Technology Acceptance Model in U.S. Extension: CRM Adoption

QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF TAM

11

Figure 1: Worldwide CRM Market Share

U.S. Cooperative Extension Service

The CES came into existence in 1914, and its roots go back to agricultural clubs and

societies that were prevalent after the American Revolution (Cooperative Extension History,

n.d.). In 1914, the Smith-Lever Act established the USDA as a federal partner to land-grant

universities to apply research and provide education in agriculture, and the CES was created to

address rural, agricultural issues. According to the USDA NIFA, CES’s engagement with rural

America accelerated the American agricultural revolution and increased farm productivity.

During the First World War, the CES helped meet wartime needs by increasing wheat acreage,

encouraged farm production, conserving perishable products, and addressing war-related farm

labor shortages by organizing the Women’s Land Army and the Boys’ Working Reserve .

During the Great Depression, CES professionals taught farmers about marketing and

provided education for farm women on nutrition, food canning, gardening, poultry production,

home nursing, furniture building, and sewing. These skills helped farm families survive years of

economic hardship (Cooperative Extension History, n.d.). During the Second World War, the

CES worked with farmers and families to secure production increases to support the war effort.

Powered by