm ooNumEnoch mo uaooam man so NNomnsoN scan 50% oNnoB somnmN .mmso - n u u N u u n ANmNommmv nonuolll a u m N N m N N mooNonEm umocon cam mooNuooNomolell s u o o m N o o ‘ mooN>nmm vow muoovonm mo ooNN ooNB MIII n u N N m ¢ ¢ m Eoume Nnouao>cN vow wonooxxooAIll u n q o N m m N mnmsnmm now ooNumEnoch unmououuoo Nomom: waNcnmodlll u n m m o c m m NoNNoa uNoono m>NuNumano non oaoowlll u u N m m N N ¢ mnmoama nammmmNm NNoomNnalll u u N N o N N N A.ouo .mxoonu .uomva mmNuNNNomm Nmonhsm anoooalll m* N% 0* m* «N m* N* NN AnomunomaN umoE oSu mN Nfiv .aoNumnmmo Namwmwooow m now 50% on oucmnnomaN nNonu co woNzoNNom mnu xomn ommmNmuNN .mmoo mmmN nos: N N N mmoN 08mm N mnoz >4 N >4 mnoE £092 NN N* 0* m* «N m* N* NN Nmnoowm Nwosoo on oomNnmm quo cN mnoanmm cu m>Nw 50% ooNumEnode Snow mo unsosm osu :N «Nomnooh Noon 30% oNoo3 3omuON .mooo 103 wmmN son: N mmoN mamm N mnoz N N N N onoa nos: m§ NN 0* m§ «N m* N* N* Nmnoxamn anuoooo ou oomNnma uaoo :N mnmEnmN ou m>Nm ooh ooNumEnomoN anmm mo uaooam mnu oN NNmmnooN xcmn soN sto3 3omumN .mwso 104 mmmN 30:2 mmoN N N N 08mm N 0noz once 50:2 mN IEOU SH mhmahwm OH NN 0N mN 0>Nm ooh aoNumanoch «N mN NN NN NamwNnoNz GN mnoumnomo noum>0N0 nonuo o0 oOmNnmm Snow mo unoosw 0:0 oN NNmmnooh xcmn ooh vNoo3 zomnNN .mooo 105 COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE MHchigan State University - East Lansing Institute for Extension Personnel Development And U.S. Department of Agriculture COOperating July 10, 1964 Dear I am a student at Michigan State University. As part of my course work I have been assigned the project of interviewing several Michigan farmers. Within a day or two of receiving this letter I will telephone you. The types of questions you will be asked are primarily how farmers handle their decisions and their sources of information. I will not be asking you for any personal information. There will be a total of 200 interviews with Michigan farmers and the infor- mation from these will be in statistical form only - your name will not appear anywhere. Thanking you for your consideration. Yours sincerely, /s/John G. Elliott Graduate Student Michigan State University 106 Phone Number Phone Calls: 1. In __ _2. In __ 3. In __ 4. In __ Out __ Out __ Out __ Out __ Call ‘ 2 . Call Call Call back at______ back.at_____’ back at_____ back at___. Busy _________ Busy _______ Busy _____ Busy __ Time interview began Time interview ended Name ’7 Address 8. First, could you tell me the size of your farm in total acres? under 50 - 50-69 - 70-99 - 100-139 140-179 - 180-219 - 220-259 - 260-499 - 500-999 - 1000+ \OGNO‘U-FUJNl-‘O I 9. ....in tillable acres? 0 - under 50 3 - 100-139 6 - 220-259 1 - 50-69 4 - 140-179 7 - 260-499 2 - 70-99 5 - 180-219 8 - 500-999 9 - 1000+ 10. How many cows on the average are you milking during the year? - less than 20 - 20-29 - 30-39 40-49 - 50-99 - 100-199 - 200+ mmwaHo a 11. 12. 13. 14. 107 Who are the people you talk to most frequently about farming? NAME OCCUPATION — 1. 2. 3. (IF ALL NAMES ABOVE ARE NON-FARMERS - NO NEED TO ASK NEXT QUESTION (12)) You have mentibned n farmers, we would like the two non-farmers that you talk to most about farming. NAME ogcumnon 1. 2. a Do you feed grain to your milking cows according to the amount of milk they give per day? No Yes___. (IF YES, ASK:) (IF NO, ASK d) F-—- III (a) What would that be: 1 pound of grain to how many pounds of milk? (should be around 1:3.1 or less) k (if ratio grater =- a no answer) (b) How long ago did you start using this practice? (years) (c) ...and where did you get the information about it? ‘-€>(d) If you.wanted information on grain feeding, where would you go (first) w— v When you get ready to plant corn, how do you work your land? 1r--(IF NOT MINIMUM.TILLAGE - ASK (C)) (IF MINIMUM TILLAGE 0R EQUAL, ASK:) (a) How long ago did you start doing it that way? (b) ...and where did you get the information about it? ww— (IF NOT MINIMUM TILLAGE 0R EQUAL, ASK:) -—€>(c) If you wanted information about new methods of working land for planting corn where would you go? 15. 16. 17. 108 Do you normally spread commercial fertilizer as a top dressing to your hay stand? No Yes (IF YES, ASK:) (a) How long ago did you start doing this? (b) Where did you get the information about top dressing? if -—-%KIF NO, ASK:) If you wanted information about top dressing hay stands, where would you go? By what date do you like or try to have your corn planted? ___ by May 15 ____by May 15 to June 1 ___ after June 1 (IF BY MAY 15 ASK:) (a) How long ago did you start doing this? (b) Where did you get the information about early planting of corn? ‘r L—-9(IF AFTER MAY 15, ASKz) (c) If you wanted information on early planting of corn, where would you go? For a milk quality control do you use any of the following tests on your milking cows: California Mastitis test; Milk Quality test; Michigan Milk test, or other similar tests? ‘--’No Yes (IF YES, ASK:) (a) How long ago did you start using this practice? (b) Where did you get the information about it? (IF NO, ASK:) L"'§’(c) If you wanted information on milk quality control tests for your milking cows where would you go? 18. 