Ferraz de Oliveira Nicholas

Creative ag science communicator honored

Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam recently received the 2014 Borlaug CAST Communication Award. At the University of California-Davis she is an extension specialist in animal genomics and biotechnology. She “works tirelessly and creatively to relay important information about agriculture and food production,” according to the citation report. Her efforts reveal an “outstanding ability to communicate complicated and sometimes controversial scientific issues to the general public.”

You can learn more about Dr. Van Eenennaam’s communications efforts at: http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/animalbiotech/index.htm .

That site provides links to:

• “The potential impacts of mandatory labeling for genetically engineered food in the United States,” CAST Issue Paper Number 54 (April 2014). She chaired the task force that developed it.
• A 30-minute documentary, “Animal Biotechnology,” which she produced.

Also, you can view an award-winning five-minute video she wrote and directed, “Those Were the Days My Friend,” at: http://dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=14060 . It shows animal agriculture in the United States, then and now.

Thanks to Scott Kilman for alerting us to this recognition.

How blogs boost attention to research papers

“Blogging about a paper causes a large increase in the number of abstract views and downloads in the same month,” David McKenzie and Berk Ozler said recently on the World Bank website. Their report is based on download statistics from Research Papers in Economics.

“These increases are massive compared to the typical abstract views and downloads these papers get,” said the authors.

You can see graphic evidence at: http://blogs.worldbank.org/impactevaluations/the-impact-of-economic-blogs-part-i-dissemination-aka-check-out-these-cool-graphs?cid=EXT_TwitterWBPubs_P_EXT

Three emerging platforms for digital photography about nature

Here are three emerging platforms for photography that Daniel Palmer identified in a chapter of Environmental Conflict and the Media (2013). He suggested that all three can help “turn ordinary citizens into producers and participants of public imagery around the environment, rather than mere consumers.”

• Photovoice ( www.photovoice.org ) is being used in community development and contemporary social resource with participants taking photographs in response to particular issues.
• Camera phones and sharing sites engage citizens with the environment. “Accompanying these developments is so-called ‘participatory sensing,’ which uses embedded devices like the smartphone to capture data about oneself and one’s community…” For example, a mobile phone’s geo-tagging camera helps people work together for targeting the location of invasive plant species.
• Grassroots mapping . For example, after the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, mappers used DIY tools for sending inexpensive digital cameras up in helium balloons and kites. “By setting the camera to automatically take pictures every five seconds, they were able to generate aerial photos…to document the effects of the spill.”

Check with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu if you would like help in gaining access to this case study in Palmer’s book.

New review of BBC rural coverage in the United Kingdom

We are adding to the ACDC collection a 2014 report of an impartial review of coverage of rural areas in the UK. This was the sixth review carried out by the BBC Trust. Here are some of the findings with regard to the television, radio and online services of BBC:

• On the whole, the BBC coverage of rural affairs includes a wide range of voices and opinions
• Coverage of controversial stories is generally impartial.
• There is no evidence of party political bias.
• In England particularly, rural stories and rural lives could be more fully represented in nationwide coverage.
• BBC relies disproportionately on a small number of external bodies for input and comment.
• A tendency to focus on environmental aspects of rural UK should be balanced by the economic and social dimensions.

You can read the summary and gain access to further details at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/news/press_releases/2014/rural_affairs.html

Caution about teaching our own environmental values

Teaching environmental values to youth should not mean teaching our own values, says Michigan State University Extension Specialist Nick Baumgart. Instead, it should encourage young people to develop their own environmental values.

“Imparting your own values creates a danger that youth are being ‘brainwashed’.” The author of this article says it is important to ask questions that are intriguing and thought provoking, and to give answers that are non-biased. “In so doing, we as environmental educators give value to what we do and increase environmental literacy to those who will be the future caretakers of our world.”

You can read this article at: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/values_as_part_of_environmental_education

How can you have a profitable community newspaper with a circulation of 312?

Kevin Slimp of Software Review recently asked that question of a publisher whose wife and he own six small newspapers (all profitable) in rural Nebraska.

“Well, people ask me that question a lot,” publisher Rob Dump replied, “and I look at it this way. We’re able to pay our staff and to make a little profit. And it’s good for a community to have its own newspaper.”

Author Slimp thinks these three qualities exist in most successful newspapers these days:

• Focus on local content, produced locally
• Support and training for staff
• A quality sales staff that understands the role and benefits of newspaper advertising

You can read his commentary, “What it takes to be successful,” at: http://nnaweb.org/artic.e?articleTitle=what-it-takes-to-be-successful–1399409022–822–pub-aux-stories

The lukewarm editor

On that note, we close with a sample of poetry used sometimes a century ago to fire up country journalists and get them to speak out. This poem in the National Printer-Journalist of 1904 was written by a Wisconsin editor, O. Byron Copper.

International communicator activity approaching

April 27-May 1, 2015

Annual conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) in Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Information: http://www.aiaee.org/index.php/upcoming

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 (we are more active now, so now is a great time to follow if you weren’t already!). And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique 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

Marketing – only a commercial activity? Time to rethink it.

Nonprofit and social marketing represent the most complex and difficult contexts in which marketing activities are carried out. Commercial application – selling products and services – is only one simplified variety. The relationship has been upside down. So argued Alan Andreasen in a Journal of Public Policy and Marketing article we have added to the ACDC collection.

This topic holds special interest for those involved in extension/advisory services, teaching and research institutions, non-governmental organizations, public agencies, and other non-commercial settings. The author suggested a new taxonomy for categorizing behavioral objectives in a way that serves all settings.

You can read an executive summary of the article at the following link. Check with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu for further assistance. http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Pages/AMA%20Publications/AMA%20Journals/Journal%20of%20Public%20Policy%20Marketing/TOCS/SUM_2012.1/rethinking_social_nonprofit_marketing.aspx

Singing for rural women

“Until she stopped writing music in 1972, [Loretta] Lynn was one of country music’s most ardent feminist voices,” Danny Shipka wrote in an article we added recently to the ACDC collection. It appeared in the Online Journal of Rural Research and Policy .

“Discussing such topics as war, alcoholism, marriage, sexuality, and the sexual revolution, Lynn wrote from the perspective of common rural women and the issues they faced in the volatile 1960s. Never one to shy away from a controversial subject, she translated the complexity of the changing social landscape into simple, honest, easy-to-understand lyrics that gave rural women around the country an emancipated strong voice in the public sphere.”

You can read this textual analysis of the 94 songs she wrote and co-wrote between 1960 and 1972: http://www.oalib.com/paper/2663141#.U-_Av2PgW5I

What’s new in development (from three decades ago)?

In 1982, political scientists O. P. Dwivedi and J. Nef described two decades of failure by development administration to solve problems of the Third World. They noted shortcomings of emphasis on modernization through transfer of technology. Looking forward, they suggested that the Third Development Decade must change its focus and strategy to include key goals such as:

• Self-reliance
• Human needs (food, habitat, health and education)
• Social justice
• Removal of poverty

Today, what might we add, delete, or refine in relation to these goals for strengthening approaches to economic and social development? Send your thoughts, suggestions or literature referrals to us at docctr@library.illinois.edu .

