ACDC Newsletter – Page 33 – Funk Library

ACDC News – Issue 04-16

Posted on January 31, 2004 by Elizabeth Ray

Internet competing with traditional farm media?

Not necessarily, according to results of a study reported (2000) in International Food and Agribusiness Management Review. Researchers examined the use of information sources through a mail survey of 10,500 farms with sales in excess of $100,000. They reported:

“…Internet use tends to be associated with producers who have more favorable views of information sources. In five different models, Internet use increased the probability that producers had a favorable view of the information source. Based on these results, it appears that the Internet might be a complement rather than a substitute for traditional information sources, or an indicator of producers who find traditional information sources useful. Likewise, crop farms and livestock farms tend to have different attitudes toward information sources”

Reference: On the “Database Search” page of this web site, use a title search (Sources of information) or author search (Gloy) for the full citation. The article was posted online at: www.ifama.org/nonmember/OpenIFAMR/Articles/v3i2/245-260.pdf

On suppressing dissent about pesticides.

An analysis reported in Philosophy and Social Action examined the exercise of power by supporters of pesticides to silence and discredit scientist critics. Brian Martin presented several cases of attacks on critics of pesticides as illustrations of the concept of “suppression of dissent.”

“It is impossible to say how great an effect suppression of dissent has upon any particular debate, because few studies have been made of the phenomenon and it is difficult to know how deeply the patterns of power, of which suppression is a reflection, affect scientific work. In a scientific culture in which dissent is systematically discouraged, prohibition may become internalized as inhibition…. There is plenty of evidence to show that power politics does play a major role in the operations of science, but in science textbooks and media reporting this is still seen as an aberration rather than a regular occurrence.”

Reference: Use a title search (Critics of pesticides) or author search (Martin) for the full citation. The article was posted online at: www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/pubs/96psa.html

Using producer focus groups to guide information programs.

Through input to focus groups, Iowa grain and livestock producers offered 10 suggestions for helping them make informed decisions about fertilizer and pesticide use that would offer environmental benefits. We have added to the ACDC collection an 11-page summary of procedures and findings.

Recommendations from producers identified message content they need, plus information channels and information delivery methods they prefer. Other findings provided insights about how producers make decisions in balancing efficiency of crop production and environmental benefits. Results of these four focus groups offered guidance for an Integrated Farm and Livestock Management Demonstration Program in Iowa.

Reference: Use a title search (Producer focus groups) or author search (Schultz) for the full citation. The report was posted online at: www.agriculture.state.ia.us/iflm/focusgroups.pdf

Offer alternative names.

Commenting about the role of citizens in agricultural science, Elizabeth Ann R. Bird observed:

“What you name something is important…What you name it in the context of scientific inquiry is going to shape both that inquiry and the results. So one of the ways to engage the politics of science is to figure out where the values are implicit and how things are named, and to offer alternative names.” For example:

” Is manure a waste to be disposed of or, instead, a resource to be used?
” Is sustainable farming an added labor cost or a resource that producers can use to gain more value from their farms while reducing input costs?

Reference: Use a title search (What is the role of citizens) or author search (Bird) for the full citation. The presentation was posted online at:www.csare.org/pubs/role.htm.

Attitudes toward functional health properties of GM foods.

Results of a consumer survey in Canada suggest, “…many Canadian consumers will avoid GM foods, regardless of the presence of functional health properties.” Findings reported in the Agribusiness article also revealed that consumers seem more accepting of functional foods derived from genetically modified plants than from genetically modified animals.

Reference: Use a title search (Consumer response to functional foods) or author search (Larue) for the full citation.

Don’t try to fit every dairy farmer into a single system.

University of Wisconsin Extension heard that advice from Wisconsin dairy producers who took part in focus groups. A summary of results (2000) revealed that producers recognize the University as a unique source of unbiased, high quality information.

However, producers recommended that Extension pay more attention to the needs of small and medium-sized dairy farm operators and cautioned against “trying to fit everyone into a single model of dairy farming.” They also invited help in developing better marketing skills and options.

Reference: Use a title search (Farmer recommendations) or author search (Ostrom) for the full citation. The summary was posted online at:www.pats.wisc.edu/pdf%20documents/recs00.pdf

Sincere thanks to Elena Padilla who served as graduate assistant in the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center during the past year.

This month Elena completed her master’s degree in library and information science, so will be embarking on a new phase of her career. As academic coordinator of the Center, she spearheaded an excellent year of progress in adding documents, processing newly contributed collections, enhancing the web site, and settling into our new home in the ACES Funk Library.

