ACDC Newsletter

On farmers knowing less and less. 

Industrialization of agriculture and other forces are boosting concerns about farmers knowing less and less in the scheme of things. For example, concerned observers note that increasingly, producers understand less about a total process and become more dependent on the few who understand it as a whole.

A growing body of literature about this issue often speaks in terms of the “deskilling” of farmers and loss and underuse of “traditional knowledge.” You can track some of this interaction by conducting Subject searches in the ACDC database, using terms such as deskilling and traditional knowledge. Here are a few sample documents that include references to farmer deskilling:

The impact of agricultural biotechnology on social cohesion
Posted at: http://www.genomecanada.ca/ge3ls2005/proceedings/06_03.asp

Biotechnology and agricultural skilling in India
Posted at: http://law.wustl.edu/centeris/confpapers/stone.html

Opening spaces through relocalization: locating potential resistance

“I am at a loss about where to begin.” 

This college student who contacted us recently was preparing a speech on the topic: “Agriculture and the media: how should our story be told?” We may have overwhelmed her with suggestions because rural-urban communicating and media coverage of agriculture are strong suits in the ACDC collection.

Here are some of the terms we suggested for an online Subject search, using the Database Search page of the ACDC Web site:
“rural-urban communication”
“media effectiveness”
“media relations”

Are we blowing food safety out of proportion?

Jon Bell, chief executive of the Food Standards Agency, United Kingdom, recently said he does not believe so. Presenting the Society of Food Hygiene Technology Annual Lecture, he used three case studies to illustrate how the Agency is approaching food safety issues:

• BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) or mad cow disease in cattle
• Sudan 1, a non-approved red azo dye that has turned up in some imported spices and oils
• South Wales E.coli outbreak

Title: Are we blowing food safety out of proportion?
Posted at: http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/societyhygienelecture2005.pdf

Clear Channel defends remote news.

That headline topped an event summary we added recently from the Institute of Rural Journalism and Community Issues, University of Kentucky. The summary covered a panel discussion at the 2005 annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Two executives of Clear Channel Communications and a University of Colorado faculty member took part.

The discussion touched on a 2004 instance in which the central production hub system used by Clear Channel resulted in late coverage of important local news (including forest fires and weather warnings) by an unnamed Clear Channel radio station. Executives of the group placed blame not on the system but on poor program execution at the station. One executive noted that “any one of the company’s 900-plus local program directors can decide what stories go on the air.” They also cited advantages of the hub concept.

Title: Clear Channel defends remote news
Posted at: http://www.uky.edu/CommInfoStudies/irjci/ruralradio.htm

Agricultural journalism has come of age in the Philippines

According to a news report we added recently, Reporter Rudy A. Fernandez cited examples of ways in which agricultural journalism has become “a big plus factor in the country’s efforts to push farther the frontiers of national development.” A professional organization, the Philippine Agricultural Journalists Inc., has contributed in this process, according to the report.

Title: Agri journalism in RP comes of age 
Posted at: http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/ht/ht005599.htm

How you can gain access to documents. 

When you search the ACDC collection you should be aware that it often can serve you mainly as an alert system – a starting point. For a variety of reasons, citations often will not give you full-text electronic access. For example, they may have been published under copyright or prior to digital formatting. So here are some strategies you can use to gain access to documents you identify through your ACDC searches:

• Check the “Notes” section of the citation. Sometimes/Increasingly we can provide URLs that link you to the full-text document.
• Check to see if your local library or reference center subscribes to the journal involved or has the book or report on the shelf.
• Try title searches on search engines such as Google.

No luck finding them locally or online? 

Please send us the titles and document numbers. All are available here in the Center or elsewhere within the University of Illinois Library, so we can help you gain access to them. Depending on the number and size of documents, copyright regulations and other factors, we may be able to scan them for electronic transmission or photocopy them for delivery to you by mail or fax. Services such as these are available on a cost-recovery basis. You may be able to borrow books of interest through interlibrary loan services.

Communicator activities approaching

February 15-16, 2006
“Food Labelling Conference 2006” in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Organized by the Dutch Ministry for Health, Welfare and Sport and the Food Standards Agency ( United Kingdom ) with support of the European Commission. Features presentations from the food manufacturing, food retail, consumer and small business perspectives.
Information: http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/foodlabelling/rotterdam/

March 1, 2006
Registrations due for the 2006 conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education in Clearwater, Florida, May 14-17, 2006.
Information: http://www.aiaee.org/pdf/2006announce.pdf

March 6-8, 2006
“Practice change for sustainable communities.” Conference of the Australasia-Pacific Extension Network (APEN) in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia.
Information: http://www.apen.org.au/

March 23-25, 2006
Spring meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council in Memphis, Tennessee.
Information: Jeri Mattix Omernik of Rocky Mountain Marketing Communications at: jmo@rmmc.biz

Some rural computer language.

We close this issue of ACDC News with a few computer terms featuring rural definitions that roam the Web.

Download: Getting the firewood off the pickup
Mega Hertz: When you are not careful downloading
Hard drive: Getting home in mud seasons
Byte: What black flies do
Main frame: The part of the barn that holds the roof up

Title: Humor 153: rural computer language
Posted at: http://www.ptg.org/pipermail/humor/1997-July/000062.html

Best regards and good searching.

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas for the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communication documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Com Documentation Center, 510 LIAC, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801 ) or electronic form at docctr@library.uiuc.edu.

February, 2006

The fog started to burn off.

Robert Derham observed that phenomenon several months ago during the BioValley Green Biotech Event in France.

The auditorium vibrated with exciting research reports and proposals, Derham explained, while subdiscussions broke out about concerns, such as how transgenic research was being misunderstood and politicians were not helping. Nothing cleared the fog, however, until one of the speakers “offered a paradigm shift.”

“You have to take the time to communicate to the public,” said the speaker. “If we don’t, the activists will.”

“And with that,” Derham observed, “people settled back into their chairs and side conversations almost immediately ceased – the fog of doubt and disbelief had abruptly cleared the room.”

Citation: Communicate to the public
Archived October 24, 2005, at: http://archives.foodsafetynetwork.ca/agnet-archives.htm

Update on U.S. public sentiment about genetically modified (GM) food.

