Extension professionals can play a role in addressing water scarcity issues by helping home landscape irrigation users to conserve water. This study used survey research to examine the relationship between several variables, including attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, personal norms, demographic factors, and past behaviors, on intention to use good irrigation practices among Florida home landscape irrigation users (N = 1,063). Following subsequent hierarchical linear regression models, the final model explained 39% of the variance in intentions to engage in good landscape irrigation practices. Subjective norms had a strong influence on intention to engage in landscape water conservation, and past behaviors and personal norms improved the prediction. Extension professionals should incorporate subjective norms into water conservation programs by emphasizing somewhat invisible conservation behaviors to improve perceptions of peers’ practices. When personal norms are strong, the subjective norms are slightly less important. Residents who feel a personal obligation to conserve water may be more open to information related to water conservation, and they may be more likely to act, even in the absence of social support. Finally, Extension professionals should consider the audience’s past behaviors to design programs that are compatible with actions that Extension clients are likely to take.

Today’s complex issues require technical expertise as well as the application of innovative social science techniques within Extension contexts. Researchers have suggested that a social science approach will play a critical role in water conservation, and people who use home landscape irrigation comprise a critical target audience for agriculture and natural resources professionals. This study was conducted to examine the possible role of an audience segmentation approach in addressing the complex issue of water resources. This research used descriptive discriminant analysis to assign national irrigation users to previously identified subgroups found in the literature (the water considerate majority, the water savvy conservationists, and the unconcerned water users) and compare characteristics to identify differences on a national scale. Results revealed the nation’s irrigation users are fairly water conscious. The findings implied unique subgroups exist among targeted Extension audiences relevant to specific behaviors, and Extension programs should focus on different programmatic objectives for targeting different subgroups. Differences were found among the three subgroups in water conservation behaviors, personal and social normative beliefs, use of landscape professionals for irrigation maintenance, and learning preferences. Recommendations were provided on how to use the results to develop impact-driven Extension programs.

Water availability is an important issue addressed by Cooperative Extension programs nationwide. Rapid population growth and urbanization present unique challenges and opportunities for Extension programming. In this study, we explored whether urban Extension audiences in Florida had unique characteristics that could be used to design tailored programs. We used electronic surveys to collect water conservation and landscape management behaviors along with demographic information. Applying audience segmentation concepts, we divided respondents into subgroups by rural-urban continuum codes. We then described the resulting subgroups and made comparisons to identify differences that could inform Extension programming. The most urban residents had lived in Florida the longest, were least engaged in most water conservation practices, most likely to use a professional landscape company for landscape maintenance activities, and most likely to reside in a homeowners’ association. The findings revealed somewhat of a disconnect between urban residents and protection of water resources. Understanding these differences among urban audiences can be useful insights to guide impactful Extension programs. Urban landscape water conservation programming should be designed to build a connection between residents and their local water bodies, and should engage the many partners present in urban systems. More research is needed to examine the relationship between residing in more urban areas and engaging less in landscape water conservation practices.

Researchers need probability samples to collect representative survey data about the behaviors and attitudes of agricultural producers they study in relation to the natural resources that they manage, yet obtaining accurate and complete sampling frames is challenging. We extract data from a publication database to identify the most commonly used sampling frame sources in survey research of agricultural producers in the U.S., finding that government program participant lists are used most often, while private vendor samples are increasingly being purchased. Based on our research experience, we find that for many projects, private vendors can provide the most rigorous samples. Given that survey methods remain a useful and popular method for studying the behaviors and attitudes of producers on a variety of topics, such an assessment and guide is needed for researchers and practitioners.