10 pages, With agriculture as the second largest economic industry in Florida, the state's Extension agents need subject matter expertise necessary for disseminating the latest in agricultural research information to agricultural producers. Using an exploratory sequential design coupled with a Borich model, we determined the professional development needs of Florida Extension agents working in integrated pest management (IPM). Through our needs assessment, we identified 16 IPM competencies and found that the highest priority relative to needed professional development was for the competency "determining pest thresholds." Extension personnel can use the list generated to assess perceptions of importance and ability level regarding IPM competencies among Extension professionals in their states.
9 pages, Based on results collected through a comprehensive needs assessment of farmers market (FM) vendors in Pennsylvania, the purpose of this study was to develop and pilot-test a customized, food safety training program for FM vendors. A customized 3-hour, in-person, training program was developed and pilot tested. Using pre- and post-test assessment tests through piloted training, the results found participants scores on knowledge questions increased significantly by ~20%.
5pgs, Attention to stress and mental health among agricultural producers has increased over recent years, and Cooperative Extension has been active in offering educational workshops and resources to agricultural audiences. This article describes the process and effectiveness of expanding two (university) Extension farm stress management programs to Cooperative Extension in other states through a national Farm Stress Management Summit. The two-day training Summit provided deeper knowledge about farm stress issues and prepared Extension professionals to offer behavioral health programs in their own communities and respective states. Evaluation findings highlight effective aspects of the Summit and next steps.
7 pages, On-farm bacteriologic culturing (OFBC) provides quick and inexpensive mastitis diagnosis, but commercial adoption of this innovation has been low in Mississippi. We implemented an Extension-led trialing program to identify reasons for producers' lack of OFBC adoption, explore change in producers' knowledge and perceptions of OFBC, and assess the effectiveness of the program relative to OFBC adoption. Most producers were unaware of OFBC initially but identified several benefits after trialing it for 30 days. The methodology for designing and implementing a trialing program based on Rogers's diffusion of innovation framework was effective and could be replicated easily in other contexts.
Moreno-Ortiz, Carlos Alberto (author), Peterson, Dr. Donna J. (author), Collart, Alba J. (author), Downey, Laura (author), Seal, Susan (author), and Gallardo, Roberto (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2021-12-10
Published:
United States: Clemson University Press
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D12409
8 pages, We examined small farmers’ use of and preference for different channels for marketing agricultural products and explored differences by gender, age group, and education level. Farmers markets and social media were preferred channels, with participants under age 55 being more likely than those 55 and over to prefer and use social media and agree that social media would be useful for promoting products and increasing sales. While selling via social media could provide a larger market, one challenge is that the average age of Mississippi farm operators is 59. Therefore, Extension must consider multiple approaches for delivering training on marketing.
11 pages, Research suggests participating in youth hands-on cooking programs, like those offered by Extension and 4-H, can improve nutrition behaviors and reduce the risk for obesity. We surveyed [STATE] Extension professionals (n = 127) to explore factors (e.g., employee characteristics, resources, county demographics) related to offering youth hands-on cooking programs and curricula used. Over 2/3 of participants offer programs and reported creating their own curriculum. More years of experience, having received Extension Specialist training, and increased confidence were positively related to offering these programs. Results suggest training could increase confidence and program implementation and standard curricula may be needed.
