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2. How forming a cooperative network improved services and outcomes for farmers
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Mallory, E.B. (author), Jackson, Tori Lee (author), and Forstadt, Leslie A. (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-08
- Published:
- Extension Journal, Inc.
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 78 Document Number: D10810
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- 57(4)
- Notes:
- 5 pages., Article #: 4IAW3, via online journal., The Beginning Farmer Resource Network of Maine (BFRN) is a model for maximizing resources and improving farmer services through increased statewide communication and collaboration among a diverse group of agricultural service providers. Formed in 2012, BFRN is a cooperative network with shared leadership and no financial overhead. In a 2018 survey regarding BFRN's impacts, 92% of members (22 of 24 responding members) said they were more effective and efficient. The survey results also indicated that over 800 farmers had made positive changes as a result of members' participation in BFRN. BFRN's continuing high level of activity is a testament to the value this network model offers to participating organizations, agencies, and institutions.
3. How to communicate with farmers about climate change: Farmers’ perceptions and adaptations to increasingly variable weather patterns in Maine (USA)
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Jemison, John M. Jr. (author), Hall, Damon (author), Welcomer, Stephanie (author), and Haskell, Jane (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2014-07-23
- Published:
- New Leaf Associates, Inc
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 109 Document Number: D10991
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
- Journal Title Details:
- 4(4):57-70
- Notes:
- 14 pages., via online journal., While dealing with weather variability has always been a source of stress for farmers, a generally warmer, wetter climate with the potential for increasingly intensive precipitation poses a threat to long-term farm viability. Knowing how farmers think about increasingly variable weather patterns (IVWP) is important for educators, agency staff, and others to learn how to work with producers on adaptation strategies to protect natural resources and prevent crop failure. In 2011, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension conducted focus group sessions with farmers from seven different commodity groups, five mixed farmer sessions, and two sessions with consultants, educators, and agency staff who work with growers to learn about grower perceptions of environmental changes, and to learn about changes they may be making to their farming operations to protect their operations from IVWP. Farmers discussed over 40 practices that could be construed as adaptation measures to buffer against IVWP. Fruit (apple and blueberry) growers spent the most time on the subject and expressed the most concern about the effects of IVWP, while dairy and potato growers spent the least. Given the divergence of opinion on the subject of climate change that Maine growers expressed, successful outreach education through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Cooperative Extension should likely emphasize short-term risk management, resilience, and stability of farm operations as opposed to communicating the need to adopt strategies based on climate change.
4. Learning Styles of Farmers and Others Involved with the Maine Potato Industry
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Johnson, Steven B. (author), Carter, Hannah S. (author), and Kaufman, Eric K. (author)
- Format:
- Online article
- Publication Date:
- 2008-08
- Published:
- USA
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 168 Document Number: C28259
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 46, No. 4
5. Maine leaders discuss whether public broadband investments should support national private providers
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Campbell, Carolyn (author)
- Format:
- Online article
- Publication Date:
- 2023-03-20
- Published:
- United States: Daily Yonder, The
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 206 Document Number: D12877
- Journal Title:
- Daily Yonder, The
- Journal Title Details:
- Online
- Notes:
- 5pgs, Millions of Maine’s fiber dollars is going to a mix of government entities, regional internet service providers, and large, out-of-state companies. Some worry these national companies have not worked well with communities in the past. Others say the investments should be evaluated on what they deliver, not who gets the money.
6. Science communication and vernal pool conservation: a study of local decision maker attitudes in a knowledge-action system
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- McGreavy, Bridie (author), Webler, Thomas (author), and Calhoun, Aram J.K. (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2012-03
- Published:
- Elsevier
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 32 Document Number: D10624
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Environmental Management
- Journal Title Details:
- 95(1):1-8
- Notes:
- 8 pages., via online journal., In this study, we describe local decision maker attitudes towards vernal pools to inform science communication and enhance vernal pool conservation efforts. We conducted interviews with town planning board and conservation commission members (n = 9) from two towns in the State of Maine in the northeastern United States. We then mailed a questionnaire to a stratified random sample of planning board members in August and September 2007 with a response rate of 48.4% (n = 320). The majority of survey respondents favored the protection and conservation of vernal pools in their towns. Decision makers were familiar with the term “vernal pool” and demonstrated positive attitudes to vernal pools in general. General appreciation and willingness to conserve vernal pools predicted support for the 2006 revisions to the Natural Resource Protection Act regulating Significant Vernal Pools. However, 48% of respondents were unaware of this law and neither prior knowledge of the law nor workshop attendance predicted support for the vernal pool law. Further, concerns about private property rights and development restrictions predicted disagreement with the vernal pool law. We conclude that science communication must rely on specific frames of reference, be sensitive to cultural values, and occur in an iterative system to link knowledge and action in support of vernal pool conservation.
7. Using farmer storytelling to build understanding of our "new weather reality"
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Roche, Erin H. (author), Mallory, Ellen B. (author), and Birthisel, Sonja K. (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-10
- Published:
- Extension Journal, Inc.
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 109 Document Number: D10990
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- 57(5)
- Notes:
- 5 pages., Article # 5IAW3, via online journal., A storytelling session was successful in raising awareness and understanding of the types of changes in weather patterns farmers are experiencing in Maine, what impacts those changes are having on their operations, and the changes farmers are making in response. Using an outreach approach rooted in farmer stories allowed us to bypass the controversy that often surrounds topics related to climate change. Likewise, focusing on the farmers' experiences and avoiding corrective statements during this introductory session resulted in productive dialogue. We recommend replicating this approach within different agricultural sectors to increase understanding of sector-specific risks and strategies for adaptation.
8. Who Is Volunteering for the Maine 4-H Program?
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Lobley, Jennifer (author)
- Format:
- Online article
- Publication Date:
- 2008-08
- Published:
- USA
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 168 Document Number: C28260
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 46, No. 4