You can review an abstract of the journal article at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pad.4230020106/abstract

Internet use and public views of genomics and vaccination in livestock production

Two national surveys among consumers in Canada revealed evidence that internet use tends to increase social concerns about use of genomics and vaccination in production of beef and pork. Researchers A. H. Matin and E. Goddard reported their findings at a 2014 conference in Montreal.

“Canadian consumers’ attitudes towards animals and the use of genomics and/or vaccination can be impacted by frequent use of the internet as a source of information,” the authors reported.

You can read the conference paper at: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/168758 .

Advice to agricultural journalists

We recently added to the ACDC collection an interview with British science writer Mark Lynas after his presentation at a farm industry conference last year. He expressed this advice to agricultural journalists:

“One of the things that strikes me most of all is how broad the communications gap is between what farming is really about and what people think farming is about. And that’s one of the reasons why people fall into this chasm and end up being paranoid and fearful about the way their food is produced. I think agricultural journalists need to be better informed about agriculture when they write for the mainstream audience. So those involved in the technical farming press are those who also need to be writing for the mainstream audience.”

You can read more from this Q-A interview with Better Farming field editor Mary Baxter at: http://j-source.ca/article/what-happens-when-journalists-become-story-qa-science-writer-mark-lynas

Big rural-urban gap in home computers and internet use in China

The gap was apparent in a study reported by Qingbin Wang and Minghao Li in a 2012 issue of First Monday journal. Using United Nations data, they calculated the number of computers per 100 urban and rural households between 1999 and 2007.

• Computers in urban households grew from about 6 percent in 1999 to nearly 55 percent in 2007.
• Computers in rural households grew from less than 1 percent in 2000 to about 3 percent in 2007.

You can read the article at firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3767/3144

Science – more than a catalog of facts to be memorized

A bright green truck, “The Think Tank,” is helping put a new face on science for promising high school students with under-represented backgrounds. Tyler Alterman and Daniel Casasanto of the University of Chicago co-founded this project. The “Think Tank” visits local Chicago schools to address “a disconnect between how science is presented in schools and how it’s practiced.” It engages students in the nuts-and-bolts of neuroscience – how the mind works – and fosters curiosity for research.

Coordinators also plan to take the “Think Tank” to festivals, museums and large public events “to get the general public excited about our current understanding of the brain.”

You can read a report of this new education project in the May-June issue of the University of Chicago Magazine at: http://mag.uchicago.edu/science-medicine/vehicle-change

ACDC collection passes the 40,000 mark

It is a special pleasure to report that the ACDC collection now includes more than 40,000 documents. We passed that landmark recently. And with our new BibLeaves online search system in place, users around the world can identify it more easily than ever.

We continue to be surprised and impressed by the amount and variety of research, news, and perspectives being generated about the communications aspects of agriculture, broadly defined. And we hope you are finding value in our efforts to identify, gather and provide this information – today and during the decades ahead.

Communicator activities approaching

How’s that again?

We close this issue of ACDC News with a communicator’s conundrum that first came to our attention in a 1973 issue of Advertising Age . It applies well beyond agriculture, yet –even today – probably sounds a familiar ring for agricultural communicators, among others.

“I know

you believe

you understand

what you think

I said.

But I’m not sure

you realize

that what you heard

is not what I meant.”

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 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

Social and mobile media – straining communicators at nonprofits

A recent report about how much time mobile and social media require highlights a gap between workloads and staffing in nonprofit organizations. A recent book, Mobile for Good: A How-to Fundraising Guide for Nonprofits , from Nonprofit Tech for Good includes a revealing estimate. It reports that 40 hours a week are needed to carry out a 13-part mobile and social media program – not counting email and website communications. At the same time, less than 2 percent of the nonprofits were reported to invest more than 21 hours a week.

“This is an unsustainable approach to mobile and social media that puts a great strain on many communications and development staff.”

You can read the excerpt at http://www.nptechforgood.com/2014/05/18/how-much-time-mobile-and-social-media-require

Lively ways to feature the lives and stories of farmer “superheroes”

Thanks to ACDC Associate Katie Abrams for alerting us to a recent report from Foodtank.com. It highlights ways in which agricultural themes and messages are woven into popular reality shows, song lyrics, radio broadcasts, and comic books. Among the examples cited:

• Farm-themed television shows such as “First Time Farmers,” a series in the United Kingdom chronicling youth who are trying their hand at the family business.
• In Vietnam, a radio soap opera series – “Hanh Trinh Xanh” (The Green Journey) – chronicles four families in different regions of the country as they adapt their agricultural practices to climate change.
• In Japan, a popular Silver Spoon comic book series takes place at an agricultural high school in Hokkaido and features a cast of farmers who make sake and explore the culinary world.
• DJ Cavem is teaching kids how to grow greens through hip hop music. He has produced three international albums inspiring kids to be “gardeners not gangstas.”

You can read this article, “Agricultural reality stars,” at: http://foodtank.com/news/2014/08/agricultural-reality-stars

How accurate are crop storage forecasts by USDA and private analysts?

Not very accurate, according to an agricultural economics report presented during July. Researchers evaluated the bias and efficiency of forecasts of ending stocks for corn, soybeans, and wheat, as issued by the USDA and private analysts. Econometric analysis confirmed lack of bias in the forecasts. However, the forecasts of both providers were found inefficient.

Overall, accuracy of forecasts by both providers was highest for wheat and lowest for soybeans.

You can read the research paper at: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/170642

Creating mobile content for rural Africans

Recently we added to the ACDC collection a Reuters Institute Fellowship Paper by Jamilah Tangaza, “Challenges and obstacles of creating mobile content for audiences in rural Africa.” The author concluded that medium- and long-term opportunities for international news organizations depend on factors such as:

• Whether audiences will find sufficient value in the content to pay for it.
• Whether (and how quickly) the traditional culture of editorial production in news organizations will adopt new models suitable to mobile devices.
• Whether news organizations will design and develop low-end mobile apps, which are mainly used in rural African markets.
• Whether they are able to develop a more collaborative relationship with carriers.
• Whether there is sufficient bandwidth to support the delivery of customized multidimensional, multimedia news and information on demand.

You can read the report at: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Challenges%20and%20Obstacles%20of%20Creating%20Mobile%20Content%20for%20Audiences%20in%20Rural%20Africa%20a%20Case%20Study%20of%20the%20BBC%20Hausa%20Village%20Road%20Show.pdf

Popular discourse about nanotechnology is missing the point

An analysis of Twitter discourse about nanotechnology has raised a caution flag for a team of University of Wisconsin researchers. Reporting in Materials Today , they noted that lay audiences are less concerned than scientists about the risks of nanotechnology, especially in areas such as pollution and health. They also noted that media coverage has framed nanotechnology in a positive light.

Their analysis revealed that on Twitter medicine/health and environment/health/safety were the least-discussed topics involving nanotechnology. Authors concluded that public policy requires some amount of public input and expressed concern if the lay public does not perceive nanotechnology to be risky. They called for more public discussion.

