Using a 'Levels of Decision Making' Framework in Extension

A new farming systems extension approach was developed as part of the dairy industry extension program in Victoria. This approach was the outcome of collaborative work undertaken by the Department of Primary Industries and The University of Melbourne, funded by Dairy Australia. The project was instigated in response to a growing concern that dairy farm businesses were confronting complex challenges which in turn challenged extension staff to use a systems approach when servicing these businesses. Challenges arose from the increasing need to adjust to changing terms of trade and also respond to the drought conditions. Together, this had farmers questioning their farming system. This paper focuses on one aspect of the project, the emergence of a decision-making framework that proved useful in understanding farm management issues, designing extension programs, and building staff capacity to support decisions around these issues. The decision-making framework is comprised of five levels that progressively encompass a more expansive scope of the farming system considerations. The decision levels are: 1. product choice decisions, 2. component decisions such as grazing management, 3. sub-system decisions, 4. farm system decisions and 5. beyond-farm decisions. Implications arising from the use of these levels relate to the focus of the extension approach, the associated methodology, and the skills required to deliver at different levels. An overview of contemporary developments in Victorian dairy extension strategy is provided, outlining the evolution from a single topic focused extension program such as grazing management 15 years ago, to now where a more integrated feedbase management approach is used. This shift in farmer needs over the past two decades has challenged the previously successful programmed learning approaches and called for a new extension approach. Three key lessons arising from this work are that the 'Levels of Decision Making' framework can improve: 1. the targeting of extension services to achieve desired outcomes; 2. the design of extension programs, activities and tools; 3. the planned approach to professional development of extension staff.