Summary
The 2005 LPI Producer Awareness & Adoption survey follows a similar survey conducted for MLA in December 2003 and includes the tracking of several elements to measure changes over time in awareness of and participation in key MLA programs by different producer segments, as well as adoption of specified management practices. A sample of n=1,050 producers was selected at random to fill a sample frame using Axiom's FARMbase contact list.
This database contains 120,000+ producers from all industry types. A total sample of n=907 was obtained, as follows:
- 297 Northern Beef Producers
- 321 Southern Beef Producers
- 279 Southern Sheep/Lamb Producers
- 10 Goat Producers (Sample numbers were low in the Northern Territory & Northern Queensland regions and also across goat producers where the base population was small to begin with).
This second undertaking of the Awareness & Adoption research has largely established that the MLA course and programs being promoted by LPI is having an impact on producers. ?? Overall 73% of producers surveyed indicated awareness of MLA programs (prompted), of these 23% attended a forum or workshop. o 80% of MLA Members are aware of one or more programs or courses offered by MLA, this is in contrast to 49% of non-member awareness. ?? 17% of producers have participated in, or attended an MLA program. Of these 65% of have made changes to their management practices as a result of attending or participating in an MLA program, course or workshop. Participation correlates to a high level of adoption. ?? MLA membership status has been identified as a significant barometer to awareness, attendance and adoption, 74% of producers surveyed believed they were MLA members, 19% were not and a further 7% were unsure. ??
The future of MLA's various communications/delivery programs looks promising, - 28% of producers who indicated an awareness of MLA forum or workshop, and who have not yet attended, would like to attend one. ?? The key production principles evaluated within the survey were widely recognised by producers. In many instances the production practices being evaluated have already been adopted by as many as 60 - 80% of some producer segments. Other information available in the detailed data deals with animal husbandry, health and welfare issues associated with livestock production such as nutrition, joining strategies: ?? marking protocols, weaning regimes, flock or herd health plans and vaccination programs, as well as transport code of practices.
The survey also explored business management issues, pasture and grazing management, natural resource management such as soil salinity and acidity, erosion control and water quality. Where critical to the objectives of this project these issues are included in the Target Management Practice (TMP) evaluation. If further change is to be achieved amongst livestock producers it is clear from the survey that MLA must continue to encourage producers to participate in the education and training being offered by MLA through it's workshops and forums. ?? Membership must be increased and maintained at an optimal level, there is a strong correlation between membership and awareness and adoption, at least regarding management practices considered essential to productivity improvement. ??
By also widening the LPI communication process to non-members, MLA can create program and course awareness outside of the traditional communication channel and possibly get the message to those producers who would ordinarily ignore MLA programs. ?? Consolidate MLA's core program brands. Awareness and recall is fragmented due to the large number of courses and programs made available through MLA. ?? Further understanding is required into the motivation behind course or program participation. A significant proportion of producers are lukewarm about attending, it is essential MLA identify how to convince or (at worst) push them over the line. The level of support for the survey and the quality of the data collected across such a wide range of topics suggests that MLA has a solid platform of support within the livestock producing community. Reservations about industry dissent and lack of support appear to be isolated and can largely be overcome by providing continued education, resulting in positive profit driven outcomes, to that proportion of producer segments who are quite clearly embracing the innovations MLA is promoting.