During November the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology reported results of the fourth (2005) comprehensive survey involving a national sample of American consumers. Among the findings:

• Americans continue to know relatively little about GM foods and biotechnology.
• Awareness of transgenic animals is quite low and people are opposed to research into genetic modification of animals.
• Consumers most strongly support GM uses designed to protect against disease.
• Although consumers know little about the potential importation of GM products from abroad, they favor American regulation.
• Consumers strongly believe that ethical and moral considerations should be part of the animal cloning regulatory equation.

Citation: Public sentiment about genetically modified food: November 2005 update
Summary posted at: http://pewagbiotech.org/research/2005update

Communicating about avian flu. 

Given the global threat of avian/bird flu, we are beginning to actively scout for documents about public perceptions, media coverage and other communication aspects of this issue. You can monitor the ACDC collection by using the Subject search term, avian flu. Here are samples of documents being added to the collection:

Infectious diseases
Posted at: http://www.pollingreport.com/health3.htm

Avian flu pandemic could be massive disaster and few are noticing
Posted at: http://www.jsonline.com/bym/invest/may05/322853.asp?format=print

Superb flu pandemic risk communication: a role model from Australia
Posted at: http://www.psandman.com/col/abbott.htm

Consumer group calls on federal government to calm fears, criticizes animal rights groups for fueling needless panic
Posted at: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?acct=104&story=/www/story/11-08-2005/0004210594&edate=

Legacy of farming methods comes home to roost
Posted at: http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/legacy-of-farming-methods-comes-home-to-roos/2005/12/04/1133631143093.html

To help strengthen this new and important part of the ACDC collection, please send us documents about the communication aspects of avian flu, or refer us to them. Thank you.

Covering the meth epidemic in rural America.

A special report from the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues describes efforts by nearly two dozen newspapers and broadcast stations to report on the complexity, severity, and personal and social fallout of methamphetamine abuse in rural areas. One reporter was cited as adding to her coverage with a poem titled “Ms. Crystal Meth.” It concluded:

Now that you’ve met me
What will you do?
Will you try me or not?
It’s all up to you.
I can show you more misery
Than words can tell.
Come, take my hand.
Let me lead you to Hell.

Citation: Special report: Covering the meth epidemic in rural America
Posted at: http://www.uky.edu/CommInfoStudies/IRJCI/reports/reportsmeth.htm

Communicator activities approaching

March 1, 2006
Registrations due for the 2006 conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education in Clearwater, Florida, May 14-17, 2006.
Information: http://www.aiaee.org/pdf/2006announce.pdf

March 6-8, 2006
“Practice change for sustainable communities.” Conference of the Australasia-Pacific Extension Network (APEN) in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia.
Information: http://www.apen.org.au/

March 23-25, 2006
Spring meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council in Memphis, Tennessee.
Information: Jeri Mattix Omernik of Rocky Mountain Marketing Communications at: jmo@rmmc.biz

“Things my mother taught me.”

In closing, we pass along to you these food-and-farm insights from Annabelle who posted them on Fortune City:

My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
“If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
“Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”

My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
“Close that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?”

Reference: http://members.fortunecity.com/panforum/compend/c050118.html

Best regards and good searching.

When you see interesting items you cannot find locally or online, get in touch with us at docctr@library.uiuc.edu. Tell us the titles and/or document numbers. We will help you gain access.

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas for the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communication documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Com Documentation Center, 510 LIAC, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or electronic form at docctr@library.uiuc.edu .

 January, 2006

Happy New Year.

Welcome to this first 2006 issue of news from the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center. If you are new to ACDC News, we hope you find it interesting and useful.

Our basic mission continues:

Work hard to be a valuable resource for better communicating about agriculture, food, natural resources and related endeavors of societies worldwide.

Mixed messages about tomatoes-for-health claims.

How is this for a mixed message, pointed out in a recent Boston Globe article?

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently ruled that food companies can tell consumers that eating as little as one-half cup of tomatoes and tomato-based products weekly reduces the risk of prostate cancer.
• However, companies must also tell consumers the FDA does not believe the science behind that message.

Citation: It’s good for you, but …
Posted at: www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/11/30/its_good_for_you_but?mode=PF

Three new songs promote 4-H in Canada.

Three original songs by a country rock band are helping promote 4-H in Ontario, Canada, as part of a 90th anniversary celebration of the youth organization. These new songs reflect the “Learning To Do By Doing” motto of 4-H:
“I Am Home”
“Four Good Reasons”
“Giving Back”

All members of the group, called The GMOs, have either been 4-H members or associated with 4-H. “We all drew on our positive experiences to help bring the songs together,” explained GMO drummer and co-founder Len Kahn.

Citation: 4-H Ontario commissions three original songs
Posted at: http://www.4-hontario.ca/press2.cfm?documentid=3694

Empowering women farmers with information.

The Agricultural Communications Documentation Center recently added documents to its collection that highlight information programs for women farmers in Uganda and The Ukraine. These documents further enhance the extensive Center collection about communications in the lives and activities of women farmers globally.

In Uganda, women are using an interactive CD-Rom to become better farmers, according to the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC). “The CD gives advice on ways to improve yields from crops and livestock, how to market what is produced, and helps the farmers think about new products they can make and sell.” The information tool is available in Uganda ‘s local languages.

Meanwhile, in The Ukraine, a project responds to women farmers “who identified lack of information as the major obstacle to becoming successful entrepreneurs in a new market economy.” The project provides the farmers with computer training and Internet access at eight “telecentres,” where they obtain a variety of agricultural information.

Citation: Ugandan women farmers go hi-tech 
Posted at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sci/tech/2078444.stm

Citation: A CD-Rom for Rural Women in Africa 
Posted at: http://www.wougnet.org/News/cdupdate.html

Citation: Sustaining women farmers in Ukraine
Posted at: http://www.undp.org/info21/pilot/pi-ukr.html

“My stab at a couple of new word/terms.” 

Thanks to Chuck Zimmerman of ZimmComm for sending these timely agri-terms:

Agriblogging – Posting agricultural information that includes links to various kinds of media content like audio, images, documents and video on a Weblog.

Farm podcasting – Making audio and/or video files that contain farm information available for Web access subscription via an RSS feed that allows the subscribers to capture the file on their computers and digital audio/video players.

ZimmComm is doing both agriblogging and farm podcasting on several sites, including AgWired at http://www.agwired.com

Encouraging words we appreciate.

Thanks to all who shared with us reactions such as these during recent months, along with suggestions about how to make the Center more useful:

• “I appreciate your quick response to my question.”
• “This is very helpful. Thank you!”
• “You have a tremendous database.”
• “Once again, thank you so much for the contacts.”
• “Thanks for producing ACDC News. A great service to agricultural communications.”
• “Your database has been a wonderful tool in my work.”
• “Have put your Web site in my Favorites file!”