You can read the commentary, “Disconnected discourses,” at: http://www.materialstoday.com/optical-materials/articles/s1369702114000030/

Keeping the language of agriculture simple

We recently became aware of a “plain writing” report card for agencies of the U.S. federal government. A grading effort by the Center for Plain Language shows how well various federal agencies comply with the Plain Writing Act. In this article from the Baltimore Sun you can see that written work from the U. S. Department of Agriculture ranked among the best (A/B) of 20 federal agencies evaluated during 2013.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-fed-plain-language-20131120,0,2927314.story

Here are details from the USDA about how it pursues plain writing in whatever form, print or digital: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=PLAIN_WRITING

Thanks to an associate

We extend our thanks and best wishes to Stephanie Pitts-Noggle, graduate assistant in the Center for more than 2 ½ years. Stephanie served as academic coordinator and webmaster, advancing the mission of ACDC in important ways. She strengthened the website by creating a new site design, adding new kinds of information, new forms of presentation, and improved user interaction. She helped establish a new online search database with web interface, added a Twitter account for users, created online access to an oral history resource, and helped produce the Center e-newsletter. Among other contributions, she also led a comprehensive effort to review all materials in the collection.

We wish Stephanie all the best in her future endeavors.

Communicator activities approaching

Recognizing courage in journalism

We close this issue of ACDC News with applause for Solange Lusiku Nsimire, publisher and editor-in-chief of Le Souverain , an independent newspaper in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is recipient of the 2014 Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation.

“For almost ten years, Lusiku Nsimire has courageously and conscientiously led her team of reporters in challenging local and national powers, revealing corruption and abuse, and giving voice to the often marginalized peoples of South Kivu.”

You can read a report of her efforts at: http://www.iwmf.org/solange-lusiku-nsimire

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 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

Issue 14-09

Just a handful of food brands have high digital IQs

“The $321 billion US packaged food market’s appetite for digital is growing, yet just a handful of brands are truly differentiating themselves when it comes to their digital presence.”

That was the take-away from a new study by digital business intelligence firm L2 ThinkTank. It ranked 80 U.S. packaged food and beverage brands by their:

• use of website and e-commerce (effectiveness of site and e-commerce investments)
• digital marketing (search, display, and email marketing)
• social media (brand presence, community size, and engagement)
• mobile (compatibility and marketing on different devices)

You can see the top-IQ brands, bottom-IQ brands, and other findings of the study in a 2014 news item from FoodNavigator.com at: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/R-D/What-s-your-food-brand-s-digital-IQ

“Local” and “organic” – a jumble of meaning to consumers

Recent research among consumers in Canada and the U.S. helped identify perceptions about the terms “local” and “organic.” An online survey of 2,511 consumers revealed communications challenges and opportunities such as:

• 23% of the total sample incorrectly perceived “local” as having been produced organically (locally).
• 17% perceived “local” as involving no use of synthetic pesticides.
• 20% perceived “local” as involving less pesticide residue on product.
• 21% perceived “local” as involving natural fertilizer used.
• 17% incorrectly associated “organic” with being produced locally.
• Some perceptions of Canadian and U.S. consumers differed substantially, especially with regard to “local.”

“Sadly, ‘local’ and ‘organic’ have had the misfortune of entering our vocabulary as separate concepts and then getting jumbled into one, unclear concept.” Researchers suggested adding education throughout the marketing process to help plant producers clarify and correct terminology for all consumers.

You can read the research report at: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/167903

A new look at farming decisions in Australia

Thanks to Neil Inall for alerting us to a new and comprehensive report of survey research in Australia about how farm managers make decisions that involve land management practices. Published in June 2014, it was commissioned by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences.

Findings explore the motivations of broadacre, dairy, and horticulture managers as they consider changes in land management practices.

• Financial benefits topped the list over environmental benefits and personal motivations.
• However, the study showed the importance of all three motivations suggested promoting all three.
• It also revealed findings such as barriers to adoption of sustainable land management practices, sources of information, importance of local groups and networks, and differences in the influence of various service providers (such as consultants, state government, production groups).

You can read this report at: Drivers of practice change in land management in Australian agriculture. Synthesis report-Stages I, II and III – PDF [2.6 MB]

Focus on new models and structures for news organizations

We recently added to the ACDC collection a 2012 report from Free Press (Florence, Massachusetts) highlighting discussion these days about ways in which news organizations can “focus on their public mission instead of just their stock prices.”

• Nonprofit ownership (501(c)3 model) through philanthropies and other resources emphasizes news media as public trusts that provide crucial public services necessary for a democratic society.
• L3Cs: a low-profit limited liability corporation. “A time-tested, for-profit business that is organized and operated primarily to serve a charitable purpose, with profit a secondary concern.”
• Worker-owned media and cooperatives “may offer a way to provide quality journalism to diverse local communities.”

Please remind us of – or alert us to – agricultural/rural media models that involve these structures or others. Send your information to us at docctr@library.illinois.edu . Thank you.

You can read this report at: http://www.freepress.net/resource/98572/nonprofit-low-profit-and-cooperative-models

The arts – missing link in rural revitalization

A comprehensive review of literature led Julia Anwar McHenry to observe that reconnection with the arts and creativity may be the missing ingredient to the survival in rural and regional Australia. Her article in the journal Rural Society identified functions of art, such as:

• Tourism, income generation and employment opportunities
• Enhancing participation and creativity in public decision making
• Strengthening community capacity
• Strengthening identity and sense of place

You can read the abstract of this article, “A place for the arts in rural revitalization,” at: http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/19/issue/1/article/2683/a-place-for-the-arts-in-rural-revitalisation-and

Please check with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu for help in gaining full-text access.

A related source, “Arts and Humanities in Rural America,” from the U. S. Department of Agriculture is available online at: http://www.nal.usda.gov/ric/ricpubs/artspub.html

“Interest in agri social media continues to grow”

That is the title of a June news report by Peter Hill on the website of the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists. It features a guild member and rural consultant who is helping farmers define their needs and objectives, and educating them in “using these free platforms for infinite rewards.”

“Whether it’s a northern arable farmer wanting to swap notes with his counterpart in the south, a farm shop wanting new customers or a group of farmers who collectively seek industry advice, social media has a role to play.” A cited example involves a #forageaid campaign on Twitter which, since 2013, has connected those who are in need of animal feed and bedding due to extreme weather with those who have a surplus.

