Extension on the Brink— Meeting the strongPrivate Sectorstrong Challenge.pdfVIP

Extension on the Brink— Meeting the Private Sector Challenge In the Information Marketplace Michael D. Boehlje, Professor Department of Agricultural Economics Krannert Bldg. Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 David A. King, Head Agricultural Communication Department 205 AGAD Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 Published in the Journal of Applied Communication , Vol. 82, No. 3, 1998. Biographies: Boehlje is a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University. King is the department head of the Agricultural Communication Department at Purdue University. King is a 20+ year ACE member. An earlier version of this paper was presented by King at the 1996 Agricultural Communicators Congress in Washington D.C. Since then, King and Boehlje have used this paper as the basis of discussions with several groups including Purdue Council for Agricultural Research, Teaching, and Extension (P-CARET). Special thanks to Laura Holescher, Purdue University, for editorial review. 2 2 Extension on the Brink— Meeting the Private Sector Challenge In the Information Marketplace ABSTRACT The Cooperative Extension Service is facing unprecedented competitive pressure in the information and education marketplace. As data are combined with knowledge to create information from which revenue and value can be gained, private information providers are placing Extension at a competitive disadvantage. As information customers reassess their needs and place higher value on convenience and access over objectivity, several questions must be answered. Chief among them: Can Extension and the Land-Grant system survive a