Communicator activities approaching

February 1, 2006
The Agricultural Communicators in Education Research SIG issued a Call for Graduate Student Award Competitions (research proposal, outstanding thesis, and outstanding dissertation). The calls are located on the Research SIG Web site (http://www.aceweb.org/sigs/research/new.html ), which includes award submission guidelines, scoring rubrics, and direct links to all three online submission portals. Award winners will be announced at the ACE Annual International Meeting in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Please forward this information to colleagues and graduate students. 

February 4-8, 2006
Annual meeting and conference of the Agricultural Communications Section, Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS), in Orlando, Florida.
Information: http://www.saasinc.org/orlando2006/orlando_mainpage.asp

March 1, 2006
Registrations due for the 2006 conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education in Clearwater, Florida, May 14-17, 2006.
Information: http://www.aiaee.org/pdf/2006announce.pdf

March 6-8, 2006
“Practice change for sustainable communities.” Conference of the Australasia-Pacific Extension Network (APEN) in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia.
Information: http://www.apen.org.au/

March 23-25, 2006
Spring meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council in Memphis, Tennessee.
Information: Jeri Mattix Omernik of Rocky Mountain Marketing Communications at: jmo@rmmc.biz

Please let us know if you would rather not receive ACDC News.

Information technology – a channel to narcissism? 

This challenging question emerged from a rural case study reported in Management Communication Quarterly. Through four years of discourse analysis, researcher Shev Ganesh examined the role and use of information and communication technology (ICT) within an India-headquartered non-governmental organization devoted to rural development.

Discourse revealed a change of focus for an online ICT system, DVLINK, which the organization established. “Tracing the development of DVLINK is interesting because it documents a process where the initial emphasis was on the needs of other organizations, to a state where emphasis was on DV’s own needs.” Focus shifted to “preservation and enhancement of the organization’s own capabilities, with little attention to larger questions of ethics and accountability.”

Let us know if you have seen other studies or examples of this phenomenon.

Reference: Organizational narcissism

Considerably more attention to labeling.

Labeling is clearly a growth area in agricultural communication literature. The ACDC collection now contains more than 450 documents about labeling, most of them published within the past decade. What began in this collection as primarily information about pesticide labeling has shifted during the years to other kinds of labeling, such as:

• Nutrition labeling
• Labeling of organic food
• Labeling of genetically modified food
• Country of origin labeling (COOL) of food products
• Systems for tracking origins, locations and inventories of food products (for example, Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] systems)

We welcome your help in identifying and gathering articles, reports and other documents about labeling, as related to food and agriculture.

Reference: On the ACDC Database Search page, conduct Subject searches using terms such as:
<Labeling>; <RFID>; <organic labeling>; <COOL>; and <biotechnology labeling>.

Junk the jargon.

Nalaka Gunawardene, director of the non-profit organization, TVE Asia Pacific, offered that advice recently to those involved in development.

“…development workers speak in jargon, using countless acronyms that obfuscate rather than communicate,” he observed. “Scientists, who often complain that the public does not understand their work, tend to make exactly the same mistake – with similar results.”

“We just need to better engage the human beings we are trying to empower.”

Reference: Simpler words are needed 
Posted on the Science and Development Network at:
http://www.scidev.net/content/editorials/eng/simpler-words-are-needed-to-get-mdg-message-across.cfm

Great need for cancer information in rural areas.

A 2005 article in the Journal of Health Communication reported the results of research among residents and physicians in rural Kansas. Authors concluded: “There is a great need for widespread dissemination of cancer information resources in rural areas.”

Reference: Cancer information needs in rural areas

Who will speak up for modern agriculture? 

Gary Truitt of Brownfield Network raised that question recently in Farm World. He argued that “agriculture needs some popular books that tell the true story of modern agriculture. This is not a ‘how your food is produced’ book, but one that explains to people that they will live longer, eat better, and enjoy a more profitable and sustainable world thanks to modern agriculture, technology, and the farm families who use it.”

Reference: Who will speak up

Communicator activities approaching

January 6, 2006
Deadline for proposing presentations, panel discussions, workshops or posters to be presented at the 2006 National Extension Technology Conference (NETC), University of Florida, Gainesville, May 8-11.
Information: http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/netc2006

February 4-8, 2006
Annual meeting and conference of the Agricultural Communications Section, Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS), in Orlando, Florida.
Information: http://www.saasinc.org/orlando2006/orlando_mainpage.asp

March 1, 2006
Registrations due for the 2006 conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education in Clearwater, Florida, May 14-17, 2006.
Information: http://www.aiaee.org/pdf/2006announce.pdf

March 6-8, 2006
“Practice change for sustainable communities.” Conference of the Australasia-Pacific Extension Network (APEN) in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia.
Information: http://www.apen.org.au/

March 23-25, 2006
Spring meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council in Memphis, Tennessee.
Information: Jeri Mattix Omernik of Rocky Mountain Marketing Communications at: jmo@rmmc.biz

Other needed agri-words? 

Thanks to a kind reader who alerted us to several possibilities among the 2005 winners of The Washington Post Mensa Invitational. This mental exercise involves taking any word from the dictionary, altering it by adding, subtracting or changing one letter, and supplying a new definition. We close this issue with a few potential agri-words from the Mensa Invitational:

Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
Caterpallor: The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you are eating.

Can you add others? If so, let us know.

Posted at various sites, including: http://members.fortunecity.com/panforum/compend/c050118.html

When you see interesting items you cannot find online or locally

Get in touch with us at docctr@library.uiuc.edu. Tell us the titles and/or document numbers. We will help you gain access.

Best regards and good searching. 

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions, and ideas for ACDC. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communication documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Com Documentation Center, 510 LIAC, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801) or electronic form at docctr@library.uiuc.edu.

December, 2005

Lots of literature about plant transgenic science.

According to an analysis of CAB Abstracts and ISI Web of Science, 30,624 articles or other records were published about plant transgenic science between 1973 and 2003. Of these:

• 4,545 focused on the development of plant transgenic technology
• 21,843 focused on the applications of those technologies
• 4,236 focused on the development of genetically modified (GM) crops

Researcher Philippe Vain also analyzed trends in the number of articles (a) over time and (b) by region of the world.

