Findings from this research have implications for
communication practitioners and agricultural conservation
professionals disseminating information in
the three study watersheds. The variability observed
among farmers’ information-use patterns across the
three areas casts suspicion on the existence of the
proverbial “general” farm audience and strongly suggests
that broad-based information appeals may be
ineffective for audiences distributed over large geographical
areas. Conservation information campaigns
are likely to be more successful if targeted to the interests
and characteristics of specific audience segments
with specific informational needs.