Public funding for Extension in the United States has been decreasing for many years, but farmers’ need for robust information on which to make management decisions has not diminished. The current Extension funding challenges provide motivation to explore a different model for developing and delivering extension. The private sector has partnered with the public sector to fund and conduct agricultural research, but partnering on extension delivery has occurred far less frequently. The fundamental academic strength and established Extension network of the public sector combined with the ability of the private sector to encourage and deliver practical, implementable solutions has the potential to provide measurable benefits to farmers. This paper describes the current Extension climate, presents data from a survey about Extension and industry relationships, presents case studies of successful public- and private-sector extension partnerships, and proposes a framework for evaluating the state of effective partnerships. Synergistic public–private extension efforts could ensure that farmers receive the most current and balanced information available to help with their management decisions.

中文翻译：

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公共和私人伙伴关系的扩展提案

多年来，美国推广的公共资金一直在减少，但农民对制定管理决策的可靠信息的需求并未减少。当前的扩展资金挑战为探索开发和提供扩展的不同模式提供了动力。私营部门与公共部门合作资助和开展农业研究，但在推广交付方面的合作却少得多。公共部门的基础学术实力和已建立的推广网络，加上私营部门鼓励和提供切实可行的解决方案的能力，有可能为农民提供可衡量的利益。本文描述了当前的扩展环境，介绍了关于推广和行业关系的调查数据，介绍了成功的公共和私营部门推广伙伴关系的案例研究，并提出了一个评估有效伙伴关系状态的框架。协同的公私推广工作可以确保农民获得最新和平衡的可用信息，以帮助他们做出管理决策。