Reference: Published literature on plant transgenic science
Posted at: http://www.merid.org/fs-agbiotech/more.php?ts=20051107175351

How much literature about the communication aspects of biotechnology? 

Researcher Philippe Vain’s findings (above), published in Food Security and Ag-Biotech News from the Meridian Institute, did not show numbers to answer that question. We might report, however, that the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center now contains more than 1,300 articles and reports about communications, as related to agricultural and food biotechnology. Moreover, we feel this total only scratches the surface of literature published about this vital dimension of a timely topic.

Reference: You can identify these documents via the Online Search page. Conduct a Subject search on the term “biotechnology.”

When youngsters choose broccoli over chocolate. 

It happens, according to Sesame Workshop, when Elmo of “Sesame Street” promotes broccoli. A preliminary report of research indicated that one-half of the observed pre-schoolers chose broccoli over chocolate when the broccoli had an Elmo sticker on it. Only about one in four youngsters chose broccoli over chocolate with no character stickers.

Reference: Atkins funds study of veggie-character connection
Posted at: http://promomagazine.com/research/atkins_elmo_092105

Ghostwriters and freelancers promoting government programs.

We have added to the ACDC collection two mid-2005 reports about government agencies that have stirred concerns by hiring ghostwriters and freelancers.

“EPA: Agency hires PR firm to ghostwrite articles.” Posted at: http://www.eenews.net/index.php. Search by title.
This report from Environment and Energy Publishing describes a five-year, $5 million contract between a public relations firm and the Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The firm will “ghostwrite articles ‘for publication in scholarly journals and magazines.'” “Appalling,” according to the editor of Science magazine.

“Agriculture Department paid freelance writer to promote conservation.” Posted at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050511-1529-paidfreelancer.html
“The Agriculture Department paid a freelance writer to produce stories promoting the agency’s conservation efforts and then offer the articles to hunting and fishing magazines.” A Department spokesman said the Department is working on a formal policy on the issue. “We don’t think that paying journalists to promote government programs is a proper use of funds.”

Moving specialty meats beyond niche markets. 

A recent analysis involving bison meat revealed some problems in trying to do so. E. William Nganje and associates analyzed how consumers and bison processors perceived the risk associated with eating bison meat. Survey data identified gaps in the risk perception of those two groups and highlighted “difficulties in moving specialty meats beyond niche markets.”

Reference: Multinomial logit models comparing consumers

Renewal of rural community radio in Africa.

“Rural broadcasting is experiencing a renewal, thanks to a new generation of broadcasters, improvements in technology that are slashing operating costs, and government policies that are relinquishing the airwaves to local communities and the private sector.” So reported researcher Helen Hambly, International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR), in a news feature we added recently to the ACDC collection. Uganda, for example, now has more than 70 new FM radio stations, many of them community operated and broadcasting in local languages.

Hambly said she believes a window of opportunity now exists to use radio to bring news and information about sustainable agriculture to millions of people previously beyond the reach of government extension services.

Reference: In Africa communication means radio
Posted at: http://www.isnar.cgiar.org/activities/PrintVersion.cfm?I=2597&P=1

Agricultural communicator activities approaching

January 6, 2006
Deadline for proposing presentations, panel discussions, workshops or posters to be presented at the 2006 National Extension Technology Conference (NETC), University of Florida, Gainesville, May 8-11.
Information: http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/netc2006

February 4-8, 2006
Annual meeting and conference of the Agricultural Communications Section, Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS), in Orlando, Florida.
Information: http://www.saasinc.org/orlando2006/orlando_mainpage.asp

March 1-3, 2006
Members of the Midwest Region, Cooperative Communicators Association, join with the Missouri Association of Publications in the second annual Publishing Summit in Columbia, Missouri USA.
Information: Gail Miller at gmiller@growmark.com

March 6-8, 2006
“Practice change for sustainable communities.” Conference of the Australasia-Pacific Extension Network (APEN) at Beechworth, Victoria, Australia.
Information: http://www.apen.org.au

March 23-25, 2006
Spring meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
Information: Jeri Mattics Omernik of Rocky Mountain Marketing Communications at jmo@rmmc.biz

Perils of rural campaigning.

We close this issue of ACDC News with a report from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The candidate stumping for Congress was loud in his reasons why his rural audience should vote for him.

“As a practical farmer myself, I am one of you,” he boasted. “I can plow, harvest, shoe horses, milk cows and the like. Indeed, I should like any of you to mention one thing about a farm I cannot do.”
A momentary silence was impressive until a voice in the rear inquired, “Can you lay an egg?”

When you see interesting items you cannot find online or locally

Get in touch with us at docctr@library.uiuc.edu. Tell us the titles and/or document numbers. We will help you gain access.

Best regards and good searching. 

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions, and ideas for ACDC. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communication documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Com Documentation Center, 510 LIAC, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801) or electronic form at docctr@library.uiuc.edu.

December, 2005

What consumers know, think and do about organic food these days. 

A recent article in the Journal of Extension shed light on that matter through results of a statewide survey among food shoppers in Oregon USA. Among the findings:

• Seventy-seven percent reported buying organic food in the past six months.
• About two-thirds gave positive word associations with “organic.”
• Trust in the accuracy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture organic label varied.

Reference: Consumer knowledge and perceptions about organic food
Posted at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2005august/rb3.shtml

Mixed reactions to the new food pyramid.

We have entered into the ACDC collection some articles about the new MyPyramid food guide introduced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this year. The documents reveal reactions that range from “generally wide acclaim” to “a Tower of Babel.” On the “Database Search” page you can identify them through Subject searches, using terms such as “nutrition information” and “diets.” Here are a few samples:

“New food pyramid unveiled”
Posted at: http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/042505NewFoodPyramidUnveiled.htm

“Food pyramid is supposed to look simple”
Posted at: http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/12346545.htm

“New food and nutrition guide hijacked by giant food companies ”
Commentary posted at: http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/foodpyramid050405.cfm

“Online consumer buzz suggests mixed reactions and indifference to new USDA food pyramid”
Posted at: http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=94501

Tracing views held by stakeholders in the genetically modified crops (GMO) “debate.”

Among the many surveys that assess attitudes towards genetically modified crops and food, we find some special features in a recent report from South Africa. An article in Environmental Science and Policy described the findings of a perception survey among stakeholders involved in the GMO debate: academia, government, producer and consumer organizations, industry, nongovernmental organizations and churches. Of special note:

• Findings about which stakeholders emphasize benefits, which emphasize risks.
• A list of positive and negative statements used in the survey.
• Indications of differing levels of trust in institutions.
• A diagramed sociometric network of information exchange among stakeholders in the debate.

