Ray Elizabeth – Funk Library

ACDC News – Issue 18-04

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Elizabeth Ray

Honoring pioneer agricultural journalists

You can view the latest ACDC digital exhibit, “Pioneer Agricultural Journalists,” on the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center website. This exhibit provides a sampling of early agricultural editors in the U.S. It focuses on the 15 journalists William Edward Ogilvie wrote about in Pioneering Agricultural Journalists: Brief Biographical Sketches of Some of the Early Editors in the Field of Agricultural Journalism.

These pioneering agricultural journalists used their skills and publications to disseminate agrarian and farming knowledge and to expand the field. Their pioneering dates back to 1819 when John S. Skinner established the American Farmer. He became what Ogilvie described as “the father of American farm journalism.”

We hope you enjoy it. Thanks to graduate assistant Hailley Shaw for preparing it as part of our digital exhibit series.

Can hyper-local news help hold rural communities together?

Well, maybe – or maybe not. Journalism researcher David Baines of Newcastle University addressed that question through a case study. It involved a rural hyper-local project launched by a major regional media company in England’s most sparsely-populated county. During the study:

The media company journalists were unable to deliver “liquid engagements” that might have encouraged citizens to develop collaborations and trusted, valued relationships with journalists.
The sites were designed primarily to meet political and corporate needs, not the community’s. The architecture of the hyper-local site offered a “one-way traffic from centre to periphery.”

You can read the article here.

Four databases to help “untangle local food webs” in the U. S.

We recently added to the ACDC collection an article that identified four databases journalists and others can use to analyze the food system of any state, county, or major city in the nation. These databases are hosted by the Center for Transportation Analysis, U. S. Department of Agriculture, and U. S. Census Bureau.

You can read the 2016 article from the Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism here.

Dangerous lack of consumer trust involving food and agriculture

Recent research from the Center for Food Integrity revealed that U. S. consumers hold food companies, federal regulatory agencies, and farmers most responsible for ensuring the health and safety of food. However, “not all are trusted to get the job done.” According to the report, when it comes to trust:

Federal regulatory agencies ranked eighth on a list of 11 choices
Food companies ranked last on the list
Farmers ranked third

“The findings illustrate a dangerous trust deficit that breeds increased public suspicion and highlights the need for increased consumer engagement in the food system.”

You can read a summary of findings here.

Connections between watchdog journalism and development journalism

Journalism in the island nation of Fiji shows an interesting combination of emphasis on watchdog journalism and development journalism. It emerged in research reported in the International Communication Gazette. A survey among Fijian journalists revealed their three most strongly favored roles included being watchdog of the government, providing citizens with information they need to make political decisions, and being an absolutely detached observer.

At the same time, traditional development journalism also received considerable support among respondents. Almost two-thirds said it was very important or extremely important to advocate for social change. More than one-half favored supporting official policies to bring about prosperity and development.

You can read the article by F. Hanusch and Charu Uppal here.

Search ACDC resources when you want to dig deep

Sometimes we surprise ourselves when we observe the depth of information in the ACDC collection. Across the years, we have valued early literature as well as recent literature about agriculture-related communications, globally. So you can often dig deep when you want to review what is known about topics of interest.

For example, here’s the historical range you will find when you search the collection online for communications aspects of these sample topics:

“food safety” — 3,373 documents dated from 1910 to 2017
“risk communication” – 2,214 documents dated 1916 to 2018
livestock – 1,193 documents dated 1900 to 2017
“farm journals” – 3,238 documents dated 1842 to 2017

Communicator events approaching

April 16-20, 2018
Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
Information: https://www.aiaee.org/

June 2-5, 2018
“Earn your spurs: communicate in the Lone Star State” Annual Institute of the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Fort Worth, Texas.
Information at: https://www.communicators.coop/2018Institute/

June 20-21, 2018
“Step into the Winner’s Circle of Agricultural Public Relations” Annual meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) in Louisville, Kentucky.
Information: https://www.agrelationscouncil.org/events/2018-arc-annual-meeting/

July 11-15, 2018
“Dutch Roots: small country big solutions” 2018 World Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) in The Netherlands.
Information: http://www.dutchroots.info

August 4-8, 2018
“Everything under the Sun” Twentieth annual Agricultural Media Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona. Participants include AAEA – The Agricultural Communicators Network; Livestock Publications Council (LPC), Connectiv Agri-Media Committee; Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE); and Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT).
Information: www.agmediasummit.com

Making the headlines

Thanks to Lyle Orwig of Charleston|Orwig Inc. for calling attention to these newspaper headlines related to food, agriculture, and natural phenomena. Some are new, some classic. We can’t imagine that agricultural journalists wrote them.

“Bugs flying around with wings are flying bugs”
“Starvation can lead to health hazards”
“Total lunar eclipse will be broadcast live on Northwoods Public Radio”

Best wishes and good searching

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valuable collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu

Click here for a printer-friendly PDF of this newsletter.

ACDC News – Issue 18-03

Posted on March 9, 2018 by Elizabeth Ray

Four top trends having big impacts on agricultural communications

As 2018 got under way, Chuck Zimmerman of ZimmComm New Media came up with this Top Four list:

Continued explosion of technology/new media allowing everyone to directly communicate with everyone else in the whole world without a gatekeeper like traditional media
Boom in mergers and acquisitions causing change and uncertainty
Agencies growing as content creators/publishers for clients
Commodity prices sliding downward and budgets shrinking

You can read his blog here.

