Abstract: This chapter presents a brief but critical account of trends in agricultural extension practices in Australia. Agricultural extension practices have changed significantly over the past five decades. Structural changes in agriculture, new types of agricultural technologies, tight public budgets, efforts to decentralise government and emerging information and communication technologies (ICT) have led to pluralistic advisory services. Earlier research has described the history of agricultural extension until 2010 in Australia. Using a ‘practice perspective’, this paper focuses on the practices of practitioners in agricultural extension. The chapter starts with a discussion of what extension refers to in Australia. This is followed by a brief outline of the history of agricultural extension in Australia providing insight into the diversity of current extension practices. Then the key methodological approaches that inform current extension practices are described, namely approaches that focus on (1) adoption and diffusion; (2) interactions and learning; and (3) agricultural innovation systems and systems innovation. The paper concludes with a discussion of new developments in extension practices as well as opportunities to strengthen and re-invigorate the study of extension.

Link to the journal article: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-34225-7_4