You can read the news report, with links to social media resources, at: http://www.gaj.org.uk/news/interest-agri-social-media-continues-grow

Communicator activities approaching

September 3-7, 2014“Risk and resilience.” Annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists in New Orleans, Louisiana USA.Information: http://www.sej.org/initiatives/sej-annual-conferences/AC2014-main

September 4-8, 2014“Innovations from a small island.” Annual IFAJ Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists in Aberdeenshire Angus, Banffshire and Moray, Scotland.Information: http://www.ifaj2014.com/action-packed-days

September 16-17, 2014“Growing to greater heights.” Fall conference of the National Agri-Marketing Association in Chicago, Illinois USA.Information: http://nama.org/fall/index.htm

October 2-5, 2014“Dig deep.” Annual conference of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation on Prince Edward Island, Canada.Information: https://cfwf.wildapricot.org/event-877785

November 12-14, 2014“From our roots our future grows,” celebrating 70 years of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB). Conference in Kansas City, Missouri USA.Information: http://www.nafb.com

Those flashing lights in summer nights

We close this issue of ACDC News with a perspective about “rear-view communications” by what are commonly known as fireflies or lightning bugs. We marvel at those small winged beetles in temperate and tropical regions, flashing their lights as they fly after dark in gardens, fields, woods, and yards. The poem comes from a 1905 issue of Entomology News .

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 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

Social media – a challenge for the agri-food industry

That is the title of a poster presented by three researchers at an international agricultural economics conference during May 2014. M. Kayser, R. Kröger, and L. Theuvsen noted that “Social media is a major challenge for a lot of companies.”

Among the reasons cited:

• The participatory nature of social media requires a certain loss of control; the traditional “gatekeeper” power is reduced.
• In times of high criticism of the agribusiness industry, a social media-oriented strategy is inevitable, and such times require intensive dialogue with the public.
• The possibility to influence opinions is more difficult compared to sender-centric communication.
• High transparency and rapid, open communication become risk factors.

You can see the poster at: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/166101

Open data – helping all?

Michael Gurstein explored that question in a First Monday article that featured not only the benefits of open data, but also the “possible impact on the poor and marginalized.” He pointed to those at risk, such as indigenous peoples, non-English speakers, the very poor, and those living in areas with poor connectivity. Two examples involved upper-income persons and corporations using digitized land records to take ownership of land from poor rural residents in Canada and India.

He suggested an “effective use” approach to open data, ensuring that “opportunities and resources for translating this open data into useful outcomes would be available (and adapted) for the widest possible range of users.”

You can read the article at: http://firstmonday.org/article/view/3316/2764

Violence and harassment facing women in the news media

An international survey during 2013 revealed that nearly two-thirds (65%) of 921 respondents had experienced acts of intimidation, threats, and abuse in their work. This survey was conducted jointly by the International News Safety Institute and the International Women’s Media Foundation. Most respondents were journalists/reporters (82%). Others were editors, producers, photographers, presenters, media support workers, and camera/sound workers. Rural aspects were not identified.

What kinds of acts did they face?

• More than one-fifth said they had experienced physical violence (e.g., pushing, shoving, assault), mostly by strangers, politicians, soldiers, and interviewees.
• 14% said they had experienced sexual violence in their work.
• Nearly half reported being touched in a sexual manner against their will.
• About half of the acts of sexual violence involved co-workers, bosses or supervisors.
• One-fifth said they had experienced digital/online account surveillance, account hacking, phone tapping, or website hacking.

You can read an executive summary of this survey at: http://www.iwmf.org/executive-summary/

New reporting text from ag journ faculty members

Douglas Starr and Deborah Dunsford, respected agricultural journalism and communications faculty members at Texas A&M University, are authors of a new book: Working the story: A guide to reporting and news writing for journalists and public relations professionals .

They have written it as both a teaching and reference book — for beginners and seasoned professionals. The concise, readable 32 chapters range broadly across topics such as writing for various media, covering various subjects and types of events, freelancing, working with the media, writing speeches, planning conferences, providing briefings, handling public relations crises, and finding a job.

Professor Emeritus Starr has had three careers: 20 years as an award-winning reporter, 7 years as a public relations speech ghostwriter, and 39 years as a teacher of journalism and public relations. Senior Lecturer Dunsford has more than 20 years of experience in public relations, media writing, and account service.

You can learn more about it from the publisher: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810889118

A prolonged courtship – decline and bright future for country towns

We recently added to the ACDC collection an article from Rural Society about newspaper coverage of decline in Australian country towns since World War II. Author Louise Prowse analyzed five local newspapers serving country towns in New South Wales from 1945 to 2006.

“By encouraging nostalgia for the past and presenting symptoms of decline as aesthetically pleasing, country towns, despite their lingering yearning for progress, settled down to sentimentally embrace decline,” she concluded.

You can read the introduction to this journal article without charge at:

http://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-2704251891/defining-decline-in-the-newspaper-press-local-responses . Please check with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu for further help in gaining access.

Two-thirds of small-town residents in the U.S. read community newspapers

That finding came from a 2013 Community Newspaper Readership Study conducted by The Reynolds Journalism Institute. 67% of 508 people interviewed read a community newspaper at least once a week. Among other findings:

• Local newspapers continue to be the primary source of information about communities in small towns and cities. 42% selected “newspaper” and “newspaper website” as their primary source of community information.
• The “pass-along” rate was 2.48 friends, colleagues, co-workers or those in the person’s household.
• 82% “strongly” or “somewhat” agreed that they would rather look through newspaper ads than view them on the Internet.
• The Internet has become more influential than ever before in people’s seeking information about automobile purchasing, television/electronics shopping, and employment opportunities.

You can read further information about results at: http://nnaweb.org/resources?articleTitle=two-thirds-of-residents-in-small-towns-and-cities-read-community-newspapers–1391441142–739–resources

Communicator activities approaching

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 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

Before bloggers there were ploggers (print loggers)

Communications researcher Beth Garfrerick made that point in a recent symposium about community media. Who were these ploggers? They were (and are) the community journalism correspondents who wrote (and write) about issues that mirror the lives of average folk.

“Throughout the twentieth century, these correspondents were mostly farm wives who wrote about their communities and recorded everyday happenings. They wrote about births, marriages, deaths, social events, such as bridal showers and church receptions, out-of-town visitors, and travel. These country correspondents played an important role in boosting the morale of readers and the bottom line of weekly publishers.”

You can read this insightful historical review that connects with today’s new interactive media: http://nnaweb.org/pub/doc/garfrerickpaper.pdf

New directions in agricultural communication

That is the title of an informative 78-page report of an international research effort by communicators Claudia and Hans-Heinrich Berghorn. They conducted it on behalf of the regional German Farmers’ Union, Westfaelisch-Lippischer Landwirtschaftberband, based in Muenster. Their goal was to identify benchmarks and best practice examples to help develop new communication strategies for German farmers. Their research took them to Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland, and the U. S., including the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center here at the University of Illinois.

They found that the scope of the challenges facing agricultural communication is even bigger than expected, calling for best practices that provide answers to the question of what agriculture contributes to society beyond providing food. They identified seven strategies for new directions in agricultural communication and five topics for future discussions.

The 2013 report was published in German, with an executive summary in English. You can reach Hans-Heinrich at hans-heinrich.berghorn@wlv.de for details. Or check with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu .

How to innovate in the food industry: ignore competition

“Competition doesn’t exist, really. It’s boring, and it’s very 80s,” a chef told those attending Food Vision 2014 in Cannes. Chocolate chef Dominique Persoone said that collaboration is the most powerful innovation trick in the book.