“Strategic obfuscation” in retail pricing of coffee and soft drinks

German and French retail scanner data indicated in a recent research study that offering unique consumer packaged goods may be an effective way to generate higher margins than would otherwise be the case. Authors noted that retailers have an incentive to offer unique package sizes or flavors, for example. In that situation, buyers can’t easily compare prices across products and stores.

The analysis also revealed that retail margins were 14.5% higher when an item was sold at only one store, compared to when it was sold at all stores. Authors concluded that “we cannot rule out strategic obfuscation as a feature of our retail sales data.”

You can read the research report here.

Following digital breadcrumbs toward truth and trust in food information

Digital ethnography served as a tool the Center for Food Integrity used recently to examine what makes food news and information credible. CFI observed 8,500 consumers online across two years and multiple social channels. Results identified five consumer segments:

“Scientist” (truth is objective, evidence-based science)
“Philosopher” (looks through the ethics lens)
“Follower” (fears making the wrong food decisions)
“Wishful Thinker” (trusts big, sweeping claims from varied sources)
“Existentialist” (truth is what feels true)

Results prompted the suggestion that “communicating with values that others share, or can relate to, is the key to earning trust. …three-to-five times more important in earning trust than simply sharing facts.”

You can read the research summary here.

Scouting for agriculture-related information on risk communications?

You can identify more than 2,200 documents about this topic in the unique ACDC collection.

They span more than a century, from 1911 to date
They address communications about risks involving animal welfare, food safety, uses of biotechnology in food and agriculture, diseases, environmental quality, biological diversity, farm-life safety, energy supplies, water conservation, and other topics
They involve experiences in many countries throughout the world
They relate to all means of communicating about risk, from face-to-face through new social media
They range from books, journal articles, and research reports to “how to” items and points of view about risks and communications issues.

You can use the robust ACDC search system, BibLeaves, to identify these documents quickly and learn how to gain access to them. Just visit the “Search Tips” section to get acquainted with it.

Comparing website quality of rural and urban small businesses

We recently added to the ACDC collection a 2012 journal article about whether urban and rural small business websites in Scotland differ in terms of their levels of quality. Researchers used an adapted Web Assessment Index originally developed by Gonzalez and Palacios. Findings identified no significant differences in the level of website quality between Scottish rural and urban small business. The Index is provided with the article.

Authors concluded that “website quality issues are amongst those that are not affected by location, despite the much reported entrepreneurship, skills and resource deficit in rural areas relative to urban ones.”

You can read the abstract here, or check with us at docctr@illinois.edu for help in gaining access.

Communicator events approaching

April 8-10, 2018
Annual meeting of the North American Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ) in Washington, D.C.
Information: http://www.naaj.net/meetings

April 11-13, 2018
“Power Up” Agri-Marketing Conference of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) in Kansas City, Missouri.
Information: http://nama.org/amc/home-2018

April 16-20, 2018
Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
Information: https://www.aiaee.org/

August 4-8, 2018
“Everything under the Sun” Twentieth annual Agricultural Media Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona. Participants include AAEA – The Agricultural Communicators Network; Livestock Publications Council (LPC), Connectiv Agri-Media Committee; Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE); and the national Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT)
Information: www.agmediasummit.com

Communicating about the hottest hobby in the country

We close this issue of ACDC News with congratulations to keen agricultural journalist John Harvey for sharing his talents as teacher. In an e-note entitled “You must be kidding,” he reports that he is teaching a class in the Lifelong Learning Academy. The course features a field of interest that John has long helped develop, nationally: “Discover Classic Farm Tractors, the Hottest Hobby in the Country.” We will bet his class members are having a ball as they learn.

You may be aware that John contributed his large collection of Volume One Number One issues of U. S. farm papers and magazines to the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center for historical research and reference. You can learn more about it here.

Best wishes and good searching

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valuable collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu

Click here for a printer-friendly PDF of this newsletter

ACDC News – Issue 18-02

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Elizabeth Ray

What we do when our social and environmental goals collide

Here are a few tendencies identified in a laboratory experiment reported at the 2017 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association conference:

The conflict between social and environmental goals is largely intra-personal rather than inter-personal.
Achieving social goals generally appears to be a stronger motivation than environmental goals.
Support for environmental action is likely to be limited if the burden falls on the disadvantaged in society.

You can read the research report here.

Taking students on global journalism “field trips”

Journalism Professor John Hatcher (University of Minnesota Duluth) did just that with students in his class, “Community and Journalism.” They ran up no huge travel bill. They weren’t even journalism majors.

However, they used real-time video conferencing technologies to explore local-level journalism with professionals in countries throughout the world. Each class member served as a tour guide for one of the countries visited. Each also wrote a report, helping students focus on differences and similarities across cultures, media, issues, and approaches.

You can read the teacher’s introduction and some student reports here, as published in a 2015 issue of the journal, Grassroots Editor.

How Extension and agricultural media can partner more fully to address new safety risks in agriculture

A recent article in the Journal of Extension took a fresh look at needs and opportunities for Extension to serve agricultural media more fully in addressing new safety risks in U. S. agriculture. Researchers Scott Heiberger and Jim Evans examined technological and other changes in agriculture and the agricultural media. They conducted a literature review and a survey among members of AAEA: The Agricultural Communicator Network (formerly American Agricultural Editors’ Association).

Findings identified six new potentials for enhancing Extension/media collaboration to advance farm-life safety in a changing safety environment.

