Iowa State University Partners with Pioneer Hi-Bred International to Deliver Integrated Pest Management Educational Material.

The ability of University Extension programs to directly impact farmers is becoming progressively more difficult. In Iowa, this became very clear in a 2004 survey that revealed farmers first turn to agribusinesses and not Extension for information. However, this same survey showed that agribusinesses consider Extension as a valuable source of information. With this in mind, Iowa State Extension developed ways to strengthen its relationship with agribusinesses, an outcome being a new way to distribute Extension material to farmers – directly through agribusinesses such as Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. In this way, ISU Extension expanded its impact by working closely with agribusinesses, instead of competing with them, to educate today’s and tomorrow’s farmers and agronomists. Over the past several years, agribusinesses have sponsored the printing of many thousands of ISU Extension publications. Sponsored publications are then distributed by the agribusinesses to farmers and agribusiness personnel, and used for employee training. This saves ISU from storing and distributing ISU Extension and Outreach material. Additional copies of the same publications not sponsored by agribusinesses are used and distributed by ISU Extension. Another outcome from these partnerships includes feedback on what to include in publications, though content is not provided by agribusinesses. In 2011-12, Pioneer-sponsored printing helped ISU to send 15 copies of 6 ISU publications, along with an ISU-developed 14-part IPM learning resource, to more than 230 secondary and post-secondary schools. Those receiving publications and curriculum were urged to use them to prepare students to compete in the 2011 Crop Scouting Competition. Sponsored in part by Pioneer, the competition attracted student teams from Iowa schools. The sponsorship of ISU publications and activities by agribusinesses such as Pioneer will help increase awareness of Extension for current and future farmers and agronomists.