“Now you have to share with your friends and believe in your own project and your own ideas.”

You can see a FoodNavigator.com summary of his remarks, as well as a five-minute video interview with him, at: http://www.foodnavigator.com/Market-Trends/How-to-innovate-Ignore-competition-it-s-boring-and-very-80s

Photographer focusing on daily lives of female farmers

Marji Guyler-Alaniz visits women as they farm, taking photos of their daily lives. She then tells their stories through the images and a blog, FarmHer.com. This project came to our attention through an article during February by Sarah Baker Hansen in the Omaha World-Herald newspaper.

You can see the article and seven featured photos at: http://www.omaha.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140203/GO/140209967/1181#.UwkBFYV9B2A

“Large positive impact” from investment in agricultural extension

Rural families who took part in the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) program in Uganda during 2004-2007 gained benefits well beyond the program investment. That result was reported in a 2011 article we have added to the ACDC collection from the journal, Agricultural Economics .

• Overall participation was associated with an average increase of 32-63 percent in gross agricultural revenue per adult equivalent.
• Direct participation was associated with an average increase of 37-95 percent; indirect participation with an average increase of 27-55 percent.
• The internal rate of return on expenditures for the program during the period was estimated at 8-49 percent.

NAADS is an innovative public-private extension service, begun in 2001. Authors note that the program generates a range of benefits to participants, beyond economic returns.

A summary of the article is available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1574-0862.2010.00512.x/abstract;jsessionid=00C00C9F80E07C6716FF8A6F5CF7BF90.f04t02

For help in gaining access to the article, check with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu .

Update on farm and rural broadband

The 2013 edition of “Rural broadband at a glance” from the U. S. Department of Agriculture shows that rural households are still less likely to subscribe to the Internet than are urban households. By 2010, only 62 percent of U. S. rural households and farms had home subscriptions to the Internet, compared with 73 percent of urban households.

“Broadband internet connections…are not available as often, nor used as readily by rural households as by urban households,” according to the report. Forty-two percent of online rural households without broadband report that broadband service is not available to them. Twenty-seven percent indicate that it is “too expensive” and 26 percent said “not needed, not interested.”

You can read the report at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1133263/eb-23.pdf

Welcome to a new ACDC associate

We are delighted to welcome Kelsey Berryhill as new graduate assistant in the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center. Kelsey is a candidate for the Master of Science degree in Library and Information Science. She was an honors graduate in anthropology from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and pursued minors in museum studies and global studies during her undergraduate program.

Kelsey brings to the Center a variety of professional experience and skills. For example, she has worked with special collections at the Davenport (Iowa) Public Library, with curation at the John A. Logan Museum (Murphysboro, Illinois) and with digital archiving at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology here at the University of Illinois. You can reach her at berryhi1@illinois.edu .

Preserving history about rural-urban communications

You may be aware that the Agriculture Council of America Foundation recently assumed the assets and selected programs of the National Farm-City Council. In related news, we are delighted to report that the 60-year history of the National Farm-City Council has an enduring home. Those historical materials, dating from the founding in 1955, are being processed into the University of Illinois Archives after arriving recently.

Thanks to Council representatives Hugh Whaley, Gene Hemphill and Holly Fritz for collaborating with Archives and ACDC personnel in making the preservation possible. These materials represent an important, pioneering initiative in promoting rural-urban understanding in the United States. During the years ahead, they will be available as resources for research, teaching, and ideas from a wealth of knowledge about ways to do so.

Get in touch with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu if you would like more information about these materials.

Communicator activities approaching

• July 26-30, 2014
  “Rev it up!” Agricultural Media Summit, joint meeting of the American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA), Livestock Publications Council (LPC) and the Agri-Council of American Business Media in Indianapolis, Indiana. Also features the annual meeting of the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT). Information: http://www.agmediasummit.com
• September 4-8, 2014
  “Innovations from a small island.” Annual IFAJ Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists in Aberdeenshire Angus, Banffshire and Moray, Scotland. Information: http://www.ifaj2014.com/action-packed-days

Simple formula for gathering news

We close this issue of ACDC News with a piece of timeless advice from J. Milam, a country newspaper editor and publisher. It was cited in a 1934 article we reviewed recently in The North American Review :

“Keep listening, and never do more than half the talking.”

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 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

Starving for agriculture coverage

Canadians are starving for agriculture coverage, Marilee Devries reported in the Spring 2014 issue of Ryerson Review of Journalism . “If food is the world’s most essential industry,” she asked, “why have newspapers forsaken the farm?”

“The quality of agriculture reporting in the urban press is like a wheat crop infected with fusarium head blight,” Devries observed. Her article explored trends in agriculture reporting by newspapers in Canada, causes of slippage and results for citizens and the entire country. She concluded:

“Now Canadian journalists must find a way to tell theAg story, because it’s more than nice-to-know information. It’s the story of something the whole country—and the whole world—needs: food.”

You can read this article at: http://www.rrj.ca/m28589

2014 survey of U. S. consumer perceptions of food technology

The 16 ^th edition of this survey by the International Food Information Council is now available. It is based on a survey of 1,000 U. S. adults, weighted on gender, age, race, education, marital status, region, and income. Among the key findings reported:

• Confidence in the safety of the U. S. food supply remains consistently high
• Disease/contamination and handling/prep remain the greatest food safety concerns
• Consumers have a positive view of modern agriculture and believe biotechnology can play a role in improving multiple aspects of sustainability
• Most have heard something about food biotechnology
• The majority still support the current Food and Drug Administration policy for labeling of foods produced through biotechnology
• More consumers this year are aware of biotech foods in the supermarket
• Health and government organizations are the most trusted sources for information on food biotechnology, animal biotechnology, and sustainability
• Millennials and moms differ from the general population on several key factors

You can read an executive summary of the survey report at: http://www.foodinsight.org/foodtechsurvey.aspx

Provide “well-written journalism and accurate facts”—in any medium

Chris Brune, executive director of American Horse Publications, made that point in a recent newsletter commentary we have added to the ACDC collection. A brand can be anything, she emphasized, including a print publication.

“Publishers are the communicators in the equine world. It is your responsibility to provide the horse community with well-written journalism and accurate facts that can be delivered quickly when necessary or with inspiration and beauty for posterity.”

You can read this thoughtful commentary at: http://www.americanhorsepubs.org/communication/newsletter_archive

Click on the October/November 2013 issue and scroll to “Writing for the brand.”

Protest videos fall short of potential

Researcher Catherine Collins found a major gap in narrative when she examined videos on YouTube about managing old-growth timber in the U.S. and Tasmania, Australia.

“Most videos discussed here do little to explain why one’s values and interests should be accepted,” she reported. “Arguments to support one’s position or refute one’s opponent’s claims are seldom presented; the protest videos celebrate or denigrate protest without arguing for the rationale behind their position.” She argued that such videos “must articulate shared values and compelling reasons for cooperation and joint action, and they must offer well-crafted narratives that have coherence and fidelity for the viewers.”

Check with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu if you would like help in gaining access to this case study in the 2013 book, Environmental conflict and the media .

