Other Extension Providers Government departments were not the only sources of professional advice sought by Victorian farmers. Farmers obtained technical or management advice from a range of commercial and other sources. There has been an apparent growth of private consulting services in some types of farm enterprise in recent years. Thirteen percent of all farmers obtained advice from commercial, privately-employed farm consultants. In the face of contracting resources for publicly funded Extension services, a high proportion of the farming community had contact with the government Extension agency.
Farmers prefer such services.
Extension officers derive satisfaction providing them, while at the same time improving their understanding of on-farm problems and the credibility of their other Extension activities. As well, a more specialized agriculture requires more sophisticated and much more individually tailored information to be provided to individual farmers operating complex farm management systems. In the face of such demands the role of local farmer groups in Extension delivery has increased, and the demand for Extension services to Landcare groups has increased rapidly over a short time. Refocusing Extension effort towards group-based methods may have increased farmer demand for individual Extension contact. Farmers saw DAV as predominantly a supplier of technical information.