33 pages, This study surveyed 258 organic grain farmers in Iowa in the U.S. Midwest. We identified seven areas of challenges related to organic grain farming adoption: organic farming operations, marketing, policy, finance, inputs and information, social pressures, and land tenure. Respondents reported three key areas where extension programs were needed: education, research, and technical services. Regarding outreach formats, organic farmers preferred events where peers were featured or provided leadership, such as field days, one-on-one mentor programs, and farmer-to-farmer workshops. Results provided empirical evidence to support theoretical discussions and policy implications on issues related to adoption of organic grain farming.
8pgs, The global trend of urbanization coupled with an increasing awareness of the importance of food systems resilience, has led to an increasing interest in urban agriculture to sustainably feed the rapidly growing urban population and mitigate against food supply chain disruptions. While home and community gardens have been long studied, there has been relatively little empirical research focused specifically on commercial urban agriculture (CUA) operations. The purpose of this study was to characterize commercial urban farms, and to identify their primary barriers to business development and expansion, their perceptions of future opportunities, and their specific informational needs. Because CUA has received relatively less attention in previous empirical research, a qualitative approach was used for this needs assessment to collect rich, contextualized information to help differentiate the specific barriers, opportunities and needs of CUA operations as opposed to their rural counterparts. We conducted semi-structured interviews (n = 29) of CUA producers in Florida. These interviews revealed that CUA operations face many of the same barriers that are common to establishing and growing small farms, with additional barriers due to local government regulations and tensions associated with farming on land that is not traditionally used for agriculture. Despite these difficulties, CUA operators believe their urban location is a key benefit to their operation and they see a variety of opportunities for future business and market expansion.
Bowman, Brittany (author), Settle, Quisto (author), North, Elizabeth Gregory (author), Lewis, Kerri Collins (author), and Oklahoma State University
Mississippi State University
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2018
Published:
United States: New Prairie Press
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 152 Document Number: D10159
18 pages, via online journal, Extension is often called the “best-kept secret” having low awareness with the public but high satisfaction with clientele. Extension services nationwide have faced budget cuts, creating a need for the organization to re-evaluate its activities, including how it communicates with its stakeholders. While Extension personnel are the ones who will do most of the communicating, their supervisors impact the personnel’s actions, which means it is important to assess both groups. A survey was conducted with Extension personnel and their supervisors in Mississippi assessing engagement in communications activities and perceptions of those activities, as well as personnel’s preference of professional development activities. Personnel reported higher use, comfort, and importance of more traditional (e.g. making a speech) and written activities (e.g. writing a promotional handout) than media-relations activities (e.g. being interviewed for TV), social media-related activities (e.g. managing a Twitter account), and visual communication activities (e.g. graphic design). Supervisors perceived individual communications activities as less important overall than personnel did, and although supervisor and communication scores for use and comfort/capability were similar for most communication activities, there were noticeable exceptions. Additionally, personnel preferred professional development activities that were hands-on or showing the activities first-hand (e.g. demonstrations and field days). Future research should be expanded to other states, conducted in a case study format to study specific relationships, and involve qualitative components. Extension should ensure clear supervisor-communication dialogue on prioritizing communication activities, provide training on communication activities with low use and comfort, and utilize early innovators who are comfortable using newer communication activities.
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, This paper compares the supply and demand of agricultural technologies related to maize crop in Sussundenga district, Mozambique. The field work was carried out in February and March 2018 and comprises of a survey of 140 households’ maize growers, interviews with 15 agricultural technicians and six focus group meetings (four with maize growers and two with agricultural technicians). Data analysis was done using Bardin’s content analysis and descriptive statistics. The results reveal that agricultural research and rural extension focus more on supplying technologies related to maize production. But farmers have holistic expectations that go beyond production technologies to include the entire marketing chain. It makes the technical support provided with little use to maize growers. Besides it, there are also farmers’ unanswered demands and the supply of non-demanded technologies. It means that there is a mismatch between supply and demand of maize farming technologies. Agricultural research and rural extension organizations are suggested to supply not only agricultural technologies that maximize crop yield, but also services that help households improve their ability to store agricultural products and to sell it when prices are high. These actions have the potential to improve agricultural market performance and make the agricultural technologies more useful to maize growers.
7 pgs, Farmers’ markets may improve access to healthful foods in rural areas. Our objective was to identify facilitators and barriers to farmers’ market use in a rural county. We collected data via surveys, focus group sessions, and key informant interviews. Study participants identified the two existing farmers’ markets as community assets. Barriers to use farmers’ markets included inconvenient market hours, not accepting nutrition assistance program benefits, limited transportation, and limited variety. Interventions to improve food access should include ways to meet the needs of specific populations such as low-income residents and residents living in outlying areas without farmers’ markets.
11 pages, We conducted a needs assessment to determine food safety resources required by produce growers in Georgia. Most respondents were farm owners (52.5%), food safety managers (48.3%), and/or farm managers (34.2%). The most requested topics for training included how to improve food safety management skills and how to manage a food safety program. Of 120 respondents, 25 were unsure whether their operations were required to comply with the Produce Safety Rule. This information will guide Georgia food safety educators in developing materials and curricula for growers throughout Georgia. Additionally, our survey and findings may be of use to Extension professionals elsewhere in the Southeast and beyond.
Rumble, Joy N. (author), Lamm, Alexa J. (author), Gay, Keegan D. (author), and University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Center for Public
Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
[date of publication not identified]
Published:
USA: The American Association for Agricultural Education
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 151 Document Number: D10119
16 pages., via online journal, The Cooperative Extension Service has performed the role of educator and change agent for more than a century. Changes occurring during this period caused Extension to extend its influence beyond the farm and traditional roles. Today, Extension faces controversial public issues and unparalleled levels of policy and regulation impacting agriculture and natural resources. As the needs of our changing society evolve, regulation increases, and response to public opinion becomes more complex. Extension must expand its role in providing education related to public issues and acting as facilitators and change agents to ensure viable actions are taken. This study was conducted to determine the level of preparedness of Florida Extension agents in dealing with policies and regulations. An emailed survey of all Florida Extension agents utilized questions regarding frequency of addressing policies with their clientele and their knowledge of said policies. Results indicated a low frequency of agents of all types addressing most policies with their clientele and a need for increased knowledge about the policies. In particular, there is an opportunity for all agent types to improve interactions with clientele on the topic of Immigration Reform as well as knowledge of related policies.
Gusto, Cody (author), Silvert, Cody (author), Diaz, John (author), Carton de Grammont, Paloma (author), Coyle, David (author), and University of Florida
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2020-02
Published:
United States: Extension Journal, Inc.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 132 Document Number: D11360
14 pages, via online journal, There is growing demand for a broader conception of tree and forest health by commercial and private timberland owners, who make up a substantial proportion of Extension clientele in the southeastern United States. There has been little research to comprehensively capture and represent Extension agents' needs, concerns, and perceived barriers as they respond to client questions and requests regarding tree and forest health topics. Our needs assessment results highlight needs and barriers Extension agents encounter as they address tree and forest health requests from clientele. We provide recommendations for research and practical applications for improving relevant resource support in Extension.