Communicator activities approaching

September 26-29, 2004
“Tippecanoe and Technology Too.” National Extension Technology Conference
(NETC) at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Information:http://www2.agriculture.purdue.edu/netc2004

September 29-October 2, 2004
Annual conference of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation in Windsor,
Ontario.
Information:http://www.cfwf.ca

October 17-20, 2004
Annual convention of Communication Officers of State Departments of
Agriculture (COSDA) in Nashville, Tennessee.
Information: www.nasda.org/cosda/annual.htm

October 20-24, 2004
Annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Information:www.sej.org/confer/index1.htm

Best regards and good searching.

September 2004

ACDC News – Issue 04-15

Posted on January 31, 2004 by Elizabeth Ray

Covering “the quirky side of farming life.”

That’s how newspaper reporter Richard Chin put it in a feature article about Farm Show, a farm paper published in Minnesota. “It focuses almost entirely on new and sometimes wacky equipment, inventions, products, problem-solving ideas, money-saving shortcuts and money-making schemes invented for and often by farmers…. Imagine, in other words, a combination of Popular Mechanics, Consumer Reports and Ripley’s Believe It or Not for the combine and tractor set.”

In any case, Farm Show has about 175,000 paid subscribers and has been doing its thing for 27 years. This feature described the development, operations and editorial approach of it.

Reference: Use a title search (Farm Show newspaper) or author search (Chin) for the full citation. The report was posted on:www.coafes.umn.edu

Wireless broadband for isolated rural communities

A 2003 report from the Alliance for Public Technology and the Benton Foundation included news about a wireless broadband service for 152 communities across Alaska. Most of them could not access the Internet via local dial-up service. This technology is similar to commercial quality WiFi, where the signal is pushed out from a central point and accessible via wireless connections in the surrounding area. “The wireless platform is a critical component in serving these Alaskan communities.”

Reference: Use a title search (Broadband world) for the full citation. The report was posted on www.benton.org

Six theses and dissertations added.

We have added to the ACDC collection six recent theses and dissertations that involve the communications aspects of agriculture, food and natural resource management. They include:

Chad S. Davis, Cognitive and affective responses of West Texas Hispanics/Latinos to agricultural news: a comparison of four English and Spanish presentation methods. Dissertation for Doctor of Education, Texas Tech University, Lubbock. 2003.
Jason D. Ellis, High school students’ perceptions of food safety. Thesis, Master of Science, Iowa State University, Ames. 2003.
Susan Grantham, An ounce of prevention: the effects of critical thinking disposition and message frames on behavioral intent for low-involvement risks. Dissertation for Doctor of Philosophy, University of Florida, Gainesville. 2003.
David H. Segrest, Jr., Evaluating the effectiveness of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Hueco Tanks State Historic Site orientation/conservation video. Thesis for Master of Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock. 2003.
Leslie A. Simon, The assessment and design of an agricultural communications curriculum at the masters level: a Delphi study. Thesis for Master of Science, University of Florida, Gainesville. 2003.
Kamy R. Williams, Areas of food safety concerning Lubbock, Texas, residents and their preferred information sources.Thesis for Master of Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock. 2003.

Reference: Use title or author searches for the full citations. The Documentation Center has these in print, but not electronic, format.

Also, here are 10 ACE research papers

Presented at the recent Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) conference in Nevada:

Eric A. Abbott, An in-depth look at Internet adoption and use by Iowa farm families: implications for communicators.Contact: eabbott@iastate.edu
Robert Agunga, James J. Connors and Hsing-Ying Chen, A study of the Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ Ecological Paradigm Model. Contact: agunga.1@osu.edu
Steven G. Hill, Metaphoric criticism as a tool for agricultural communicators: archetypal and conceptual metaphoric theory. Contact: shill@ksu.edu
Lisa K. Lundy, Tracy A. Irani, Ricky Telg and Nick Place, Are we on the right road? A formative evaluation of the Roadmap to Effective Distance Education Instructional Design. Contact: lkj@ufl.edu
Emily B. Rhoades, Scaling the rural-urban digital divide: agricultural trade magazine publications’ use of the Internet to reach rural audiences. Contact: ebbisdorf@mail.ifas.ufl.edu
Amanda Ruth, Denise Bortree, Ross Ford, Saundra Braun and Kelly Flowers, A new direction for agricultural media relations: meeting journalists’ information needs through the Web. Contact: amruth@ufl.edu
Amanda Ruth and Emily E. Eubanks, Reporting mad news: framing of the mad cow media coverage. Contact: amruth@ufl.edu
Ricky Telg and Tracy Irani, Integrating critical thinking into agricultural communication curricula. Contact: rtelg@ifas.ufl.edu
Mark Tucker, Stan Ernst and Coreen E. Henry, Demystifying the puzzle of applied communication research. Contact: tucker.9@osu.edu
Larry R. Whiting, Mark Tucker and Sherrie R. Whaley, Level of preparedness for managing crisis communication on land grant campuses. Contact: whiting.2@osu.edu

Reference: Contact authors (above) or check with us at the Documentation Center about gaining access to abstracts or full texts.