Mobile phone—helping disadvantaged farmers more than those better off

A rural e-service project in India involved special mobile phones carried by young assistants traveling with extension agents in the villages. An assistant used the phone to generate images and audio messaging about the issue or question facing a given farmer, then pass them on to an agricultural scientist for response. Among the findings:

• More than 75 percent of the farmers viewed these services as useful.
• More than 95 percent were using more agricultural advice after they were exposed to innovation.
• The experience of using this mobile phone technology made farmers feel more at ease with new technology.
• The disadvantaged farmers and poorer communities gained more from this ICT-assisted service than those who were better off.

You can read this 2012 research report at: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/126798

View entries for IFAJ Star Prize in Photography

The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists is displaying more than 80 photos entered in the 2014 Star Prize for Photography. These images captured by photographers throughout the world fit into three categories: nature, people, and production. Winning entries will be recognized during the IFAJ Congress in Scotland during September.

You can view the IFAJ Star Prize in Photography entries at: http://www.ifaj.org/contests-awards/photo-contest/2014.html

Farm broadcasters preparing for an anniversary

We enjoyed seeing Tom Brand, Executive Director of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting, and NAFB Historian Mike Adams when they visited the NAFB Archives here on May 20. They are scouting for materials to feature during the 70 ^th Anniversary Celebration of NAFB later this year.

NAFB has an excellent collection of historical materials, which are maintained in the University of Illinois Archives. If you are interested in learning what they include, you can visit the detailed, online finding aid at: http://archives.library.illinois.edu/archon/index.php?p=core/search&subjectid=3155

You can also identify hundreds of these archived documents by using the ACDC online search system at: http://library.illinois.edu/funkaces/acdc . Some years ago we reviewed the NAFB Archives and identified resources that reveal innovations, impact, issues, and other developments in U. S. farm broadcasting.

Communicator activities approaching

• June 19, 2014
  Reception of the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists at the Royal Highland Show near Edinburgh, Scotland. Information: http://www.gaj.org.uk/dates-deadlines
• June 19-21, 2014
  “Gallop n’ Grits.” Seminar of American Horse Publications in Charleston, South Carolina. Information: http://www.americanhorsepubs.org/programs/seminars
• June 24-26, 2014
  25 ^th annual meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) in Madison, Wisconsin. Information: http://www.agrelationscouncil.org
• June 24-27, 2014
  Annual conference of the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) in Portland, Oregon. Information: https://aceweb.org/index.php/en/2014-conference
• July 26-30, 2014
  “Rev it up!” Agricultural Media Summit, joint meeting of the American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA), Livestock Publications Council (LPC) and the Agri-Council of American Business Media in Indianapolis, Indiana. Also features the annual meeting of the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT). Information: http://www.agmediasummit.com
• September 4-8, 2014
  “Innovations from a small island.” Annual IFAJ Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists in Aberdeenshire Angus, Banffshire and Moray, Scotland. Information: http://www.ifaj2014.com/action-packed-days

Breath-taking writing skills

Those of us who teach agricultural journalism and communications pay great attention to helping students improve their writing. We close this issue of ACDC News with an unusual suggestion. It comes from Marilyn Johnson in The Dead Beat , her book featuring “the lost souls, lucky stiffs and perverse pleasures of obituaries.” Noting one especially-engrossing obituary, she observed:

“It’s almost impossible to teach that sort of writing except by pointing students to a stack of clips and telling them, ‘Inhale these’.”

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 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

Stars using music video to promote agriculture

Thanks to Kathy Alison, senior training adviser of Training Resources Group, Inc., for alerting us to a new music video called “Cocoa is Chocolate.” It was produced by the ONE.org foundation as part of a pan-African campaign aimed at African youth to encourage them to work in agriculture. “Their message is simple: agriculture in Africa has the potential to provide food, create jobs, and boost economies, but African leaders need to invest now,” a report on the ONE website explains.

Nineteen performers in the 4:37 video include some of the most popular artists from Africa. They represent the biggest music collaboration in Africa’s history and their video features 11 different languages.

You can view the 4:37 video at: http://www.one.org/us/2014/04/03/video-19-top-african-artists-collaborate-on-cocoa-na-chocolate-for-one

You can learn more about the “Do Agric” campaign at: http://www.one.org/doagric/

How to view erratic adoption and use of decision support systems in farming

Is it due to advanced age of farmers? Lack of computer literacy? Complexity or poor design of such systems? Take another view, suggested Australian researchers Bill Long and Kevin Parton in a paper they presented at the 2013 conference of the Australasia Pacific Extension Network.

More than 50 percent of Australian farmers employ consultants to assist in decision making, the researchers reported. Farm consultants are the main users of Decision Support Systems, and once they understand the main principles they discontinue use. “Developers of DSS should target consultants and users and accept discontinued use of DSS as success,” the authors concluded.

You can read an abstract of “Decision Support Systems (DSS) – Where success is failure of continued use” at: http://www.apen.org.au/conference-2013 > “Conference Program and Abstracts” or check with the lead author at bill@agconsulting.com about access to the full paper.

Building confidence among food buyers

Thanks to John Blue of Truffle Media Networks for alerting us to a SwineCast presentation from a recent conference of the National Institute of Animal Agriculture. This video presentation explained how a regional grocery chain, Heinen’s Fine Foods, works and communicates to instill confidence among customers. Presenter Tom Heinen addressed aspects such as:

• Trends in retail food marketing
• What’s important to customers these days
• How the firm addresses customer questions and concerns

You can view this presentation (24:22) at: http://www.swinecast.com/mr-tom-heinen-consumer-and-food-perceptions-realities-and-steps-towards-instilling-confidence

More evidence of economic payback from public extension

“We find that extension activities, road density and R&D [research and development] spill-ins play an important role in enhancing the benefit of public R&D investment.” That conclusion was reported in 2012 by a team of researchers who used 1980-2004 panel data to estimate the contributions of public research to growth of agricultural productivity in the U.S.

In this analysis, a 10 percent increase in extension activities increased the local internal rate of return, on average, by 1.4 percentage points. That is, in one model a 10 percent increase in extension service raised the local internal rate of return on agricultural R&D from 10.75 percent to 12.15 percent.

You can read the report, which was presented at the International Association of Agricultural Economists triennial conference in Brazil: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/126368 .

The ethics of photographing locals

That is the title of a recent commentary by Christie Long in the website of Why.Dev.org. She identified two concerns that tourists should consider. The concerns extend beyond tourists.

• “Objectifying” local people through photos taken of them in their homes, going about their daily lives. “Consider your intent and whether that is fair on your subject.”
• Privacy and safety of local residents photographed. Taking a photograph, even with the person’s permission, can be dangerous, especially in the context of online posting and sharing of photos. “Hold their privacy and safety in the highest regard.”

The author notes that most international and grassroots organizations that work with local communities, particularly those working with children, have policies and procedures in place to protect their beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation.

