Corn in the USA

According to one of the most important studies on the adoption of innovation, diffusion is fundamentally a social process. Ryan and Gross’s pioneering study of the diffusion of hybrid corn seed in Iowa – conducted way back in 1943 – showed how interpersonal exchanges between individuals who had already adopted a product and those who were influenced by them, played a big part in uptake. That learning, more than 80 years old, remains highly relevant today, irrespective of product or market. Let’s unpack it…

The introduction of hybrid seed corn was a landmark moment for agriculture. Developed by scientists at Iowa State University, and released to Iowa farmers in 1928, the seed kickstarted a revolution in farm productivity. Hybrid corn offered 20% higher yields per acre compared to open-pollinated varieties. It was also more drought-resistant and compatible with mechanical harvesting. However, it required farmers to purchase new seed annually, and also made them dependent on agribusiness companies that sold fertilisers and pesticides. Adopting hybrid seed, with all its benefits, meant farmers needed to make big changes to their corn-growing behaviour. The revolution didn’t happen overnight.

In 1939, Professor Bryce Ryan, a sociologist at Iowa State University, began a study looking into social factors in economic decisions, opting to focus on hybrid corn. He wanted to find out whether Iowa farmers’ interactions with neighbours had influenced their adoption of the new seed. In 1941, Neal Gross, a graduate student, joined the project and conducted personal interviews with farmers in two Iowa communities.

Gross’s interviews focused on when farmers decided to adopt hybrid corn, the communication channels used, and the extent of hybrid corn planting. The study also collected data such as farmers’ education, age, farm size, and income, correlating these factors with ‘innovativeness’.

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“More than 80 years later, those same social dynamics are still in play today, influencing the uptake of innovation, whatever the product, and whatever the setting.”

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The study revealed that the adoption of hybrid corn followed an S-shaped curve. In the first 5 years, only 10% of farmers adopted. However, between 1933-1936, uptake increased by 40% before levelling off as the number of farmers yet to adopt got smaller.

Despite the evident advantages of hybrid corn, the average adoption decision took about nine years, indicating significant deliberation. On average, it took farmers 3-4 years to move from piloting hybrid seed (on small trial plots) to planting it across their entire acreage.

Communication channels played different roles. Initially, salespeople from seed corn companies were deployed to raise awareness. This proved important with early adopters. However, farmer-to-farmer engagement proved more effective with later adopters, highlighting the importance of interpersonal networks. By 1935, the cumulative effect of positive experiences shared within the community made it impossible to halt diffusion from that point onwards.

The Ryan and Gross study showed that the diffusion of hybrid seed corn was largely driven by interpersonal interactions between peers, essentially creating a ‘social snowball’ effect. More than 80 years later, those same social dynamics are still in play today, influencing the uptake of innovation, whatever the product, and whatever the setting.

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