The Role of the Farm Management Specialist in Extension

Book excerpt: Farm management extension is concerned with the development of management strategies and skills among farmers for improved decision-making in the use of resources and linking farmers to markets. With the increasing market-orientation of farming, the decisions taken by farmers are more complex; for farms to compete they must be run as a business. This creates a demand for specialized extension support. To be successful farmers need the skills to produce what the market wants and what satisfies consumers. The growing importance of specialization in farm management is to support farmers in this work.