Ahhh. The functional food advertisements of yesteryear.

An article that we added recently to the ACDC collection from Media History Digest helps us understand early years of food advertising. The featured food advertisements trace back 217 years. Some of the more interesting ones from the late 1800s offered great medicinal values. Would they be called “functional foods” today? For example:

A “new waste-repairing bread and gem flour for dyspepsia, diabetes, lung troubles and nervous debility.”
A baby food “already digested” for babies to “maintain their vigor in the summer months.”
Imperial Granum, the Great Medicinal Food. “A superior nutritive in continued fevers and a reliable remedial agent in all diseases of the stomach and intestines.”
An improved root beer. “…a delicious temperance beverage. All admit of its superiority for weak and sickly children.”

Reference: Use a title search (Food ads of yesteryear) or author search (Reitz) for the full citation.

Communicator activities approaching:

September 26-29, 2004
“Tippecanoe and Technology Too.” National Extension Technology Conference (NETC) will take place at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Information: www2.agriculture.purdue.edu

September 30-October 3, 2004
Annual meeting of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation in Windsor, Ontario.
Information: www.cfwf.ca

October 17-20, 2004
Annual convention of Communication Officers of State Departments of Agriculture (COSDA) in Nashville, Tennessee.
Information: www.nasda.org

October 20-24, 2004
Annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Information: www.sej.org

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 communications documents that we might add to this unique collection. Send hard copies to: Ag Com Documentation Center510 LIAC Library1101 S. Goodwin Avenue Urbana, IL 61801 or electronic copies to: docctr@library.uiuc.edu

August 2004

ACDC News – Issue 04-14

Posted on January 31, 2004 by Elizabeth Ray

Getting the urban media to listen

“With farm-media relations already at a low ebb, industry insiders believe there may be worse to come,” Owen Roberts wrote in a recent issue of Better Farming (Ontario, Canada). “That makes communications strategies and media relations more important than ever.”

The article described recent examples of libel suits and media criticisms of farming methods. It cited concerns about future antagonisms that new technologies such as nutraceuticals could create. And it described several efforts being launched, including speak-up groups, media relations initiatives and communications training for producers and others.

Reference: Use a title search (challenge for agriculture) or author search (Roberts) for the full citation. The article was posted on: www.betterfarming.com

Invest more to advertise extension programs and literature

That advice emerged from a study reported recently in the Journal of Extension. Research among Oklahoma (USA) farmers who use and do not use the Extension Service analyzed their preferred information sources and identified effective means of communicating with non-users.

Researchers concluded, “CES [Cooperative Extension Service] should invest more resources to advertise programs and literature using public forums that reach a larger audience than is currently served. It is the land-grant university’s responsibility to reach non CES users farmers through whatever means necessary to fulfill the mission of the Morrill Act.”

Reference: Use a title search (Comparison of farmers) or author search (Kelsey) for the full citation. The article was posted onwww.joe.org/joe/2004april/a8.shtml

A call for digital collaboration.

The Agriculture Network Information Center (AgNIC) consortium recently prepared a white paper identifying roles and opportunities for collaboration between the E-Extension development effort and AgNIC.

“The purpose of this paper is to suggest that these two groups have a considerable body of common interest. Further, that by working together where there are overlapping interests it is possible to create a Digital Land Grant Information System.”

Reference: Use a title search (Digital land grant information system) or author search (Gardner) for the full citation. The paper was posted on: http://laurel.nal.usda.gov:8080/agnic/members/mgardner/news_item.2004-01-23.3210

Communicators provide focus for land reform efforts

The Kyrgyzstan Land Reform Project is getting valuable guidance from research among those on the land. We recently added to the ACDC collection a report of findings about knowledge levels, attitudes and practices of farmers and rural leaders regarding land rights issues. Eric Abbott of Iowa State University designed the study, conducted during early 2004, through a Chemonics International project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Results helped assess the impact of a first phase of the Land Reform Project. In addition, findings identified the kinds of information that farmers need next in their efforts to “take advantage of one’s ownership of land or the ability to acquire additional land.”

Reference: Use a title search (Knowledge, attitudes and practices) or author search (Abbott) for the full citation

Concerns of consumers about shopping online for groceries.

An article by Mike Kempiak and Mark A. Fox summarized some findings of research reported about this topic during 2000 to 2002. Among the main concerns that consumers identified at this stage of e-grocery shopping:

Quality of produce
Delivery – timeliness, convenience, methods
Desire to see and touch the food bought
Online security and privacy
Download time of graphic displays

Authors also examined experiences and trends in e-grocery business models, ranging from pure-play online stores to e-marketing by established bricks-and-mortar supermarkets.