You can read this information at: http://www.whydev.org/the-ethics-of-photographing-locals

Please let us know ( docctr@library.illinois.edu ) if you would like for us to help identify some of these policies and procedures for your own use, or within your organization.

Missing link in reporting about climate change

S. Gopikrishna Warrier, regional manager-environment with Panos South Asia, is pointing attention to a gap in the narrative about climate change. “The issue of climate change and global warming are still vague for the uninitiated,” the author explains. “That is still because the reader cannot link between the developments that he experiences in his day-to-day life to something related to a warming world and discussions that experts have in international meetings. … How the macro links the micro and vice versa is mostly lost in the reporting.”

“As a result, the media misses an opportunity to discuss climate change in relation to local issues. In turn, the public and the policy makers miss out on such a discussion.”

You can see two of the author’s recent commentaries about this missing link here:

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/media-needs-a-climate-change/article4623897.ece

http://www.gopi-warrier.blogspot.com/2011/08/missing-link.html

Communicator activities approaching

• May 31-June 3, 2014
  “Strengthening Your Skills in the Steel City.” Annual Institute of Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Information: http://www.communicators.coop/2014Institute.htm
• June 19, 2014
  Reception of the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists at the Royal Highland Show near Edinburgh, Scotland. Information: http://www.gaj.org.uk/dates-deadlines
• June 19-21, 2014
  “Gallop n’ Grits.” Seminar of American Horse Publications in Charleston, South Carolina. Information: http://www.americanhorsepubs.org/programs/seminars
• June 24-26, 2014
  25 ^th annual meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) in Madison, Wisconsin. Information: http://www.agrelationscouncil.org
• June 24-27, 2014
  Annual conference of the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) in Portland, Oregon. Information: https://aceweb.org/index.php/en/2014-conference
• September 4-8, 2014
  “Innovations from a small island.” Annual IFAJ Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists in Aberdeenshire Angus, Banffshire, and Moray, Scotland. Information: http://www.ifaj2014.com/action-packed-days

A caution to those who report living history

We close this issue of ACDC News with Lyla Baradam’s challenge to environmental journalists about the perspectives they take in reporting It’s an African proverb:

“Till the lions have their own historians, tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter.”

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 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 .

Question for environmental journalists: Why not report on the future of food and agriculture?

Chris Clayton, policy editor for DTN/ The Progressive Farmer , raised that question in the Fall 2013 issue of SEJournal , newsletter of the Society of Environmental Journalists. He suggested food and agriculture as a way to connect average Americans to climate change, and to how they will have to adapt to it. “After all,” he said, “most Americans may not visit the polar ice caps, but everyone needs to eat.”

The article identified several possible story angles, sources, and events for reporting on agriculture and climate change. He reminded reporters that they need get out of the office to do so effectively.

You can read the article at: http://www.sej.org/publications/sejournal-fa13/dirt-ag-adaptation

The literature of environmental communication

The International Environmental Communication Association recently published a 68-page bibliography of journal articles related to environmental communications. The publication dates range from 1948 to 2001, with many of the articles published during the 1990s.

You can read this bibliography at: http://theieca.org/bibliographies/literature-environmental-communication

Congratulations at 10 ^th Anniversaries

• Sara Wyant and her associates at Agri-Pulse celebrate their 10 ^th anniversary. They provide timely agricultural and rural policy news and insights through their comprehensive weekly report and online information from Washington, D.C.
• Hugh Maynard and his associates at Qu’anglo Communications and Consulting celebrate their 10 ^th anniversary of full-service communications support for agricultural and rural communities in Quebec and across Canada.
• Chuck and Cindy Zimmerman of ZimmComm New Media celebrate their 10 ^th anniversary of pioneering agricultural communications through innovative uses of blogs, podcasts, and social networking.

Best wishes to all.

Problems in thinking about women and agricultural leadership

A journal article we added recently to the ACDC collection raises questions about tendencies during the past decade to present women as being interested in different spheres of leadership and as having different skills of leadership. The questions arose for author Barbara Pini when she examined the representation of farm women in academic, government, and industry literature on women’s leadership in agriculture and natural resource management.

She observed that by unquestioningly adopting a discourse of difference and uncritically representing it as “truth,” we may find that we:

• ignore the experiences of a great diversity of women in agriculture,
• obscure men who are marginalized within the sector,
• leave unquestioned the conflation of masculinity and leadership,
• reinforce stereotypical assumptions about women, and
• perpetuate the representation of men as leaders as the agricultural norm.

You can read the abstract of this Rural Society journal article, “Sheep, shadows and silly saints,” at: http://rsj.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/13/issue/2/article/1160/sheep-shadows-and-silly-saints

Please check with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu for help in gaining full-text access.

Agricultural images in the public domain

Thanks to Greg Brooks and Donna Abernathy of the Cooperative Communicators Association, for calling attention to photos that may serve the needs of agricultural journalists and communicators. Their alert appeared in a recent issue of the CCA Communiqué newsletter.

This collection is maintained by the Public Health Image Library (PHIL) of the U.S. health protection agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Photos, illustrations, and multi-media files are organized into special interests. For example, the “Environmental Health” section includes images of:

• Food, including safe food preparation
• Fish and fish handling
• Agriculture, gardening, and pesticides in farming
• Safety of workers and children
• Recreation
• Pet care

Other sections range from “Natural Disasters/Pathogens” and “Bioterrorism” to “Everyday Activities.” Most images are in the public domain. You can review the collection at: http://phil.cdc.gov/phil/home.asp

ICTs used most by Extension agents in Oyo State, Nigeria

Radio, television and mobile phones are the information and communication technologies used most by Extension agents to disseminate agricultural information. That report comes from a 2013 article in the International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development .  Researchers recommended greater use of these ICTs, which “are most accessed by all concerned in the study area.”  They also recommended that Extension service providers undergo periodic on-the-job training on the use of ICTs.

You can read the article at: http://www.ijamad.com/vol13no2june2013.htm

Communicator activities approaching

• April 27-May 1, 2014
  Annual conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education in Miami, Florida. Information: https://www.aiaee.org
• May 22-26, 2014
  64 ^th Annual Conference of International Communication Association (ICA) in Seattle, Washington. Information: http://www.icahdq.org/conf/
• May 31-June 3, 2014
  “Strengthening Your Skills in the Steel City.” Annual Institute of Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Information: http://www.communicators.coop/2014Institute.htm
• June 19, 2014
  Reception of the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists at the Royal Highland Show near Edinburgh, Scotland. Information: http://www.gaj.org.uk/dates-deadlines
• June 19-21, 2014
  “Gallop n’ Grits.” Seminar of American Horse Publications in Charleston, South Carolina. Information: http://www.americanhorsepubs.org/programs/seminars
• June 24-26, 2014
  25 ^th annual meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) in Madison, Wisconsin. Information: http://www.agrelationscouncil.org
• June 24-27, 2014
  Annual conference of the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) in Portland, Oregon. Information: https://aceweb.org/index.php/en/2014-conference
• September 4-8, 2014
  “Innovations from a small island.” Annual IFAJ Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists in Aberdeenshire Angus, Banffshire and Moray, Scotland. Information: http://www.ifaj2014.com/action-packed-days

Sharing (beyond today) what you know and do

We close this issue of ACDC News with a headline we saw in a 2013 issue of the Australian Journal of Rural Health :

“A PowerPoint is for a conference, an article is forever.”