19. 109 What variety of alfalfa do you grow? Vernal DuPuis Other IF ALFALFA NOT GROWN ASK OATS FIRST, WHEAT SECOND (USE ONE) OATS WHEAT Clintland 60 Avon Garry Genesee Redney . ... Other §-f0ther l . ‘:' ‘ . . . ‘ ‘ (Ausuable) certified (Coachman) seed growers (IF ONE OF ABOVE IS MENTIONED ASK:) (a) How long ago did you start using this variety of ? (b) Where did you get the information about this variety? (IF ONE OF ABOVE IS NOT MENTIONED ASK:) -€?(c) If you wanted information on recommended varieties, where would you go? Do you use a straight nitrogen fertilizer as a supplement on corn or other crops except pastures? F—-Nq___ Yes___' (IF YES, ASK:) (a) How long ago did you start doing this? (b) Where did you get the information about nitrogen fertilizer? (IF NO, ASK:) .‘-€’(c) If you wanted information on nitrogen fertilizer (ammonium nitrate, urea, etc.) where would you go? v —v 20. 21. 7.. 110 old are you? under 25 25-34 years 35-44 years 45-54 years 55-64 years 65 or more years estimated by asking how long he has been farming What was the last grade of school you completed. 1 - 2 - 3 - less than 8 years completed 8th grade attended high school but didn't graduate graduated from high school attended college graduated from college 111 .hmo nonuozm now 00NNNo m.u:0wm Nucno0 050 on wsNansuon OmnNavmn 0>m£ ONsos 00m mNnu OouoNaao0 0>m£ on .mNNm0 Nmn0>0m noumm nmsmam on mac was O0>oa nmsnmm 0G0 .Nmmv was nosnmm 0no u n0NOON .noumnomo noum>0N0 aonsmNNOunoc w snap O .noumnomo noum>0N0 :onsmmNO m anNu N .huNENaoam No 03mm man now Omnonaoa 0nm mnoumnmao nOum>0N0 oNHN «mN NON m O « NmuOH mN ON N « N w ON NN N O N N ON mN O O O O ON ON O O N m mNN nN O O O « ON «N O O O m ON ON O N O N ON «N O N O N noumnmmo noum>0Nm mNNmo mmamz No Nnmnuo .wnNumNN mNmmswmm Nnonasz mnoumnmmo OouoNOEoO nonssz 0ao£m0N08 oz noum>0Nm aonnmwNO Nmuoa NmuoH .mNNmo OonmNO800 No Nmuou NmaNN Oam mNNmu ononmoNou NmNuamuoa No noaasc NmuoH 112 COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE Michigan State University - East Lansing Institute for Extension Personnel Development And U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating August 26, 1964 I am a graduate student at Michigan State University in the Institute for Extension Personnel Development. Presently I am working on my thesis under the direction of Carl J. Couch. Over the past month I have been interviewing some farmers that are located in your county. Enclosed therefore is the list which I would like you to check accordingly. Some of these farmers are not located in your county; therefore please check the "don't know" column in such cases. I would appreciate return of these lists at your earliest convenience to: Dr. Carl J. Couch, Leader Extension Communication Research Institute for Extension Personnel Development 117 Agriculture Hall Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan The lists are being sent to adjoining County Extension Directors so that the names will be exhausted. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Yours sincerely, John Elliott Carl J. Couch, Leader Extension Communication Research Enclosure 113 COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE Michigan State University - East Lansing Institute for Extension Personnel Development And U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating August 26, 1964 You may recall that recently I made use of your office to interview farmers by telephone. To complete my study, which I am writing under the direction of Carl J. Couch, I would like to ask you to check off the enclosed list of farmers' names according to the way in which you would rate them. Some of these farmers are not located in your county; therefore, please check the "don't know" column in such cases. The lists are being sent to adjoining County Extension Directors so that the names will be exhausted. I would appreciate the return of these lists at your earliest convenience to: Dr. Carl J. Couch, Leader Extension Communication Research Institute for Extension Personnel Development 117 Agriculture Hall Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for the inconvenience which I may have caused you in the use of your office and telephone. Also my thanks for your cooperation in this matter. Yours sincerely, John Elliott Carl J. Couch, Leader Extension Communication Research Enclosure 114 .Anoum unmmo noum>0N0 onu auNa OonNuaovN uoa onus mnoEnmN No mun—ma mfiv nmNOBmm