8 pages, The purpose of this project was to evaluate the Virginia Cooperative Extension internship program from the perspective of student participants and their supervisors. Three focus groups were conducted with internship supervisors from the summer of 2019. Student survey data was used to identify concerns from the student perspective to inform the supervisor focus group questions. In addition to the questions, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis was also used to collect qualitative data within the supervisor focus groups. Findings suggest areas of strength that can be used in marketing as well as opportunities for program improvement.
17 pages, British Columbia’s food system is experiencing an emerging trend in the digitalization of agriculture, which will impact agricultural practices in the province. The rapid growth of this field has created a niche for training and education in digital agriculture and more specifically, in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and computing. However, it remains unclear whether current educators and trainers in British Columbia are communicating both the benefits and risks of digital agriculture, and the need for an inclusive and equitable approach to digital agriculture. To understand the emerging education and training landscape in digital agricultural technologies, this exploratory study engaged in a key informant interview with 12 participants, including educators, relevant government staff, and private training consultants/practitioners in the food and agricultural sector in British Columbia. The small sample is reflective of the nascent nature of this area of research, which seeks to better understand digital agriculture from the perspectives of agricultural educators and trainers both in the public and private sectors. The study found that there is currently a lack of consideration for equity and food sovereignty in digital agricultural training and education. This is primarily due to a gap in engagement with the social aspects of digital agriculture. Without engaging critical social scientists and critical data studies, digital agriculture education, and training may be conducted in ways that do not promote responsible and ethical innovation, and are therefore counterproductive to the development of a just and sustainable food system.
9 pages., via online journal., Natural Resource Management (NRM) can be looked upon from different perspectives: (1) the bio‐physical science perspective, (2) the economic perspective and (3) the social actor perspective. After briefly contrasting the three complementary perspectives, the article focuses on the third, which is the least developed. The social actor perspective requires that one distinguish between (1) the natural resource (be it a farm, a water catchment, underground water resources, etc.) and (2) the social actors who hold a stake in, and/or affect it. These stakeholders ideally form a platform for integral decision making about the natural resource. The platform/resource combination highlights communication processes of interest in sustainable NRM: creating a rich picture of intentions and realities; (land use) negotiation and accommodation; making things visible; raising the level of social aggregation at which platforms operate; and information systems for platform decision support. Such and other platform processes need active facilitation. The article outlines the implications for communication support, and explores professional contributions.
5 pages, Farmers face unique occupational and interpersonal stressors that increase risk for poor physical and mental health outcomes. To educate farmers and their families about these risks, one state’s Family and Consumer Sciences faculty partnered with Agriculture and Natural Resources faculty with input from county agents to develop a series of online educational programs that were delivered as part of the state Agricultural Enhancement Program. Twenty-eight participants completed the pilot project and feedback surveys. Lessons learned include the need to have speakers from farming backgrounds, incorporate health topics that emphasize the connection with farming, and to include engaging visuals.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08702
Notes:
Pages 159-168 in Gordon Wilson, Pamela Furniss and Richard Kimbowa (eds.), Environment, development and sustainability: perspectives and cases from around the world. Oxford University Press, Oxford, England. 290 pages.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 166 Document Number: D11675
Notes:
2 pages., Online via AgriMarketing Weekly., Summary of research by The Sustainability Consortium of Farm Journal among more than 400 U.S. farmers in more than 40 states. The survey invited their perspectives on sharing data about their production practices with downstream supply chain organizations, such as food companies and retailers. Findings suggested that growers value data collection, the environment, and conservation agriculture practices on their farmers, but hold concerns about sharing farm data.
5 pages, It can be argued that public forums are a valuable and essential tool for Cooperative Extension professionals. This article narrates the innovative use of the public forum action steps outlined in Kahl’s (2016) “A Convener’s Guide to Hosting a Public Forum”. The primary objective was to address illegal dumping and littering concerns with the Extension professional's role to engage the community. The resulting “Backyard Composting Project” demonstrated that public forums are valuable in creatively engaging urban audiences. Ultimately the authors illustrate how a community concern can be addressed using innovative programming to reach what Extension considers to be non-traditional urban populations.
15 pages., via online journal., This study aimed to analyse the mediating role of farmers' time perspective in water resources exploitation behaviour/s (WREB). The study was descriptive correlational and causal relational and was carried out using a survey. The statistical population consisted of farmers in the eastern area of Lake Urmia (N = 232 295), of whom 386 persons were selected using a stratified random sampling method. The instrument was a questionnaire, whose validity was confirmed by a panel of experts. Its reliability was also verified by performing the Cronbach's alpha test (0.60 ≥ α ≥ 0.94). The causal framework is presented based on the findings. In such a condition, self‐efficacy, psychological needs and time perspective had the highest total causal effect on farmers' WREB. Moreover, the results confirmed the mediating role of time perspective (as a personal variable) and time norms (as a social variable) in WREB. Therefore, the proper conduct of farmers' WREB needs to provide a futuristic perspective, which is also confirmed by social norms.
