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    3. Framing of sustainable agricultural practices by the farming press and its effect on adoption

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    Collection:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
    Contributers:
    Rust, Niki A. (author), Jarvis, Rebecca M. (author), Reed, Mark S. (author), and Cooper, Julia (author)
    Format:
    Journal Article
    Publication Date:
    2021-02-21
    Published:
    United States: Springer
    Location:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12622
    Journal Title:
    Agriculture and Human Values
    Journal Title Details:
    V. 38
    Notes:
    14pgs, There is growing political pressure for farmers to use more sustainable agricultural practices to protect people and the planet. The farming press could encourage farmers to adopt sustainable practices through its ability to manipulate discourse and spread awareness by changing the salience of issues or framing topics in specific ways. We sought to understand how the UK farming press framed sustainable agricultural practices and how the salience of these practices changed over time. We combined a media content analysis of the farming press alongside 60 qualitative interviews with farmers and agricultural advisors to understand whether the farming press influenced farmers to try more sustainable practices. Salience of sustainable agricultural practices grew between 2009 and 2020. Many of the practices studied were framed by the press around economic and agronomic aspects, and farmer respondents said the most common reasons for trying sustainable agricultural practices were for economic and agronomic reasons. The farming press tended to use more positive rather than negative tones when covering sustainable agricultural practices. Respondents used the farming press as a source of information, though many did not fully trust these outlets as they believed the farming press were mouthpieces for agribusinesses. Whilst a minority of farmers stated they were motivated to try a new sustainable agricultural practice after learning about it in the farming press, this was rare. Instead, the farming press was used by respondents to raise their awareness about wider agricultural topics. We reflect on the role and power given to agribusinesses by the farming press and what this means for agricultural sustainability.

    4. Science communication in agriculture: the role of the trusted adviser

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    Collection:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
    Contributers:
    Briese, Lee Galen (author) and The University of Nebraska - Lincoln
    Format:
    Dissertation
    Publication Date:
    2019
    Published:
    Ann Arbor: ProQuest
    Location:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 18 Document Number: D10472
    Notes:
    81 pages., ISBN: 9781392073537, Via ProQuest Dissertations and Theses., Agronomy is not simply the selling of agricultural products to farmers, nor is it the process of solving singular production problems. Agronomy is defined as the integrated, holistic perspective of agriculture (ASA, 2019) and “agronomists are specialists in crop and soil sciences, as well as ecology” (ASA, 2019). While scientific investigation and discovery are essential to understanding systems function, the tangible benefits from our knowledge stems from the application to solve problems. Clear communication is vital to successfully help stakeholders understand the importance of the science and help scientists understand the challenges stakeholders face. However, to successfully put science into action, solutions need to address the whole system and strategies need to be customized. To this end it is critical to be able to detect, accurately diagnose and prioritize the problems and challenges within agricultural systems. These steps cannot be carried out remotely or by those who lack the skills or knowledge. Rather, they must be performed by well-trained, experienced people who can translate information into actionable practices. Furthermore, stakeholders need to trust that the advice is accurate and applicable to their system, hence the important role of the trusted adviser. The trusted adviser is someone with the knowledge and skills to assess the entire system, access to scientists and full comprehension of the research. They also must understand the needs and challenges faced by the stakeholder farmers and gain their trust. These trusted advisers play a pivotal role in the capability of agriculture to respond to climate change, population increase and establishing sustainable systems. Our future depends not only on the discovery of scientific knowledge but more so on the application of it. What good are the solutions if no one ever uses them? The following document was written to address communication challenges discovered during an internship working with university extension specialists to deliver programming to farmers and directly advising university researchers on practical challenges that farmers face. These on-farm barriers often prevent farmers from adopting new practices. It is also the culmination of twenty years of field experience serving farmers by scouting, identifying, prioritizing, problem solving, communicating, compromising and building trust. This document is intended to urge all practitioners of agronomy and the related agricultural sciences to become trusted advisers, elevate their practice to a new level and approach the challenges of agriculture from a systems point of view. They also need to create actionable strategies not only to protect crop yields but also to protect the soil, the environment, the ecosystem and the wellbeing of the farmer and of everyone who partakes of the bounty.