That distinction is on our minds each day as we gather information about communications aspects of agriculture. For historical purposes, visuals posted from a PowerPoint presentation are usually only a skeleton of what someone said. So we encourage you to finalize and keep your script during this conference season when you present findings, new techniques and tips for effective communicating. In fact, send it to us at docctr@library.illinois.edu . We will give it a good home. Also, ACDC will provide a valuable platform for sharing your insights with others around the globe and across the decades ahead. Thank you.

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 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 .

Farmers using smartphone self portraits

Thanks to Natalie Bosecker for helping us begin to track a popular new activity, which the Irish Farmers Journal is reported to have kicked off during December. The activity is reflected in headlines of these sample articles, which feature some photos farmers have taken of themselves:

• “Move over, selfies: #Felfies are the hottest trend on the farm” http://mashable.com/2014/01/13/felfies
• “Farmer selfies are way better than anything in your Facebook feed. Just look” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/27/farmer-selfies-felfies_n_4660588.html
• “#Felfies: farmers posting selfies are the cream of the crop on social media” http://www.ibtimes.com/felfie-farmers-posting-selfies-are-cream-crop-social-media-photos-1541830
• “#Felfies: farmer selfies happened, and the internet is the best place” http://www.bustle.com/articles/11382-felfies-farmer-selfies-happed-and-the-internet-is-the-best-place

Eight new research reports from JAC

The final 2013 issue of the Journal of Applied Communications featured eight research articles. Several addressed uses of visuals and video for reporting on topics such as climate change, production agriculture, planting methods, health and nutrition. Others ranged across media portrayals of agriculture, community supported agriculture, and how agri-marketers view corporate social responsibility.

You can read these articles in Issue 4 of Volume 97 at: http://journalofappliedcommunications.org

• “Picturing the underserved audience: Photovoice as method in applied communication research” by Abigail S. Borron.
• “A case study of the crisis communications used in the 2009 salmonella outbreak in peanut products” by Erica Irlbeck, Jessica Fry Jennings, Courtney Meyers, Courtney Gibson, and Todd Chambers.
• “Recruiting and retaining shareholders for community supported agriculture in Texas” by Kelsey Hall, Courtney Meyers, David Doerfert, Cindy Akers, and Phillip Johnson.
• “Using video as a replacement or complement for the traditional lecture/demonstration method in agricultural training in rural Uganda” by Tian Cai, and Eric Abbott.
• “NAMA members’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility” by Lacy M. Muntean, Traci L. Naile and Greer Gill.
• “Perceptions of global and domestic agricultural issues held by international agricultural journalists” by Laura Kubitz, Ricky Telg, Tracy Irani, and Owen Roberts.
• “Agriculture at eleven: Visual rhetoric and news media portrayals of agriculture” by Annie R. Specht and Tracy Rutherford.
• “Planning and evaluating science video programs using communication science” by Joseph Cone and Kirsten Winters.

Estimating the cost of an extension event

In this era of tight budgets and cost recovery, George W. Morse, University of Minnesota, recently developed a useful tool for estimating the cost of developing and delivering an extension event. His Extension Economics Note also explores ways to estimate the cost per person and how this cost changes as the scale of the program increases.

You can retrieve his report at: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/129289

Australian agriculture needs social media activism

[Thanks to Gordon Collie of AGRI-Prose, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, for this summary of a presentation during October at the Australian Lot Feeders Association Beefworks Conference.]

Australian agriculture has been challenged to take to the social media to publicly defend its image. Leading communications consultant, Tim Powell has struck a chord in the rural community with his call for a new brand of rural activism.

Powell, who is president of the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists, suggests a new pro-rural communications lobby might be called EatUP! His word play relates to one of the most visible social campaigning groups in Australia called GetUP!  He makes the point that animal welfare groups enjoy an enormous social media following and raise thousands of dollars in campaign funding through channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

It was time, he said, for the Australian rural sector to develop its own “crowd funding” platform so farmers and city-based supporters could run campaigns promoting agriculture.

You can read a more detailed report of this presentation, “Ag’s social media challenge.” It was written by James Nason and posted on BeefCentral.com, at: http://beefcentral.com/news/article/3849

Unhealthy food messages on cable tv for tweens

That finding appeared in a study reported early this year in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior . Researchers identified food-related scenes (food shown, mentioned and/or consumed) in nearly 880 minutes of “Disney Channel” cable television for 11- to 14-year-olds. Findings demonstrated significant presence of food—more than 16 food-related scenes per hour in the six programs. Nearly half of the food items did not fit into any food group of the USDA Food Guide Pyramid; they were considered “other,” contributing “empty calories.” Researchers found the findings especially disconcerting because television is only one of the media forms shaping the food attitudes and behaviors of youngsters at that age.

You can read this journal article at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1499404613006271

Five tips for multitasking in environmental reporting

We have added to the ACDC collection an article by freelancer Adam Hinterthuer, “Juggling chainsaws, torches, and watermelons: How to manage multiple assignments.” He offered five tips he has learned from his time in the circus:

• Set deadlines for everything.
• Don’t tune in but do drop out. “Sometimes I have to (gasp!) close my web browser, turn off my phone and focus on the tasks at hand.”
• Create a flexible workplace.
• Lower your expectations.
• Don’t do it. “Perhaps the real secret to juggling jobs is not to do it all that much.”

You can read this article in the Society of Environmental Journalists newsletter at: http://www.sej.org/publications/sejournal-fa13/juggling-chainsaws-torches-and-watermelons-how-manage-multiple-assignments

Communicator activities approaching

• April 6-8, 2014
  Annual meeting of North American Agricultural Journalists in Washington, D. C.
  Information: http://www.naaj.net/meetings
• April 9-11, 2014
  “A fresh perspective.” 2014 Agri-Marketing Conference of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA), in Jacksonville, Florida.
  Information: http://www.nama.org/amc
• April 27-May 1, 2014
  Annual conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education in Miami, Florida.
  Information: https://www.aiaee.org
• June 24-27, 2014
  Annual conference of the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) in Portland, Oregon.
  Information: https://aceweb.org/index.php/en/2014-conference

Great example of social media communications in agriculture

We close this issue with special thanks to ACDC Associate Liz Harfull in South Australia for alerting us recently with that message heading. She called attention to the “Wild Radish Song,” a parody based on a hit, “Somebody I Used to Know.” The song runs 3:15 and features Bill Long, a farmer and agronomic consultant in South Australia. It is described as “a farmer’s lament on attempts to control wild radish resulting in the loss of chemical options to the point where only radical options are available.

“Got addicted to a certain kind of farming,” Bill Long sings, noting that the “game is nearly over. … Wish I’d been more thoughtful then.”

You can view this song at: http://agex.org.au/media/wild-radish-song

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 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 .