Recent studies of the adoption (or

Recent studies of the adoption (or non-adoption) of agronomic innovations in Australia are used to demonstrate steps that can
be used to identify specific factors in the adoption decision that are both influential, and can be targeted to accelerate learning of the likely value of
an innovation. However, it is also recognised that adoption and the adoption decision consume two limited on-farm resources: time and the capacity
to integrate new information. Readily available quality information with high reliability and relevance to the decision-maker reduces these
information seeking and learning costs. The rapid rise of formal groups of farmers, called farmer groups in the Australian research and extension
network, is considered in this context. Although the participative research processes at the core of farmers group activity is most important, the
majority of farmers engage with groups through relatively traditional modes of communication. Results of a study categorising farmer group
research projects are presented together with a study of the perceived economic value (willingness to pay) for agronomic research information from
farmer group and other research sources. The high value placed on localised information is demonstrated and opportunities to achieve more rapid
adoption by reducing information and learning-related costs are identified.
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