Mississippi Residents' Perceptions of Extension

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

A representative sample of Mississippi residents were asked about their knowledge and perceptions of the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service through an online questionnaire. About half of the respondents were aware of MSU Extension, but fewer than one fifth had used MSU Extension resources. Respondents who were aware of MSU Extension had generally positive perceptions of MSU Extension's characteristics and believed those characteristics to be important. Like previous empirical and anecdotal evidence, these results support continued characterization of Extension as a "best-kept secret." There is a clear need to improve awareness of Extension and the resources it makes available to the public