2pgs, For farmers, filling out the USDA’s Census of Agriculture before the February 6 deadline is more than a legal obligation. It’s a way to keep watch over our farmlands and help bring about necessary changes.
8pgs, In many studies, communication and social cognitive theories have been used to investigate people's behaviors toward agricultural insurance programs resulting in varied conclusions on how and why people react to such programs. However, few of them have explicitly investigated the role of social cognitive theory in escalating insurance literacy levels on agriculture and cultural factors. Thus, the purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the behavioral factors of tidal swampland farmers in Barito Kuala Regency, South Kalimantan province, towards agricultural insurance in the perspective of analyzing farmers' knowledge of agricultural insurance products and determinants of community behavior. Under the instrumental case-study research design, the data were collected through interviews and Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) with 35 informants, consisting of the Head of the South Kalimantan Provincial Agriculture Service and the Barito Kuala District Agriculture Service, opinion leaders, academics, representatives of farmer groups, and farmers. Documentation data related to the implementation of the agricultural insurance program were used to complete the interview and FGDs data. The results of this study indicate that tidal swampland farmers are trapped in hoax information or negative issues related to Agricultural Insurance which makes them reluctant to participate in agricultural insurance. Farmers prefer to be resigned and surrender to the state of their agricultural land than to participate in agricultural insurance. Besides, farmers feel there is no point in participating in agricultural insurance, especially those who think the registration and insurance claim process is convoluted. Low insurance literacy is a key problem of the misinformation that is formed.
2pgs, Animal intrusion into produce fields has been an obvious food safety risk for some time. More recently, the risks associated with proximity to animal agriculture and habitats — including evidence for commodities other than leafy greens — have received high-profile interest, demanding increased attention from the fresh produce industry.
8 pages, Public opinion is shaped in significant part by online content, spread via social media and curated algorithmically. The current online ecosystem has been designed predominantly to capture user attention rather than to promote deliberate cognition and autonomous choice; information overload, finely tuned personalization and distorted social cues, in turn, pave the way for manipulation and the spread of false information. How can transparency and autonomy be promoted instead, thus fostering the positive potential of the web? Effective web governance informed by behavioural research is critically needed to empower individuals online. We identify technologically available yet largely untapped cues that can be harnessed to indicate the epistemic quality of online content, the factors underlying algorithmic decisions and the degree of consensus in online debates. We then map out two classes of behavioural interventions—nudging and boosting— that enlist these cues to redesign online environments for informed and autonomous choice.
8 pages, via online journal, Rose (Rosa ×hybrida) breeders historically have bred plants based on what they personally have deemed attractive and traits required by growers to produce the crop successfully. End-user preferences were not formally considered in breeding decisions. The purpose of this study was to investigate growers’ and consumers’ opinions of roses available on the market and preferences for future roses coming into the market. A web-based survey tool was developed to measure the attributes consumers were considering in purchasing and growing rose plants, their knowledge of diseases and pests, and their hopes for new plants coming to market. A link was sent to horticultural group mailing lists as well as distributed through personal e-mail lists, Facebook, and a news release from Texas A&M University. The survey was posted for 4 months. It included ≈66 questions and took 30 minutes or more to complete. More than 2000 responses were received from rose growers and nursery consumers worldwide. The respondents preferred roses that were disease resistant, with fragrant, abundant, red, and everblooming flowers. The ideal height of the preferred rose shrubs was waist to shoulder-height. Differences were found in preferences between experienced rose growers and those who were not affiliated with rose associations on variables such as the need to use chemicals to manage diseases, the importance of foliage glossiness and large vs. small blooms, the value of roses in the garden setting, the level of difficulty roses pose in growing situations, and the willingness to pay more for a rose shrub in comparison with other garden plants. Differences also were found among age groups and preferences for flower color, fragrance, foliage color, and foliage glossiness. This information could be helpful in targeting marketing of roses.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08802
Notes:
Pages 29-40 in Debra A. Reid, Interpreting agriculture at museums and historic sites. United States: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Lanham, Maryland. 265 pages.
