Supporting the Adoption of Digital Technology On-Farm: Ten Tips for Extension

Authors

• David Rose, Harper Adams UniversityFollow
• Kayleigh Crouch, Centre for Agricultural Research ImpactFollow
• Lisa Blix Germundsson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)Follow
• Myriam Gaspard, Chambre régionale d'agriculture d'OccitanieFollow
• Onno Giller, Radboud UniversityFollow
• Livia Ortolani, University of Pisa; Council for Agricultural Research and Economics - Research Centre for Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy (CREA-PB)Follow
• Robert Strong, Texas A&M UniversityFollow

Volume

64

Issue

2

Abstract

We held a symposium to exchange lessons from U.S. and European experts on how Extension can be best designed to support adoption of digital agricultural innovation. We highlight 10 tips for an Extension audience in the United States: (a) ensure connectivity between all actors involved in agricultural innovation, (b) utilize the private sector, (c) advocate for adoption costs, (d) shape an enabling digital ecosystem, (e) create a service, not just a technology, (f) update Extension agents' digital skills, (g) support farmer-led innovation, (h) capture everyday farmer practices, (i) monitor and evaluate progress, and (j) offer long-term support.

Authors’ Contribution Statement

Conceptualisation: DCR and KC led the organisation of the symposium where all authors presented their papers and discussed content used in this paper. All made an equal contribution to the concept of the paper. Writing - original draft, review, editing: DCR produced the first working draft of the manuscript. All authors made significant contributions to the next draft of the manuscript, contributing content and editing text, including at revision stage.

Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Rose, D., Crouch, K., Germundsson, L., Gaspard, M., Giller, O., Ortolani, L., & Strong, R. (2026). Supporting the Adoption of Digital Technology On-Farm: Ten Tips for Extension. Journal of Extension, 64(2), Article 27. https://doi.org/10.66752/1077-5315.9326