You can read the article here.

Experiences of small-town women journalists in India

A 2015 research report in the journal, Journalism Studies, shed light on the experience of small-town women journalists in northern India. Researcher Disha Mullick conducted in-depth, face-to-face interviews with women reporters in four north Indian states. The study was supported by the United Nations Democracy and Equity Fund.

Mullick concluded: “Findings show that by engaging in media production – knowing fully well the deeply embedded class, caste and gender conventions of this institution – they placed themselves in a position to challenge the status quo, in the private and public spheres, and play out the notion of lived, engaged citizenship.”

You can read the abstract here, or check with us at docctr@illinois.edu for help in gaining access.

How to localize climate change through agriculture

A 2017 article from the National Center for Business Journalism suggested ways in which reporters can engage readers in the climate change debate by showing how it might affect them in the near future. Author Jimmie Jackson suggested that journalists who cover areas with a strong agricultural base might emphasize effects of climate change on livestock and crops in those regions.

You can read more about his four suggestions here.

Communicator events approaching

April 8-10, 2018
Annual meeting of the North American Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ) in Washington, D.C.
Information: http://www.naaj.net/meetings

April 11-13, 2018
“Power Up” Agri-Marketing Conference of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) in Kansas City, Missouri.
Information: http://nama.org/amc/home-2018

April 16-20, 2018
Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
Information: http://www.aeaee.org

June 2-5, 2018
“Earn your spurs: communicate in the Lone Star State.” Annual Institute of the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Fort Worth, Texas.
Information at: https://www.communicators.coop/2018Institute/

So we’ve communicated…

We close this issue of ACDC News with a humbling insight about humans communicating. Thanks to colleague Paul Hixson for calling attention to this thought from George Bernard Shaw. Probably all of us who communicate in the world of food and nutrition, natural resources, rural development, and other aspects of agriculture can offer examples.

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

Best wishes and good searching

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valuable collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu

Click here for a printer-friendly PDF of this newsletter

ACDC News – Issue 18-01

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Elizabeth Ray

New Year’s greetings and wishes!

With special pleasure, we launch the 21^st year of ACDC News – and thank you for your interest and encouragement across two decades. We hope you enjoy and find value in the brief samples of research, news, and views you find in it as the collection grows from around the world. As always, we welcome your thoughts and suggestions for this unique resource and service.

“May the work you do be as rewarding as mine has been.”

With those words of encouragement, Fran Bach, publisher/editor of Agri Digest Online, announced retirement in a closing December issue. This Pan-Canadian journal of issues and events in agriculture has been published for open online access since 2007, dedicated to agricultural initiative and innovation. Content of it addressed issues in agriculture and other topics of particular interest to a farm readership.

In a closing editorial, Editor Bach emphasized, “Every one of us strengthens the agriculture industry we love.”

You can read the editorial and issue here.

Optimism – and opportunities – for careers in rural community journalism

Research results by David Guth found rural editors and publishers in the High Plains region of the U. S. “a hardy and optimistic lot.” Surveys and interviews revealed strong sentiment that the Web cannot replace what these journalists provide for communities – whether the information is delivered in print or online. At the same time, many lacked confidence about being able to fill vacant positions. His article was published in Grassroots Editor (2015).

Colleges and universities may wish to consider new ways to identify and prepare young multi-media journalists who can create satisfying careers as entrepreneurs and leaders in rural community journalism.

You can read the research report here.

“The agriculture beat is a crucial lens on a changing climate”

That title introduced a “survival story” by agricultural policy editor Chris Clayton of DTN/The Progressive Farmer in the Columbia Journalism Review. Here are a few of the points emphasized:

“Beyond national disasters…fewer and fewer journalists use their beats to report on the national intersection between climate change, agriculture, and food,”
“American journalism is just scratching the surface of potential climate hazards to national and global stability.”
“Reporters dedicated to covering agriculture could provide another critical window to the impacts of climate change in their communities. But agricultural reporters are fewer and farther between.”
“Reporting on climate change to a rural audience can also be a risk.”

You can read the story here.

An egg may be an egg – unless it’s labeled organic, range-free, or cage-free

A 2017 conference paper we added recently to the ACDC collection examined the effect of food label terms on the price of shell eggs sold at retail. Using weekly IRI scanner data (2010-2016), the researchers found these price premiums for messaging on single labels:

“Organic” – 48% price premium over conventional eggs
“Free-range” – 33% price premium
“Cage-free” – 26% price premium

Other findings featured the price effects when multiple terms were used on carton labels to describe production processes and nutritional benefits.

You can read the research report here.

Challenges to rural journalism in Pakistan

That title introduces a 2015 article we added recently from the Frontier Women University Journal of Social Sciences. Researcher Saqib Riaz surveyed a sample of 500 rural journalists working nationwide. Respondents were associated as reporters or correspondents with television channels, newspapers, magazines, and news agencies working in the big cities of Pakistan. Among the findings:

60% were paid no salaries or other financial benefits
46% held bachelor’s or master’s degrees
55% had no professional training as rural journalists
55% had no use of computer technology
57% said their media organizations place top priority on news about activities of political parties and local political leaders

Author Riaz concluded that “the media organizations, relevant governmental organizations and the civil society at large should play their role for strengthening rural journalism in Pakistan.”

You can read the article here.