Reference: Stakeholder attitudes towards the risks and benefits
Available for purchase online at www.sciencedirect.com

Enhancing family connections.

Many patrons search the Center collection for current research and practice in agriculture-related communications. But recently the ACDC staff helped a user learn more about his family’s history.

The patron requested a 1910 article titled “How the Educator Cracker Idea Was Made Win,” published in Agricultural Advertising. T. N. Barbour, then treasurer of the Johnson Educator Food Co. in Boston, wrote the article. It chronicled the history of Educator Crackers and the company’s related advertising campaign.

Dr. William L. Johnson, who created the Educator Crackers, was the patron’s great-grandfather and Barbour was his grandfather. “This was a most enlightening article in terms of a unique piece of family history that is now scattered hither and yon,” the user said. We are pleased to help make such connections.

Reference: How the Educator Cracker idea was made win

A unique collection of agricultural periodicals. 

Staff Associate Jim Evans sends thanks to John Otte of Farm Progress Companies for recently alerting him to a new periodical, Quarterly Livestock Round-Up. Jim also thanks Laura Lahr, Livestock Marketing Information Center, for providing a copy of the premier issue.

“This is not John’s first contribution to my collection of Volume 1, Number 1 issues of agricultural periodicals,” says Jim. He explains that the collection emerged during his teaching years as a way to help students witness the dynamics of agricultural communicating.

“Along with John Harvey, I have enjoyed this effort for more than 20 years. He and I don’t even know how many premier issues we have between us.” They total in the hundreds and provide a unique perspective on agricultural publishing:

• They show how different periodicals got launched and reveal the dreams of those who introduced them.
• They represent some highly creative approaches to agricultural publishing.
• Across the years, they documented some dramatic changes in the flow of agricultural information.

Seen any new ones? 

Please notify Jim (evansj@uiuc.edu) when you see Volume 1, Number 1 issues of magazines, newspapers, newsletters or other types of periodicals (published anywhere, in print or electronic forms) that are directed to producers, agri-marketers, interest groups or others in the farm-to-fork complex. The periodicals can help preserve an important record of creativity and progress in agricultural publishing.

Ode to the rural letter carriers.

Critics feared that rural free delivery of mail would bankrupt the nation when it became a permanent service in the United States in 1902, according to a feature by Ramsey Campbell published in the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper. “Instead, rural delivery brought the country together. It forced a dramatic improvement in America’s roadways and brought the latest news and information to the countryside.”

The article described how rural free delivery began in the United States and examined the role and work of rural carriers today. “The strong bonds forged by rural carriers are in no danger of being severed.”

Reference: Rural letter carriers maintain tradition dating to Pony Express
Posted at: http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/11985866.htm

Communicator activities approaching

December 1, 2005
Deadline for graduate students to submit research papers for the 2006 International ACE meeting in Quebec City, Canada, June 2006. Three categories: proposal, thesis, dissertation.
Information: http://www.aceweb.org/sigs/research/new.html

January 6, 2006
Deadline for submitting proposals for presentations, panel discussions, workshops or posters at the National Extension Technology Conference (NETC) in Gainesville, Florida, May 8-11.
Information: http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/netc2006

Creative new agri-terms from Lee Pitts.

We close this issue of ACDC News with some words that “really ought to be,” according to Lee Pitts, as quoted in Farm World:

• Intaxicated: When a cowman celebrates for having to pay income taxes for the first time in 20 years.
• Calfling: An animal that is caught in that uncomfortable stage between being an immature calf and a highly hormonal yearling. Kind of like a teenager.
• Internot: An auction market that doesn’t broadcast its sale on the Internet.

Reference: Some words that really ought to be

When you see interesting items you cannot find online or locally

Get in touch with us at docctr@library.uiuc.edu . Tell us the titles and/or document numbers. We will help you gain access.

Best regards and good searching. 

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas for ACDC. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communication documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Com Documentation Center, 510 LIAC, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801) or electronic form at docctr@library.uiuc.edu.

November, 2005

Marketing into chaos 

Is the title of an article published recently in AgriMarketing magazine. It describes how “manufacturers and purveyors of animal identification technology and services are using collaboration and good old-fashioned competition to get the ball rolling.” Reports from several agri-marketers and communicators examined the complex issues involved in developing a national animal identification and tracking program in the interest of assuring safe food for consumers.

Reference: Marketing into chaos
Posted at: http://www.agrimarketing.com/show_story.php?id=34882

Are farms and rural towns “decoupling?” 

We should not assume so – and it is not that simple – according to results of a recent case study in South Huron County, Ontario, Canada. In-depth interviews of farm and town residents revealed, for example:

• Local farmers and town residents agreed on the main challenges confronting local farmers, but differed on the ranking of those challenges.
• Town residents appeared knowledgeable about the nature of modern farming, but their knowledge was “shaped more by generalized secondary accounts … than by specific knowledge of local trends and issues.”
• Town residents acknowledged that farm populations were in decline. However, they did not come to as bleak a conclusion as farmers with respect to the economic and social implications of the decline.
• “It is in the farm community, and not in town, that we see the strongest beliefs about, and perceptions of, the decoupling of farm and town interests.”

Reference: Across the divide (?)

---

A feature on food detectives.

We have added to the ACDC collection an article in the Star-Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.) about one of the most vocal among interest groups that focus on safe food. It is the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), “one of the most reviled enemies of big food companies.” Reporter Thomas Lee interviewed Michael Jacobson, the executive director of CSPI, about the purpose, progress and approach of the organization. The article also included perspectives of the Center for Consumer Freedom, founded in 2001 by the food industry.

Reference: The group that came in from the fringe

---

Great need for cancer information in rural areas.

Studies in rural Kansas led researchers to report recently in the Journal of Health Communication: “There is a great need for widespread dissemination of cancer information resources in rural areas.” They called for information directed to two audiences in rural communities: physicians and rural residents.

Reference: Cancer information needs in rural areas
Summary and access information posted at: http://www2.gwu.edu/%7Ecih/journal/JHClink/newsletter3_summaries.htm#v10n3_engleman

---

Painted cows as walking billboards.

