Montana Legislators Knowledge and Perception of Agriculture

This study assessed the level of agricultural knowledge and perceptions of elected officials who served in Montanaʹs 54th legislative session in 1995 as members of the House of Representatives and of the Senate. Of the 150 survey instruments mailed out to both chambers, 90 usable surveys were sent back for a 60% return rate. Data were collected in three sections: (1) agricultural knowledge true/false statements, (2) agriculture perception statements, and (3) demographic information of legislators. Data collected from respondents cannot be statistically generalized to the entire population of the 54^ Session of the Montana Legislature. However, the findings may have practical implications for College of Agriculture faculty since they indicated a need for better education for the general public about agriculture and agricultural issues. Support and encouragement must be provided to agencies of agricultural education in the future as they strive to maintain or increase public agricultural literacy.