Communicator events approaching

February 4-5, 2018
Research reporting in the Agricultural Communications Section, Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS) conference in Jacksonville, FL.
Information: https://sites.google.com/a/extension.org/saasagcomm/

April 8-10, 2018
Annual meeting of the North American Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ) in Washington, D.C.
Information: http://www.naaj.net/meetings

April 10-13, 2018
“Power Up” Agri-Marketing Conference of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) in Kansas City, Missouri.
Information: http://nama.org/amc/home-2018

April 16-20, 2018
Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
Information: https://www.aiaee.org/

**In the spirit expressed by retiring Agri Digest Publisher Fran Bach**

We close this first 2018 issue of ACDC News with a thought expressed by Daniel Webster. It appeared in Agricultural Journalism, a 1926 book by N. A. Crawford and C. E. Rogers (A. D. Knopf, New York).

“Unstable is the future of a country which has lost its taste for agriculture. If there is one lesson of history that is unmistakable, it is that national strength lies very near the soil.”

Best wishes and good searching

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valuable collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu

Click here for a printer-friendly PDF of this newsletter.

ACDC News – Issue 17-12

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Elizabeth Ray

Communicating when environmental interest groups collide

A research team at the University of Queensland recently offered a “how-to” for addressing inter-group conflicts about climate change and the environment. They suggested a “social identity” approach. It focuses on our identities derived from the groups to which we belong. Citing case examples, they described four social identity strategies to communicate across groups that differ in their views of climate change and the environment:

Use in-group messengers
Forge an inclusive identity that encompasses conflicting subgroups
Remind people of their past pro-environmental behaviors
Promote in-group norms that support environmental norms

You can learn more about the strategies in this 2016 article published in the journal, Frontiers in Psychology.

A call for good communication between architects and agronomists

An article in the September/October issue of New Ag International magazine included this call. It came during Greensys2017 (International Symposium on New Technologies for Environmental Control, Energy-saving and Crop Production in Greenhouse and Plant Factory) in Beijing, China, during August. A keynote speaker emphasized that urban agriculture involves more than food production – also environmental and social services with direct interaction with local urban markets.

According to the summary, effective communication will be vital in the design and development of new urban solutions such as community gardens, green roofs, vertical farms, and indoor farms (plant factories).

You can read the article here.

Note: the article cited is on pages 73-75 of this online edition.

Do farmers differ in recognizing wild birds? And so what?

Some differences appeared from a recent study in northeastern Brazil. Compared with conventional farmers (using monocultures, mechanization, and external inputs), non-conventional/organic farmers (using diversification, ecological processes, and natural inputs) could identify more bird species. They held “more favorable attitudes toward birds, and engaged in practices more beneficial to the conservation of avifauna.”

Researchers concluded, “Conventional and non-conventional farmers have both similarities and differences in their perceptions and knowledge of birds. There are incentives to help farmers recognize and treat birds as beneficial to farming systems and vice versa. Birds are still not widely recognized as important elements that could serve fundamental ecological functions in agro-ecosystems and contribute to their efficiency and sustainability.”

You can read this journal article here.

Discovering new sources

You may be interested in some of the journals from which we have identified agricultural communications literature for the ACDC collection during recent months. The great scatter of literature about agricultural communications continues to impress and amaze us.

International Journal of Advertising
Rhetoric and Public Affairs
Pacific Journalism Review
Qualitative Research Reports in Communication
Language Teaching Research
New Genetics and Society
British Food Journal
International Journal of Web-Based Communities
Journal of Information Technology in Agriculture
Precision Agriculture

Communicator events approaching

April 8-10, 2018
Annual meeting of the North American Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ) in Washington, D.C.
Information: http://www.naaj.net/meetings

April 10-13, 2018
“Power Up” Agri-Marketing Conference of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) in Kansas City, Missouri.
Information: http://nama.org/amc/home-2018

April 16-20, 2018
Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
Information: http://www.aeaee.org/index.php/conference

Nothing new about fake news

We often find ourselves humbled by the historical information we find in searching for literature about agricultural journalism and communications. In that spirit, we close this issue of ACDC News with a 1665 gravestone message reported in W. H. Howe’s Everybody’s Book of Epitaphs:

“Here lies an editor –
Snooks, if you will.
In mercy, Kind Providence,
Let him lie still.
He lied for his living, so
He lived while he lied.
When he could not lie longer
He lied down and died.”

Best wishes and good searching

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions, and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valuable collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu

ACDC News – Issue 17-11

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Elizabeth Ray

Now recognizing 42 contributed collections

The ACDC website now features an enhanced “Contributed Collections” section that honors 42 persons who have contributed materials to ACDC during the past 30-plus years. Their contributions represent a treasure trove. This historical material will long serve researchers, students, teachers, professionals, and others interested in the important trail of communications related to agriculture in the U.S. and elsewhere. Much of it involves non-conventional literature and audio-visuals not available in libraries and electronic search systems.

Special thanks to these contributors and the ACDC staff members who have assembled and processed the materials for online identification. You can learn about each of the contributors and their contributions here. Also, if you have related materials that might fit into this unique historical resource please check with Jim Evans at evansj@illinois.edu.

