Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T23:52:14.510Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Financial Training Program for USDA/FSA Borrowers: Evolution and Impacts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Robert L. Parsons ,
Gregory D. Hanson ,
Wesley N. Musser ,
Roland Freund  and
Lehan Power
Robert L. Parsons
Affiliation:
Department of Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of Vermont
Gregory D. Hanson
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the Pennsylvania State University
Get access

Abstract

A financial training program designed by Cooperative Extension specialists was provided to over 2,000 USDA/FSA borrowers from the Northeast during the period 1994–1999. Key to the success of the workshops was an in-depth, user-friendly curriculum that evolved over time, eventually replacing satellite-feed instruction with pre-taped videos. Cluster analysis classified nearly 70% of workshop participants as “Low Finance Priority” or “Low Finance Knowledge.” Farmers in these clusters received a relatively greater educational benefit from the program than those not in these clusters. Impact analysis indicated that perceived annual gain in farm net worth from application of workshop tools ranged from approximately $5,000 to $10,000. The training addressed the needs of producers typically isolated from Cooperative Extension because the workshop was the only extension program attended that year by nearly two-thirds of them.

Type
Articles
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , October 2000 , pp. 240 - 250
Copyright
Copyright © 2000 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bernhardt, Kevin J., Allen, John C., and Helmers, Glenn A. 1996. “Using Cluster Analysis to Classify Farms for Conventional/Alternative Systems Research.” Review of Agricultural Economics 18-4: 599–611.Google Scholar
Federal Register. 1993. Rules and Regulations. Washington, D.C. 58-259(Dec 30): 16190–16198.Google Scholar
Hanson, G.D. 1995. “A Distance Learning Approach to Borrower Training.” Agricultural Finance Review 55: 133–46.Google Scholar
Hanson, G.D. 1997. “The Agricultural Finance Legacy of the New Deal.” The Southern Business and Economic Journal 21: 34–46.Google Scholar
Hiel, Edwin, and Herrington, David. 1997. “Plausible Uses and Limitations of Videoconferencing as a Tool for Achieving Technology Transfer.” Journal of Extension 35(4): 7 pages. (Electronic Publication).Google Scholar
Hosmer, D.W., and Lemeshow, S. 1989. Applied Logistic Regression. New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Madalla, G.S. 1983. Limited-Dependent and Qualitative Variables in Econometrics. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Peterson, Gary. 1999. Coordinator of Agricultural Short Courses, Penn State University. Personal communication. August 10.Google Scholar
SAS/STAT Users Guide. 1989. Version 6, Fourth Edition, Volume 1. Cary, NC: SAS Institute, Inc.Google Scholar