Publication Date
1997
Description
American and Australian range economists work in tandem with range ecologists and management specialists to develop and analyze strategies for technology transfer. Historically, this process has developed around a model aimed at communication with a narrow target group (ranchers) with easily-defined and homogeneous goals (continuously improving income). In accord with this traditional model of technology transfer, the focus of range economists’ inquiries was once to assess the cost-effectiveness of grazing improvement technologies (Conner, 1985). It is a relatively recent phenomenon that both American and Australian range technology transfer agents are encountering an increasingly broad social and ecological agenda. Ranchers recognize and respond to a variety of goals and motivations. This has implications for their decisions considering whether and when to adopt certain grazing improvement technologies. The analysis of technology transfer now involves taking a systems approach, considering a larger arena of stakeholders and their expectations concerning the sustainable use of rangelands, and, accordingly, accounting for increasingly complex and diverse ecological and social issues (Brown and MacLeod, 1996). Range economists in Texas and Australia face similar challenges and have pursued concentric paths in analyzing and participating in technology transfer. Three topics are developed: a portrayal of the parallelism in demographics and trends associated with range technology transfer in Texas and Australia, a discussion of the empirical and methodological issues raised in recent and current projects underway in Texas and Australia, and a brief synthesis identifying possible complementarities in these research agendas.
Citation
Thurow, A P.; MacLeod, N; and Conner, J R., "Australian and US Experiences with Transfer of Rangeland Improvement Technologies: A Comparative Analysis" (2024). IGC Proceedings (1997-2023). 11.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1997/session24/11
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Australian and US Experiences with Transfer of Rangeland Improvement Technologies: A Comparative Analysis
American and Australian range economists work in tandem with range ecologists and management specialists to develop and analyze strategies for technology transfer. Historically, this process has developed around a model aimed at communication with a narrow target group (ranchers) with easily-defined and homogeneous goals (continuously improving income). In accord with this traditional model of technology transfer, the focus of range economists’ inquiries was once to assess the cost-effectiveness of grazing improvement technologies (Conner, 1985). It is a relatively recent phenomenon that both American and Australian range technology transfer agents are encountering an increasingly broad social and ecological agenda. Ranchers recognize and respond to a variety of goals and motivations. This has implications for their decisions considering whether and when to adopt certain grazing improvement technologies. The analysis of technology transfer now involves taking a systems approach, considering a larger arena of stakeholders and their expectations concerning the sustainable use of rangelands, and, accordingly, accounting for increasingly complex and diverse ecological and social issues (Brown and MacLeod, 1996). Range economists in Texas and Australia face similar challenges and have pursued concentric paths in analyzing and participating in technology transfer. Three topics are developed: a portrayal of the parallelism in demographics and trends associated with range technology transfer in Texas and Australia, a discussion of the empirical and methodological issues raised in recent and current projects underway in Texas and Australia, and a brief synthesis identifying possible complementarities in these research agendas.