What weather broadcasters feel and do about reporting on climate change

We recently added to the ACDC collection a summary of the 2017 National Survey of Broadcast Meteorologists. Findings came from a survey among 2,220 broadcast meteorology professionals currently working in the United States. Here is a sampling of the findings about their views of climate change:

95 percent think climate change (as defined by the American Meteorological Society) is happening
49 percent are convinced that climate change over the past 50 years has been mostly or entirely due to weather activity; 21 percent think it is more or less caused by human activity and natural events; 21 percent think the change has been primarily or entirely due to natural events.
They expressed diverse views about this extent to which additional climate change can be averted over the next 50 years if mitigation measures are taken worldwide

You can read the full report here.

Mobile phones making the world more sustainable

In a 2016 Thomson Reuters blog, Donald Peele observed that “mobile technology has a big part to play in the fight against poverty and creation of a sustainable planet.” He emphasized that it is:

Helping farmers and landowners document their land rights
Helping governments develop formal registries
Helping farmers connect with sources of credit and insurance

You can read this brief commentary here.

Building local community spirit by creating a public photo collection

Researcher Michele Fontefrancesco described that process in a rural Italian village between 2010 and 2012. The local museum curetted a public collection of private and public photos dating from the late decades of the 19^th century to the 1960s in order to create exhibitions and a freely accessible internet archive. More than 1,000 photos were donated by about 1,000 local residents within a few months. The article investigated how “the evocativeness of a community’s past can create a sense of belonging to the community, and that the very sense of community is negotiated and re-shaped.”

You can read this 2014 article in Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology here.

Fellowships for journalism innovation

Journalists (including freelancers) from any part of the world – working in any media – addressing any topic – are invited to apply for the Nieman-Berkman Klein Fellowship in Journalism Innovation. The $60,000 award brings individuals to Harvard University to work on a specific course of research or a specific project relating to journalism innovation. Some past Fellows have addressed agriculture-related topics.

Application deadlines are near. Interested persons can get details here.

News as history

We close this issue of ACDC News with a broadening perspective from journalist/historian Diane Fannon-Langton.

“Newspapers have always been viewed as the purveyors of current events, disposable after each day’s read. To me, they are the record of history, more detailed than any encyclopedia or history book.”

This thought speaks to the breadth of our interest in the communications aspects of agriculture. In ACDC we value and gather popular and professional materials as well as scholarly literature. That’s because all reveal what becomes the history of human interactions across the great breadth of food, natural resources, energy, and other dimensions of agriculture.

Best wishes and good searching

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valuable collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu

ACDC News – Issue 17-10

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Elizabeth Ray

At the complex intersection of meatpacking, immigration, and fake news

We recently added to the ACDC collection an interview with journalist Ted Genoways, co-producer of a May 2017 news article about a foiled terror plot last October to bomb an apartment complex in Garden City, Kansas. The complex was home to Somali and other refugees who were working at a nearby meatpacking plant. His responses during the interview included these thoughts about the rise of fake news:

“It’s a strange environment to report in. … more than ever, it’s important to distinguish real reporting from opinion or speculation or even things that are intentionally misleading, so that we know that what we’re reading is based on reality.

“As a reporter, that means there’s an even higher bar now for establishing what’s factual. … Especially online, there is a growing body of people who are happy to contest observable facts. What a strange thing to argue with someone, not over policy goals or opinion, but over the basic facts that in many cases the reporters have established by witnessing themselves.”

You can read the interview here. You can read his “Terror in the heartland” story here. We added them from the Fern newsletter of the Food and Environment Reporting Network, which is an independent investigative non-profit organization.

The longest-running U.S. daily farm and home television program

Congratulations to Lyn Jarvis, honored recently with the Robert O. Sinclair Cup from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and University of Vermont Extension Service. He and associates at the University of Vermont have sustained a farm and home television program that has extended for 62 years. Lyn produced, directed, recruited talent, and constructed sets for 27 of those years (more than 7,000 “Across the Fence” shows) on WCAX-TV, Burlington. Here are several keys for sustained success, as described in his recognition:

His programming balanced the interests of viewers with in-depth, research-based information
Program information ranged broadly across agriculture, 4-H, consumer issues, and a host of other topics
As a “media mentor,” he helped guests feel comfortable before the camera
He coached his colleagues on how to make effective use of television

You can learn more about “Across the Fence” here.

Eight new research reports in JAC

The second 2017 issue of the Journal of Applied Communications (JAC) includes these articles:

“Marketing and more: An in-depth look at relationship marketing with new media in the green industry” by Scott Stebner, Lauri M. Baker, Hikaru Hanawa Peterson, and Cheryl R. Boyer
“Using critical thinking styles to inform food safety behavior communication campaigns” by Arthur Leal, Joy N. Rumble, and Alexa J. Lamm
“An examination of student development theory in the context of writing instruction” by Holli R. Leggette, Holly Jarvis Whitaker, and Matt Miranda
“Communicating about undocumented immigration issues: Is your target audience bilingual?” by Shuyang Qu, Alexa J. Lamm, and Joy N. Rumble
“The potential return on investment of the recruitment strategies for an academic unit focused on agricultural sciences” by J. Tanner Robertson, Taylor Hurst, Kevin Williams, and Lance Kieth
“What’s in a name? The influence of persuasive communication on Florida consumers’ attitude toward genetically modified food” by Taylor K. Ruth and Joy N. Rumble
“Public knowledge and trust of agricultural and natural resources organizations” by Quisto Settle, Joy N. Rumble, Keelee McCarty, and Taylor K. Ruth

JAC, a peer-reviewed journal, is published by the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE). You can read these new articles here.