    5. Farmers’ perceptions of coexistence between agriculture and a large scale coal seam gas development

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    Collection:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
    Contributers:
    Huth, Neil I. (author), Cocks, Brett (author), Dalgliesh, Neal (author), Poulton, Perry L. (author), Marinoni, Oswald (author), and Navarro Garcia, Javier (author)
    Format:
    Journal article
    Publication Date:
    2018-03
    Published:
    Australia: Springer
    Location:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 6 Document Number: D10211
    Journal Title:
    Agriculture and Human Values
    Journal Title Details:
    35(1) : 99-115
    Notes:
    Article first online 13 June 2017, Via online journal., The Coal Seam Gas (CSG) extraction industry is developing rapidly within the Surat Basin in southern Queensland, Australia, with licenses already approved for tenements covering more than 24,000 km2. Much of this land is used for a broad range of agricultural purposes and the need for coexistence between the farm and gas industries has been the source of much conflict. Whilst much research has been undertaken into the environmental and economic impacts of CSG, little research has looked into the issues of coexistence between farmers and the CSG industry in the shared space that is a farm business, a home and a resource extraction network. We conducted three workshops with farmers from across a broad region undergoing CSG development to explore farmers’ perceptions of some of the issues arising from large scale land use change. Workshops explored the importance of place identity and landscape aesthetics for farmers, farmers’ acceptance and coping with change, and possible benefits from off-farm income. We found that farmers believed that place identity was not well understood by CSG staff from non-rural backgrounds and that farmers struggled to explain some concerns because of the different way they interpreted their landscape. Furthermore, high staff turnover, and the extensive use of contractors also impacted on communications. These factors were the cause of much frustration and farmers felt that this has led to severe impacts on mental health and wellbeing. Farmers felt that a change in culture within the CSG companies will be required if engagement with farmers is to improve and that efforts to employ local people in these communications was helping this. The workshops also identified a range of issues perceived by farmers arising from increased traffic volumes, impacts to mental health and wellbeing, place identity and loss of water resources for farmers. Finally, it was suggested that scientists and agricultural industry groups will need to work closely with farmers to develop understanding of these emerging issues and to develop solutions that are timely and relevant.

    7. Costs and benefits for food production in contrasting agro-ecological production systems

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    Collection:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
    Contributers:
    Robertson, Michael J. (author), Preston, Nigel P. (author), and Bonnett, Graham D. (author)
    Format:
    Book chapter
    Publication Date:
    2017
    Location:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08788
    Notes:
    Pages 155-172 in Gordon, Iain J. Prins, Herbert H.T. Squire, Geoff R. (eds.), Food production and nature conservation: conflicts and solutions. United Kingdom: Routledge, London. 348 pages.

    8. Using a team survey to improve team communication for enhanced delivery of agro-climate decision support tools

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    Collection:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
    Contributers:
    Prokopy, Linda S. (author), Hart, Chad E. (author), Massey, Raymond (author), Widhalm, Melissa (author), Klink, Jenna (author), Andresen, Jeffery (author), Angel, James (author), Blewett, Thomas (author), Doering, Otto C. (author), Elmore, Roger (author), Gramig, Benjamin M. (author), Guinan, Patrick (author), Hall, Beth L. (author), Jain, Atul (author), Knutson, Cody L. (author), Lemos, Maria Carmen (author), Morton, Lois Wright (author), Niyogi, Dev (author), Power, Rebecca (author), Shulski, Martha D. (author), Song, Carol X. (author), Takle, Eugene S. (author), and Todey, Dennis (author)
    Format:
    Journal article
    Publication Date:
    2015-09
    Published:
    USA: Elsevier
    Location:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 160 Document Number: D07789
    Journal Title:
    Agricultural Systems
    Journal Title Details:
    138: 31-37