It’s getting to be more of an annual blog update from me rather than the planned quarterly.  Life and work get in the way – but I will work towards better balance and a more regular blog!

What has really hit me recently is how the pendulum is swinging back to a national interest in agricultural extension (and advisory services), extension frameworks, extension capacity – in fact all things extension.  We are working with John James (Enablers of Change) and Denise Bewsell (Scarletti) on two cross – Rural Development Corporation projects exploring how to strengthen extension capacity and impact in Australia.  The Research for Impact project (lead by Hort Innovation) focuses on working with 13 projects across a range of industries to see how evidence-based principles and approaches can maximise their impact.  The Determining the future extension capacity and capability required to support Australian agriculture project (lead by AgriFutures) is about better understanding the current national extension status and the capacity and capability needed to meet current and future demands.  Recently, we also completed a Queensland DAF project looking at the skills that extensionists and advisers need at different stages of their career depending on their role.

This interest is also occurring at a time when the Federal Government – through its Future Drought Fund – has increased its funding of extension projects and roles.  This is through the Drought and Innovation Hubs, the Farm Business Resilience Program, placement of Adoption Officers among others.  It adds to the investment in extension in the Reef programs and Landcare projects to name just a couple.

This all highlights the central and on-going need for extension and advisory services – to provide the human factor in facilitating and enabling the change process.  Having information available is not enough – it’s about providing learning and enabling environments for people to be aware of opportunity, co-develop, access and use the information as it is relevant to their situation.  Extension also has a broader role across the innovation system to bring stakeholders together to improve systems, collaboration and the support environment.  These functions cannot readily be replaced by technologies.

My wife Robyn and I did manage to have a nice break in Europe earlier this year including a visit to Spain (to help me with my Spanish!), The Netherlands (where I did my PhD) and Scotland (where my grandfather hailed from).  It was a welcome and refreshing break.   I have included some sketches I did while travelling as well as a photo of Balmoral Castle – where my great grandmother worked on staff for a time.

November this year was the Australasian Pacific Extension Network (APEN) conference held in Tasmania and organised by John James and a conference committee.  It was 30 years ago in 1993 that I was responsible for organising an international extension conference at the Gold Coast for the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI).

That ‘first’ conference resulted from a few of us in QDPI who had the opportunity to study extension at post-graduate level – at government expense – in other countries.  We wanted to share what we had learned and to reignite interest and skills in what extension could do differently. The logic was for us to learn what was working in other countries and bring back this knowledge to Queensland (this also happened in the more technical study areas).  It came at a time when government extension was going through a bit of a crisis and rethink – there was a focus on government dealing with market failure – not providing a ‘free advisory service to farmers’.  I was also involved in developing the extension strategy for QDPI which guided it during the 90s.

Back to the Tasmanian conference.  There were well over 250 attendees – many early in their careers and many who were not involved in APEN or attended such a conference before. The other exciting aspect was the number of private and industry extension people there – extension is no longer a government dominated arena.  APEN came out of that first conference in 1993 and has been a force in developing extension practice and support now for 30 years.  It was a very well run and energetic event with very high ratings from participant when they responded to the value of the conference for them.  This energy and interest generated now needs to be supported and built upon.

While extension’s eulogy was being read 30 years ago the conference success underpinned the current vital importance of people in the equation when it comes to supporting learning and implementing change in the face of increasingly complex situations facing the agricultural sector in Australia and beyond.  A project that overlapped with the conference – we held a workshop around this at the conference – is developing an extension skills matrix, designed for the breadth of extension work and in looking ahead to the challenges facing those involved in agriculture.  In a brainstorming session looking ahead to new skills needed for extension, among many others, participants raised the need for: Virtual reality skills and use of equipment; and Embracing AI and other innovations and bringing others along (i.e. not left behind).  Such technology is not seen as a replacement for extension – but in strengthening what extension can do to support those in agriculture. 

I doubt if I will be around to see what is happening in extension in 30 years’ time – but I am confident that the need will still be there and the flame will be carried forward by the younger cohort of extension professionals.