Communications: A key in mapping out Australia’s food future

Thanks to Neil Inall for alerting us to the new “Food and Agribusiness Roadmap” for Australia. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) announced it July 17, charting a course for products, technology, and innovation in this sector.

Effective communications are integral to all five “key enablers” for the Roadmap:

Traceability and provenance
Food safety and biosecurity
Market intelligence and access
Collaboration and knowledge sharing
Broad-ranging skills of employees

You can read the announcement here.

People of the land as heroes in environmental conflict

Four farmers and indigenous leaders are among six recipients of the 2017 Goldman Environmental Prize. This annual award from the Goldman Environmental Foundation “honors grassroots environmental heroes” from all parts of the world.

Uroš Macerl, “an organic farmer from Slovenia, successfully stopped a cement kiln from co-incinerating petcoke with hazardous industrial waste by rallying legal support…”
Prafulla Samantara of India “led a historic 12-year legal battle that affirmed the indigenous Dongria Kondh’s land rights and protected the Niyamgiri Hills from a massive, open-pit aluminum ore mine.”
Rodrigo Tort, “an indigenous leader in Guatemala’s Agua Caliente, led his community to a landmark court decision that ordered the government to issue land titles to the Q’eqchi people…”
Wendy Bowman, of Australia, “stopped a powerful multinational mining company from taking her family farm and protected her community in Hunter Valley from further pollution.”

You can read more about the award and the efforts of recipients here.

Welcome to the ACDC crew

It is a pleasure to welcome Hailley Shaw as a new graduate assistant in the Center. She joined the staff this summer and already has helped expand the Contributed Collections section of the ACDC website. Also, following reviews of documents, she has added nearly 150 citations to the online database.

Hailley is a 2014 graduate of Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and history. She is working on her Master of Library and Information Science degree here at the University of Illinois, focusing on rare books and special collections. Her previous library experience includes customer service at the Champaign Public Library, Center for Children’s Books, and Urbana Theological Seminary Library. Also, she has worked on organization and schedule coordination for several University of Illinois professors.

Communicator activities approaching

October 20, 2017
Deadline for submitting professional development proposals and posters to be presented at the Agricultural Communications Section of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists in Jacksonville, Florida, February 4-5, 2018.
Information about professional development proposals: Lauri Baker at lmbaker@ksu.edu
Information about posters: Quisto Settle at quisto.sett.e@gmail.com

October 26-30, 2017
World Conference of Science Journalists, San Francisco, California USA.
Information: http://wcsj2017.org/

November 8-10, 2017
“Focus influence.” Annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB), Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: https://nafb.com/events/nafb-convention

When nature talks

We close this issue of ACDC News with a challenge for those of us who would communicate about nature and the environment. It is from Linda Hogan, quoted in the Book of Green Quotations:

“There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story.”

Best wishes and good searching

ACDC News – Issue 17-09

Posted on September 6, 2017 by Elizabeth Ray

Photovoice – showcasing sustainability across cultures and languages

A participatory action tool termed “photovoice” is showing promise in communications about public health, development, and science. We recently added to the ACDC collection a case study about how photovoice operated in an agri-environmental study abroad course for U.S. students. They took photographs in a rural mountain community in Costa Rica. Their photographs offered structure for feedback from local residents at a special community event, with all using the photos to help interact across cultures and languages.

Researchers observed that the photovoice process helped both students and residents:

It allowed for multiple perspectives about complex factors in environmental sustainability (e.g., migrant workers, evolving land conditions, and branding).
It connected students to place through interaction with people of the community (e.g., importance and value of local knowledge, leadership, and action).
It inspired a cross-cultural dialogue that broadened awareness among all and clarified interpretations (e.g., concepts such as fair trade and social welfare).

You can read the full journal article here.

An appealing trap for agricultural journalists

It’s easy for the agricultural journalist to fall into the idea that “we’re cheerleaders for agriculture,” award-winning agricultural journalist Charles Johnson wrote recently. “We’re not. We are journalists covering agriculture.” His article, “The Privilege of Ag Journalism,” appeared in a recent issue of The ByLine, published by AAEA The Agricultural Communicators Network. We added it recently to the ACDC collection.

You can read more of his thoughts and suggestions here.

Web 2.0 and social media: stories of life-changing encounters for many

Twenty-five stories offered interesting reading in a recent booklet from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA). It featured 25 impact assessment studies about use of ICTs to advance food security and nutrition across the developing world. Here are a few examples:

Story 6 – Blogging for farmers (Uganda)
Story 13 – ICTs pay off for farmers and telecenters (Rwanda)
Story 18 – New skills open doors for agricultural journalist (Burkina Faso)

You can read these and other success stories here.

Reducing “the footprint of old work stuff in my home”

Thanks to veteran agricultural journalist John Byrnes for helping preserve U.S. agricultural periodicals for future research and practice. During April he contributed five bound volumes to the University of Illinois Library. They include three years (1981, 1986, and 1987) of Hog Extra, the 1992 issues of Hogs Today, and the 1989 issues of Dairy Today. They enhance a remarkable University Library collection of agricultural periodicals, dating into the early 1800s. The ACDC staff was pleased to help coordinate arrangements.

John is a retired outreach program leader with University of Minnesota Extension. Previously, he worked with Farm Journal Media and The Miller Publishing Company.

Consumer attitudes about eating organic products

Health emerged as the most important influence in a recent study in Iran of consumer attitudes about eating organic products. For example, it carried more influence than income, age, taste, environmental concerns, knowledge of organic products, or concerns about industrial agriculture.

