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2. Landowner and natural resources professional perceptions of silvopasture in central and north-central minnesota
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Ford, Madeline M. (author), Zamora, Diomy S. (author), Blinn, Charles R. (author), Vaughan, Sophia (author), and Burkett, Eleanor (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-12-01
- Published:
- United States: Extension Journal, Inc.
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12321
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- v. 57, n. 6
- Notes:
- 13 pages, Silvopasture is an agroforestry practice that combines trees, forage, and livestock in an intensively managed system. We surveyed landowners and natural resources professionals in Minnesota to determine their perceptions of silvopasture. Although most respondents had heard of silvopasture, few knew a lot about it. We concluded that there is a need for more educational programming that expands the knowledge of and provides technical assistance to landowners and natural resources professionals who want to add silvopasture to their management toolboxes.
3. Using targeted messages to improve farmer engagement in conservation programs
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Weigel, C. (author), Cruse, R. (author), and Reddy, S. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2022-09-16
- Published:
- USA: Soil and Water Conservation Society
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12645
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
- Journal Title Details:
- V. 77, Iss. 5
- Notes:
- 6 pages, In this time of information overload, successfully engaging farmers with compelling outreach materials is a major challenge for conservation programs and related research projects. One potential approach is targeting information to the recipient, e.g., local rather than regional soil and water conditions, when sending messages to farmers. Targeted information may increase engagement by making materials stand out as more relevant and useful; conversely, it may decrease engagement by making farmers wary of the program and how it is using the information. We tested the effect of targeted information on farmer engagement using a large, randomized controlled trial in Iowa. In partnership with Iowa State University, we sent 2,996 farmers a single mailing with information about erosion at the local watershed (targeted) or state (control) level and measured their responses to a two-minute survey. We found that targeted information increased relative response rates by 20%, from 13.8% to 16.4%. This level of increase is meaningful for practitioners, as well as statistically significant. Our findings show that targeted information can be an important tool for practitioners and researchers seeking to better connect with farmers who are inundated with marketing mail.