An unusual form of outdoor advertising came to our attention recently. According to a news report from Sarasota County, Florida, an online casino used “bovine billboards” dyed bright pink and purple. Representatives of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) reportedly supported this advertising technique because one of the cow-signs said, “Go Veg.”

Reference: Cows painted pink, purple
Posted at: http://www.nbc6.net/print/4814153/detail.html

---

Beware of the Information Age. 

We continue to get requests for a 20-year-old journal article of that title by French editor Gérard Blanc. Writing in Development: Seeds of Change, he raised points that remain relevant for communicators. Among them:

•  “What we are witnessing is not a transition towards a postindustrial society … We are witnessing the industrialization of data, information, knowledge, even wisdom, in a process which tries to apply to this field of human activity the basic principles of industrial society: standardization, mass production, maximization of output, synchronization of activities, concentration, centralization, etc.”

•  “Information gives the illusion that mankind has conquered space and time. But it is only an illusion: remember that the map is not the territory. Computer and satellite networks give us only images of our neighbors thousands of miles away: we do not really see them, we do not feel them, we just contemplate synthetic reconstructions of a distant reality.”

•  “There is a recurrent discourse on ‘information democracy,’ the ‘new information order,’ etc. It is a trap which may flood developing countries under a heap of useless electronic garbage they will not be able to interpret and use effectively.”

Reference: Beware of the Information Age

---

Several new books that involve rural communications.

You may be interested in three 2005 books we have added recently:

Gary Krug, Communication, technology and cultural change. Includes a discussion about how rural U.S. families “learned the news” before they received rural free delivery of mail, beginning in 1896.

Aurora Wallace, Newspapers and the making of modern America. Includes a description of farm reporting by the Des Moines (Iowa) Register newspaper.

Darin Barney, Communication technology. A section about “digital divides” examines how Aboriginal residents of Canada suffer from unequal access to the Internet

Reference: Use title searches to see full citations, including content subjects.

---

Communicator activities approaching

November 9-11, 2005
“NAFB and Farm Broadcasting – Positioned for the Future.” Annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters in Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: http://www.nafb.com

November 18, 2005
Deadline for submitting proposals for breakout or poster sessions at the 2006 International ACE meeting in Quebec City, Canada, June 2-6.
Information: http://www.aceweb.org/proposals/2006/index.aspx

December 1, 2005
Deadline for graduate students to submit research papers for the 2006 International ACE meeting in Quebec City, Canada, June 2-6. Three categories: proposal, thesis, dissertation.
Information: http://www.aceweb.org/sigs/research/new.html

January 6, 2006
Deadline for submitting proposals for presentations, panel discussions, workshops or posters at the National Extension Technology Conference (NETC) in Gainesville, Florida, May 8-11.
Information: http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/netc2006

---

Upper Midwest Scandinavian humor “alive and well.” 

Thanks to an alert reader who noted that the “Whatever happened to rural humor?” article we cited earlier this month missed the lively, earthy humor of Ole, Lena and Sven. It is “now circulating on the Internet.” Indeed. We close this issue of ACDC News with a sample about Ole as food communicator:

Ole had trouble putting “Happy Birthday” on a cake. His main problem was getting the cake in the typewriter

---

When you see interesting items you cannot find online or locally

Get in touch with us at docctr@library.uiuc.edu . Tell us the titles and/or document numbers. We will help you gain access.

Want a personalized search demonstration, online or by phone? 

Let us know if you might like for us to take part in class sessions or other settings – online or by conference call. We will be pleased to identify resources in the Center that may serve your interests, demonstrate how to search the collection or discuss agricultural communications literature and sources.

Best regards and good searching.

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions, and ideas for ACDC. Feel free to invite our assistance as you search for information. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communication documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Com Documentation Center, 510 LIAC, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or electronic form at docctr@library.uiuc.edu

October, 2005

What online users want in a Web site. 

A marketing team at Kansas State University Research and Extension used feedback from 12 selected publics in Sedgwick County to help address the issue. Those publics ranged from producers and youth to school personnel and media representatives. Findings varied among publics, but quantitative findings suggested that users were most likely to use the Web:

• For personal or business use more than for entertainment or buying products.
• For research information, details about upcoming events, or addresses or phone numbers.
• For video files, online newsletters or discussion boards about topics of interest.

Researchers concluded that users prefer (a) functionality over visual appeal, (b) simplicity, and (c) easy access/navigation to information users want.

Reference: Audience analysis of potential Web users 
Posted at: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/marketing/documents/SedgCoFeedback_FullReportMarch04.pdf

Do the sentiments of market advisors influence commodity prices? 

In a recent master’s degree project, Michael Matwichuk used model estimates to analyze relationships between the prices of six commodities and the recommendations of market advisory services.
Among his findings:

• Recommendations were strongly influenced by recent returns of market participants. He found a significant causal relationship “when returns are presumed to precede investor sentiment [expressed in recommendations], but not vice versa.”
• Price predictability was evidenced in the live cattle market.
• “Statistical evidence that the commodity markets are predictable over the long-horizon framework might be unreliable.”

Reference: Market advisory service sentiment indicators

---

Transforming agricultural knowledge into a product for sale.

We have added to the ACDC collection dozens of articles about extension services during what has been described as the “current ideological transition toward global capitalism.” William M. Rivera is among those who have provided thoughtful analyses about the changing nature of agricultural information and the forces that are shaping extension. You may be interested in an article he wrote for the Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension (live link below). He examined these changes and forces, and identified some potential roles for public and private extension services internationally.

Reference: The changing nature of agricultural information
Posted at http://library.wur.nl/ejae/jaeev07n01p05.pdf

---

Public positive about the food enterprise. 

Food sectors held three of the top four rankings in a recent Gallup Organization survey to learn how Americans view 25 business/industry sectors. Here are the sectors that ranked highest, in terms of net positive responses:

• Restaurant 50 percent
• Computer 47 percent
• Farming/agriculture 45 percent
• Grocery 43 percent

What sectors do you think ranked lowest?

Reference: New Gallup survey finds
Posted at: http://www.restaurant.org/pressroom/pressrelease.cfm?id=1137

---

Whatever happened to rural humor? 

Fred Whitehead raised that question last year in a commentary we found in the Star-Tribune (Casper, Wyoming).

“When I was growing up in western Kansas, I became aware, by way of reading Mark Twain, that one of our great gifts to the world was rural American humor,” Whitehead wrote.