Researchers found that four factors accounted for nearly one-third of variability in attitudes among the sampled consumers in Tehran:

Health awareness
Knowledge of organic products
Consumers’ motivations
Age

You can read the Journal of Agricultural and Food Information article here.

How European farmers view flower strips

A recent review of literature examined the pros and cons of flower strips, from a European farmer’s point of view. Encouraged by the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, these strips involve sowing a mixture of forb species, with or without grass species. Researchers noted that strips are intended to enhance farmland biodiversity by providing food and shelter for insects and animals, and provide a place for wild plants to grow and reproduce. They can help crops by delivering pollination and pest control.

Most of the 31 selected studies indicated positive effects of flower strips, from a farmer’s point of view. However, authors noted need for more research involving economics and social recognition as factors in farmers’ consideration of this agri-environmental practice.

You can read the 2016 journal article here.

Communicator activities approaching

September 28-30, 2017
Joint conference of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation (CFWF) and Association des communicateurs et rédacteurs de l’agroalimentaire (ACRA) in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Information: http://www.cfwf17.ca and http://www.acra17.ca

September 29, 2017
Deadline for submitting research papers to be presented at the Agricultural Communications Section of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists in Jacksonville, Florida, February 4-5, 2018. Information: Abigail Borron at aborron@uga.edu

October 4-8, 2017
“Rivers of change.” Annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA.
Information: http://www.sej.org/initiatives/sej-annual-conferences/AC2017-main

October 26-30, 2017
World Conference of Science Journalists, San Francisco, California USA.
Information: http://wcsj2017.org/

November 8-10, 2017
“Focus influence.” Annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB), Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: https://nafb.com/events/nafb-convention

Balm for the compulsive antique collector

We close this issue with a thought that may ease your conscience if you have a habit of collecting antique equipment and parts that interest you. It comes from Aldo Leopold, quoted in the Book of Green Quotations:

“To save every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.”

Best wishes and good searching

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valuable collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu

ACDC News – Issue 17-08

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Elizabeth Ray

Highlighting “the yearly death of ag data”

Writing in Precision Ag, Nathan Faleide observed recently, “When you look at all the data that has been somewhat carelessly created by the various machines and controllers out there, it made me think that most of it is wasted and never used for anything.” He called for:

Greater effort in using the data
Better education about what can be done with data and what the real benefit is

He noted the challenge of data privacy.

You can read his May 2 commentary here.

How Midwest corn farmers are adapting (or not) to climate change

Results of a survey among nearly 5,000 corn farmers across 21 Midwestern watersheds suggest that they are relying primarily on new technologies, crop insurance, and in-field conservation practices to manage their risks from weather and climate. These findings were reported in a 2017 article in Climate Risk Management.

Authors found the results consistent with general arguments that the U.S. crop insurance program may effectively subsidize inaction on the part of farmers.

“U.S. farmers are not implementing longer-term modifications to farming that may be required depending on the severity of future climate change impacts.”

You can read the article here.

Digital dividends in global development?

“World Development Report 2016” from the World Bank Group addresses that topic in a 369-page research document we have added to the ACDC collection. The analysis tracks rapid spread of digital technologies, globally, and examines the benefits from them.

“Yet their aggregate impact has fallen short and is unevenly distributed. For digital technologies to benefit everyone everywhere requires closing the remaining digital divide, especially in internet access. But greater digital adoption will not be enough.”

The report identifies challenges that countries face in strengthening what it calls the “analog foundation” of the digital revolution.

You can review the report here.

“In Australia it’s not scarcity, it’s a drought!”

Thanks to Australian rural communicator Neil Inall for his response to our recent ACDC News item describing the recent book, The Communication Scarcity in Agriculture.” Dr. Inall is known throughout Australia as a stimulating rural broadcaster (e.g., “Countrywide” on ABC Television) and respected consultant, commentator, and organization leader.

You may recall that the book authors referred to “communication scarcity” in terms of what information gets shared (or doesn’t get shared) among key stakeholders in food and agriculture — consumers, policymakers, researchers, agribusiness, farmers, and others. That complex task challenges every community, region, and nation. It calls for skilled, wise communicators.

Wineries seeking “green” marketing benefits through new communications tools

Results of recent research in Italy suggest that orientation to sustainability is “taking a central and crucial role in the operational and strategic choices of wineries.” Marketing innovations and communications tools are playing a key role. Researchers surveyed 204 wineries in the Apulia region of southern Italy. They found positive correlation between a “green” orientation of the wineries and their use of innovative marketing tools such as QR codes, websites, newsletters, wine clubs, and training courses.

Full text of this article, “Understanding the relationship between green approach and marketing innovation tools in the wine sector,” is available here.

Livestock disease – a sensitive subject for producers

Evidence of sensitivity was apparent in results of recent research involving a disease control program in the United Kingdom. A 2016 article in PLoS ONE reported on farmer attitudes and activities associated with two Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) control schemes.

Findings suggested that group helping and information sharing among participating farmers was low in both control schemes. However, peer to peer monitoring in the form of gossip regarding animal disease was high.” BVD status remained a sensitive subject.

You can read the journal article, “Farmer attitudes and livestock disease,” here.

Communicator activities approaching

October 26-30, 2017
World Conference of Science Journalists, San Francisco, California USA.
Information: http://wcsj2017.org/

November 8-10, 2017
“Focus influence.” Annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB), Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: https://nafb.com/events/nafb-convention

Impatient with lagging innovation?

