6 pages, The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted traditional delivery of Extension programs. Our group of Rutgers agricultural agents responded by developing a weekly webinar series to remotely continue agricultural consultations and provide an open forum for farmers. Pandemic-related topics included farm labor, compliance with state executive orders, supply-chain disruptions, livestock processing, farmer assistance programs, and other issues. Participation from 258 farmers, agricultural agencies, and other groups resulted in effective networking and timely delivery of information to the agriculture industry. By using available online tools, we were able to efficiently deliver Extension programming and resources to agricultural producers and industry partners. Our efforts may be informative for others as needs related to the pandemic evolve.
4 pages, via Online journal, Since late Mar. 2020, many universities halted normal operations due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Although extension uses many different techniques to educate consumers, it has been slow to grasp the power of social media. Faced with a dilemma of using digital methods instead of in-person field days, short courses, and workshops, Twitter was a viable alternative, especially for broad audience engagement. Tweet threads were posted on Twitter every Monday morning from 6 Apr. to 8 June 2020. Each thread consisted of 10 tweets. A hashtag #YardFruits was used to start the thread and for later reference. For the first nine threads only one fruit species was discussed per thread. The final thread consisted of single tweets of several species. Engagement percentage did not differ over time but did differ among the crop species. Tweets that did not include a photo received less engagement (2.7%) than those that did include a photo (4.7%). My Twitter account saw a 6.5% increase in followers during the series. Grape (Vitis sp.), passion fruit (Passiflora sp.), fig (Ficus carica), and pear (Pyrus communis) threads had the least engagement and were different from the Other Fruits thread. All other threads were similar. Extension educators can grow their influence by using well-targeted, focused tweets and tweet threads, especially those that use hashtags and photos.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12066
Notes:
Online from publishing organization website. 5 pages., Report of letters sent to companies making questionable COVID-19 claims of treatments, prevention, or cures. Brief descriptions of the 45 disputed claims, ranging from musical medicine to holistic health acupuncture.
Online via journal website. 3 pages., "History is repeating itself," according to the research head of an ancestry organization which recently analyzed pandemic ads published decades apart - influenza outbreak (1918) and COVID-19 pandemic (current).
1 page., Via IFAS Extension, University of Florida, These flyers, written by Natalie Seymour, Mary Yavelak, Candice Christian, and Ben Chapman (NC State University Extension), provide quick, digestible information regarding prevention of COVID-19 and procedures for food service, grocery stores, and other food-related businesses. This flyer in particular provides guidance regarding takeout and COVID-19. Published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department.
1 page., Via IFAS Extension, University of Florida, These flyers, written by Natalie Seymour, Mary Yavelak, Candice Christian, and Ben Chapman (NC State University Extension), provide quick, digestible information regarding prevention of COVID-19 and procedures for food service, grocery stores, and other food-related businesses. This flyer in particular provides information about food safety in relation to COVID-19. Published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department.
Online from periodical. 3 pages., Article reports observations from several marketers of potatoes. One marketing director observed, "We anticipate consumers will still maintain their shift to eating at home even when we approach a new normal."