He cited examples of comic exaggeration, boasting and pretense-squashing that illustrate how rural pioneers used humor to cope with their fears, failures and insecurities. He questioned whether today’s mass media, corporate culture and reliance on government support are eroding “our lively old democratic pleasure of storytelling.”

All cultures have lively heritages of rural humor. Let us know whenever you see discussions about this important subject in articles, books or other forms.

Reference: Whatever happened to rural humor?
Posted at: http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/07/25/editorial/forum/d968fc4dfc1bd4e487256edc001c2cb2.prt

---

Communicator activities approaching

October 22-26, 2005
Joint meeting of the National Association of Science Writers and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA.
Information: http://www.nasw.org

November 8-9, 2005
“Customer-focused marketing.” 2005 Agribusiness Forum sponsored by the National Agri-Marketing Association in Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: http://www.nama.org

November 9-11, 2005
“NAFB and farm broadcasting – positioned for the future.” Annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters in Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: http://www.nafb.com

---

An “Editor’s Creed” (50 years old, but still frisky). 

We close this issue with some ever timely advice to writers. It came from the editor of the Bulletin, published by the American Institute of Biological Sciences. We found it in the March 1955 issue of AAACE, the journal of the American Association of Agricultural College Editors.

If you’ve got a thought that’s happy –
Boil it down.
Make it short and crisp, and snappy –
Boil it down.
When your brain its coin has minted,
Down the page your pen has sprinted,
If you want your effort printed –
Boil it down.

Take out every surplus letter –
Boil it down.
Fewer syllables the better –
Boil it down.
Make your meaning plain – express it,
So we’ll know – not merely guess it,
Then, my friend, ere you address it,
Boil it down.

Skim it well, then skim the skimmings –
Boil it down.
Trim it, then retrim the trimmings –
Boil it down.
When you’re sure ‘twould be a sin – to
Cut another sentence in two
Send it in, and we’ll begin to –
Boil it down.

---

When you see interesting items you can’t find online or locally

Get in touch with us at docctr@library.uiuc.edu. Tell us the titles and/or document numbers. We will help you gain access.

---

Best regards and good searching.

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions, and ideas for ACDC. Feel free to invite our assistance as you search for information. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communication documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Com Documentation Center, 510 LIAC, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or electronic form at docctr@library.uiuc.edu.

October, 2005

Personalities that help farmers cope.

Five personality styles emerged as prominent in a study among landholders who were undergoing extended economic hardship in central western Queensland, Australia. These farmers tended to be vigilant, conscientious, solitary, serious and sensitive.

The findings raised a caution flag for communicators and educators. Authors reported that these five personality styles have a feature in common: the group situation poses problems and creates stress for them. “Current government policy has favoured groups as the preferred method of learning, and yet our findings indicate their preference for a one-to-one style approach.”

Reference: The influence of personality. 
Posted at: http://library.wur.nl/ejae/jaeev07n03p04.pdf

How agricultural scientists view the media.

A 2005 article in Science Communication examined relationships between agricultural scientists and the news media. Here are a few of the results from a Web-based survey:

• These agricultural scientists expressed neutral to negative perceptions of all news media and national news media.
• They were more positive about local than national coverage of agricultural news.
• Male and female agricultural scientists responded differently about their media relations skills, their interest in media training and their methods for communicating crisis situations to the news media.
• Fewer than half had received media relations training.
• They expressed most interest in learning about crisis-related communications and writing newspaper columns.

Reference: Trying to relate. 

---

Presentations from the 2005 IFAJ Congress.

Thanks to planners who have posted speeches presented at the recent Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) in Thun, Switzerland. Here are some presentations that focused most directly on agricultural journalism:

“Welcome” by David Markey, president of IFAJ.
Reference: Speech by David Markey. 
Posted at: www.ifaj2005.ch/_aktuell/referate/markey_david/20050831_davidmarkey_e.pdf

Claudia Wirz, Of farmers and journalists.
Posted at: http://www.ifaj2005.ch/_aktuell/referate/wirz_claudia/20050903_claudiawirz_e.pdf

Ruedi Hagmann, “The Swiss agricultural press is changing.”
Posted at: www.ifaj2005.ch/_aktuell/referate/hagmann_ruedi/20050903_hagmann_speech_e.pdf

Markus Rediger, “Communication between farmers and the public.”
Posted at: www.ifaj2005.ch/_aktuell/referate/rediger_markus/20050903_rediger_speech_e.pdf

---

Grassroots media – the oxygen of democracy.

This title caught our eye in a 1983 article we entered recently into the ACDC collection. It spoke to the challenges facing rural newspapers and other village media in India.

Grassroots media “provide awareness to the people about their environment, stimulate understanding of their problems and identify opportunities available to them for a better life. They also guide them in formulating programmes to solve their problems and fulfill their needs, goals and aspirations.”E-mail, Web sites, cell phones, microbroadcasting and other new means of communicating might redefine “grassroots media” a bit, compared with 20-plus years ago. However, reminders about the unique importance of local interactions – in all their forms – seem enduringly and increasingly important, across time and place.

Reference: Grassroots media.

---

Questions coming our way.

You may be interested in the kinds of special information requests we are receiving at the Center these days. Here are some examples:

• Distribution, use and effectiveness of agricultural news releases
• Readership of e-mail newsletters
• Ethics in agricultural publishing
• Safety campaigns related to electric energy
• Gender roles and relationships on farms
• Interactions between activists and food companies
• History of Agri-Marketing magazine
• Electronic communications for adult learning
• Effective use of member publications in agricultural organizations
• Readership, focus, content and design of publications in colleges of agriculture
• Education needs of future agricultural writers

Teachers and students:

Do you need ideas for research projects, class reports or other activities that involve agriculture-related communications? We will be pleased to help you search the ACDC database or otherwise scout for current, historical or future-oriented topics that interest you.

Just get in touch with us at: docctr@library.uiuc.edu. We can work by e-mail or phone. Or let us know if you would like for us to take part in class sessions (e.g., by teleconference) about the ACDC collection and how you can explore it.

---

Communicator activities approaching

October 22-26, 2005
Joint meeting of the National Association of Science Writers and Council for the Advancement of Science Writing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA.
Information: www.nasw.org

November 8-9, 2005
“Customer-focused marketing.” Agribusiness Forum of the National Agri-Marketing
Association in Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: www.nama.org

November 9-11, 2005
“NAFB and Farm Broadcasting – Positioned for the Future.” Annual conference of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters in Kansas City, Missouri USA.
Information: www.nafb.com

---

Advice on hair care.

We close this issue of ACDC News with a piece of advice about personal care from a Canadian agricultural periodical. Readers of the British American Cultivator (Upper Canada, 1842-1847) were told:

“To prevent the Hair following off, wash the head once a day with good old Jamaican rum.”

If you decide to try the technique, please keep us posted on your results.

Reference: The agricultural periodicals of Upper Canada.

---

When you see interesting items you can’t find online or locally

Get in touch with us at docctr@library.uiuc.edu. Tell us the titles and/or document numbers. We will help you gain access.

---

Best regards and good searching.

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas for ACDC. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communication documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Com Documentation Center, 510 LIAC, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801 ) or electronic form at docctr@library.uiuc.edu.

September, 2005

I could write a book

 Is the title of a lively new one by Roy Reiman, viewed widely as the most innovatively successful rural-rooted publisher of our time. A subtitle summarizes his remarkable career path: “The behind-the-scenes story of Reiman Publications, a company that began in the basement, was built on ‘wild ideas’ and became a publishing empire that sold for $760 million.”

How can magazines survive – even prosper – without advertising?
Is it possible that readers can and will write most of the copy for a magazine?
Are they subscribers – or friends?
Can one of the nation’s largest publishers operate without organizational charts?
How does the “wince factor” work?

Readers will find a fascinating world of answers and ideas as the author shares his experiences in launching and developing (occasionally dropping) 15 magazines – from The Pepperette (1963) and Farm Wife News (1970) to Birds and Blooms (1995) and Cooking for 2 (2005).

Reference: I could write a book
Information: 1-800-558-1013

New Agricultural Media Study released.

We have added to the ACDC collection a summary of results of a 2004-2005 survey among a representative sample of U.S. producers. This printed summary was made available during a presentation at the recent Ag Media Summit in Wisconsin. Harris Interactive, Inc., conducted the survey for Agri-Council of American Business Media. Among the highlighted findings:

• Ag media are as important as ever. “Most farmers and ranchers are using the same amount or more agricultural media than they did 3 or 4 years ago and expect to spend similar amounts of time in the next 3 to 4 years.”
• “Farmers and ranchers use many sources of agricultural media and information, and most are used with a high degree of frequency.”
• “Most respondents rely on ag media to help them make purchase decisions and the youngest among them indicate the greatest reliance.”
• “…ag magazines or newspapers, ag newsletters, and ag dealers/retailers are among the most highly regarded sources, while telemarketers are the least highly regarded source of information.”
• “The Internet is growing in importance as a source of information used by farmers and ranchers as majorities are online or plan to be in the future.”

Reference: Agricultural Media Study

Note: We are taking steps to get a copy of the full report for deposit in the ACDC collection.

---

Investing in agricultural information.

A study reported recently in the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics examined use of market consultants and market information systems by 1,617 grain and cotton producers in four states. Results showed that 15 percent of the producers hired market consultants for an average of $411 a year. Thirty-seven percent of the producers bought market information systems/services for an average of $291 a year.

Reference: Target markets for grain and cotton marketing consultants

---

Effects of photographs about complex farming issues.

One-sided versus two-sided use of photographs came under study in a project reported in Media Psychology. Researchers found that one-sided use of photographs strongly influenced public perceptions about the economics of farming. Respondents viewed reports that featured either (a) no photograph, (b) a photograph exemplifying one side of the issue [rich farmers or poor farmers] or two photographs exemplifying both sides of the issue [rich farmers and poor farmers]. Researchers urged the balanced use of photographs for multifaceted issue reports.

Reference: Effects of photographs on news-magazine reports on issue perception

---

How physicians, nurse practitioners and dietitians feel about food biotechnology and genetic engineering.

Generally “positive” was the theme reported recently by a team of researchers in the Journal of Environmental Health. Results from their survey showed that physician respondents held more positive attitudes than nurse practitioners or registered dietitians. Physicians and nurse practitioners supported the use of genetic engineering to improve plant resistance to pests. Dietitians tended to support nutritional-improvement technology.

Reference: Health professionals hold positive attitudes

---

“When science and business clash, ethics must rule.” 

Jenny Luesby, editor-in-chief of Novis Group, opened a recent commentary with that advice to associates in the nutrition industry.

“The consumer is out there making decisions that balance benefits and risks often without sight of the risks: no wonder there is a sensation when a risk floats into public view. … We look, we assess, and we say what we think is useful: that is, we grossly simplify. But that demands everything from us ethically. It is simply not good enough – ever – to fall back on seeing only that which we want to see. To dismiss a study that may threaten our livelihood as ‘scientifically flawed,’ and therefore not TRUE, is a serious charge. And we must take it seriously. The burden of proof rests with us.”

Reference: The business of food safety
Posted at: http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/printNewsBis.asp?id=61508

---

Communicator activities approaching

September 22-24, 2005
50th anniversary meeting of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation in Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada.
Information: http://www.cfwf.ca

September 28- October 2, 2005
Annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists in Austin, Texas
Information: http://www.sej.org/confer/index1.htm

October 1, 2005
Deadline for papers to be considered for presentation in the Agricultural Communications Section of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS) conference in Orlando, Florida, February 2006.
Information: http://www.saasinc.org/orlando2006/orlando_mainpage.asp

October 22-26, 2005
Joint meeting of the National Association of Science Writers and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Information: http://www.nasw.org

---

Agricultural journalism faculty position.

The Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln seeks an agricultural journalism faculty member.
Information: http://aglec.unl.edu

---

Freelance writer celebrating.

In closing, we pass along this piece of inspired writing from the 2005 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. Sponsored by the Department of English and Comparative Literature at San Jose State University, the contest is a “whimsical literary competition that challenges the entrants to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels.” We found our featured entry by Lawrence Person listed under “Miscellaneous Dishonorable Mentions.”“Inside his cardboard box, Greg heated a dented can of Spaghetti-O’s over a small fire made from discarded newspapers, then cracked open his last can of shoplifted generic beer to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his embarkation on a career as a freelance writer.”Posted with other award winners at: http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/english/2005.htm

---

When you see interesting items you can’t find online or locally

Get in touch with us at docctr@library.uiuc.edu. Tell us the titles and/or document numbers. We will help you gain access.

---

Best regards and good searching.

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions, and ideas for ACDC. Feel free to invite our assistance as you search for information. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Com Documentation Center, 510 LIAC, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or electronic form at docctr@library.uiuc.edu.

September, 2005