We close this issue of ACDC News with a thought from William James:

“Habit is the enormous fly-wheel of society, its most precious conservation agent. … There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision.”

Best wishes and good searching

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valuable collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu

ACDC News – Issue 17-07

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Elizabeth Ray

Transforming the world with big ideas

Results of a 2016 poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation highlight potentials of a growing sector called social entrepreneurship. It fosters innovation and sustainable business ideas to “solve the world’s most pressing social problems.” Findings suggest it is “disrupting the traditional status quo” and helping women “smash through the glass ceiling as never before.”

Entrepreneurs in this sector seek success not only in financial returns, but also in social impact – improving the lives of the underserved and marginalized communities. Examples cited in Monique Villa’s description involved micro-lending enterprises and marketing products such as solar lamps and smokeless stoves. Nearly 70 percent of the experts polled across the world’s 44 biggest economics said women are well represented in management roles within this fast-growing industry.

Findings suggest strong and growing opportunities for effective rural marketing communications in this arena. You can learn more about the report here.

“Let’s go gender blind”

Honored agricultural journalist Pamela Smith offered that advice recently in the ByLine newsletter of the American Agricultural Editors’ Association. Approaching her 40^th anniversary as a journalist specializing in agricultural topics, she knows the trail of gender challenges in this field.

“No, it hasn’t always been issue,” she explained in her article, “and yes, stereotypical notions still exist. If experience has taught me anything it is that sometimes struggle is an incentive to work harder, even if it is difficult to understand or unfair.”

You can read the article by this crops technology editor of DTN/The Progressive Farmer here.

Student-produced animated video for rural development

Thanks to Chris McGillion, senior lecturer in journalism, for alerting us to an innovative service learning experience for students at Charles Sturt University in Australia. Students in the Animation and Visual Effects degree program produced an animated video for a government-funded agricultural development program in Timor-Leste. It featured Extension-recommended practices for growing maize. A report of the project and responses from rural community showings was published in the April issue of Science Communication and the final cut can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/109073628.

You can view an abstract of the journal article here.

“An abomination.” Call for help in serving the news needs of smaller communities

What’s happening in smaller communities is being overlooked in discussions about the state of Canadian news media. That message came recently from a panel discussion at the Ryerson School of Journalism, Toronto. Lack of resources for community-based newsrooms “is an abomination,” said Robert Washburn, professor of journalism at Loyalist College. “The expectations are ridiculous. There’s lack of staff, there’s poor wages, there’s unpaid overtime. Little or no training and the use of personal equipment. It goes on and on.” He called for neighborhoods, hamlets, villages, towns and small cities to be involved in future discussions about media policies in Canada.

Panelist Gretchen King, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa, has experience with volunteer-driven, collaborative community media. “…people need to acknowledge that volunteer-driven urban and rural media have very different concerns and will not benefit from blanket solutions to the challenges faced by news media in general.”

You can read the article here.

How global open data can benefit agriculture and nutrition

The February issue of ICT Update featured progress made to use open data for
“better access to accurate, timely information… to shape a more sustainable agriculture future.” The issue reported on topics addressed during the third international workshop of Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN). It took place during February in The Hague, The Netherlands.

These are some of the aspects covered:

Impact of open data on smallholder farmers
Boosting data innovations and entrepreneurship
Translating complex data into accessible articles
Gender and open data: is there an app for that?
Healthy choices
Storytelling through data visualization

You can read the issue here.

A gap: food information sources considered reliable aren’t those used most

A recent study among young Polish consumers (ages 16-24) revealed a gap between sources they considered reliable and those they actually used. Respondents said they considered nutrition consultants, physicians, and pharmacists among the most reliable sources of food information. However, most often they relied on recommendations from family members, labels, and acquaintances. Authors of this 2016 article in the British Food Journal called for further educational activities aimed at young consumers.

You can review the publisher’s abstract and purchase details here. You can also check with us for help in gaining full-text access.

Communicator activities approaching

July 22-26, 2017
“Summit on the summit.” Agricultural Media Summit near Salt Lake City, Utah. Joint meeting of the American Agricultural Editors’ Association, Livestock Publications Council, and the Connectiv Agri-Media Committee. Also site of the national meeting of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow.
Information: http://agmediasummit.com/

September 9-15, 2017
International conference of the Australasia-Pacific Extension Network, jointly with the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services, in the Hinchinbrook and Townsville Regions of north Queensland, Australia. Information: http://www.gfrasapenint2017.com/home.html

September 11-14, 2017
Annual meeting of the Communication Officers of State Departments of Agriculture (COSDA), in New Orleans, Louisiana USA. Information: http://www.nasda.org/About/affiliates/cosda/COSDA2017.aspx
September 13-15, 2017
Annual conference of the Association of Food Journalists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA.
Information: https://www.afjonline.com

October 26-30, 2017
World Conference of Science Journalists, San Francisco, California USA.
Information: http://wcsj2017.org/

November 8-10, 2017
“Focus influence.” Annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB), Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: https://nafb.com/events/nafb-convention

Great fun in spinning a rope

We close this issue of ACDC News with a Will Rogers perspective from his performance days. It’s one to which agricultural journalists and communicators can relate as they help others address risks and conflicts:

“Spinnin’ a rope is fun, if your neck ain’t in it.”

Best wishes and good searching

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valuable collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu