Project Overview
Growers face difficult choices
when adopting new technologies or making adjustments to existing technologies.
When assessing the risks they must account for the full suite of costs and
benefits associated with technology use. This project informed growers of
advances in precision agriculture, irrigation systems, and bed management and
provided tools to improve growers’ skills to evaluate and manage financial
risks involved in technology use. The project also highlighted positive
environmental externalities associated with these technologies, allowing
producers to better manage legal risks associated with environmental
regulations. The target audiences were citrus and vegetable growers. The
program included three workshops and farm-field days. Growers can assess risk
factors related to adoption of new technologies (capital expenditures, sunk
costs, cost of expertise/outsourcing, limited resale potential, economies of
scale, and effect on production inputs), production (weather variability and
disease pressure), and markets (changes in input and commodity prices), among
others. We had 102 participants; 68% indicated they are likely to adopt the
technologies presented, 56% indicated that financial considerations were very
influential in their decision to adopt new technologies, and 93% said they were
satisfied with program. The programs were recorded and featured in the media.
Program documents can be found on https://swfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/programs/nat-res-econ.
Number of Participants: 102
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
There are no promotional materials available for this project.
EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
There are no educational materials available for this project.
REPORTS & EVALUATIONS
There are no reports or evaluations available for this project.