Reference: Use a title search (Online grocery shopping) or author search (Kempiak) for the full citation. The article was posted at: www.firstmonday.com

“Whither the Flavr Savr tomato?”

“That question, headlined in California Agriculture magazine, highlighted the fact that biotech horticultural crops have “all but disappeared” from supermarkets in the U.S. This brief article reported how field testing of genetically engineered horticultural crops has plummeted while field crops – such as soybeans, corn, canola and cotton – have been “wildly successful.”

Peck urged journalists to interact and engage with their communities of interest. “We can no longer put out newspapers by phone, e-mail, government reports and unnamed sources,” even in an era of corporate pressures to write “really, really fast.” Peck illustrated the growing complexity of issues by observing, “the ag beat isn’t about tractors anymore but about biogenetic engineering.”

Reference: Use a title search (above) for the full citation. The article was posted (May 17, 2004) at agnet-archives.

Vastly different images of rural America.

Findings of a recent content analysis show that broadcast and print media portray “vastly different images of rural America.” Among the results:

More than three-fourths of network television news stories about rural America focused on crime.
Land use issues such as urban sprawl received the most attention in major newspapers and news magazines “while television ignored these issues entirely.”
News reports in print or in television rarely linked rural life to agriculture.
“Currier and Ives-like portrayals of rural charm were balanced by depictions of an economically challenged or socially marginal environment.”

Reference: Use a title search (Study: broadcast, print outlets) for the full citation. The report was posted on: www.wkkf.org

Providing a free and instant service

“I believe that’s hard to replace,” said Jeff Nalley, president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters, in a recent report to U.S. soybean growers about the role of farm broadcasting. Pointing to an increasing flow of agricultural information, he observed:

“It’s true that there are volumes of information available on the internet today, but what farmer has the time to sit and read for hours on end? That’s my job. I believe they need someone that they can trust, who understands what their needs are, who can go and find that information and present it to them in a concise and a timely fashion. …I believe farm broadcasting is a trusted source of information that producers are actually going to need more as this industry continues to evolve.”

Reference: Use a title search (Q&A with Jeff Nalley) for the full citation.

Special cows in South Texas.

We close this issue of ACDC News with a livestock question. It came to our attention through the custodians of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, with which you may be familiar. Here’s the interview question that a sports writer of the Press-Democrat (Sonoma County, California) put to Jeff Kent, second baseman of the San Francisco Giants in March 2001:

“How does a kid from Huntington Beach wind up castrating cows in South Texas?”:

You can see dozens more featured examples of bad published writing at www.bulwer-lytton.com/sticks.htm. Fortunately, most of them do not involve agriculture.

Communicator activities approaching:

September 30-October 3, 2004
Annual meeting of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation in Windsor, Ontario.
Information: www.cfwf.ca

Best regards and good searching.

hard copies to:

Ag Com Documentation Center

510 LIAC Library

1101 S. Goodwin Avenue

Urbana, IL 61801

or electronic copies to:

docctr@library.uiuc.edu

July 2004

ACDC News – Issue 04-13

Posted on January 31, 2004 by Elizabeth Ray

Producers should pay less attention to the technology of electronic commerce

Instead, they should think of e-commerce as “a new way of doing business, a new way of farming.” So advised a specialist cited in a report that we have added from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation about the impact of e-commerce on agriculture. The report examined what Internet access and e-commerce may mean to farms of various sizes, and to the future of food systems.

Reference: On the ACDC search page, use a title search (Impact of e-commerce) for the full citation. The report was posted on:www.wkkf.org

News from Washington “can’t just be recorded it has to be reported,”

Said Ken Root in a recent issue of Chats newsletter from the National Association of Farm Broadcasters. He was describing challenges that NAFB reporters faced in hunting for answers to tough questions during their annual “Washington Watch” event. In one case, there “wasn’t a single sound bite from a man who is paid not to give you what you want.”

Reference: Use a title search (Farm broadcasters) or author search (Root) for full citation.

Sending wrong messages about food safety.

Television cooking programs show lots of “negative food handling behaviors,” according to results of a study reported in Food Protection Trends. Researchers recorded and reviewed 60 hours of television food and cooking programs aired during June 2002 and 2003. The programs, mostly on Food Network Canada, had been produced in Canada, United Kingdom and United States.

Findings revealed 916 poor food-handling incidents, or about 13 negative behaviors aired for every positive one. Authors identified the most common food safety errors and recommended improvements in television food and cooking programs.

Reference: Use a title search (Spot the mistake) or author search (Mathiasen) for full citation. The abstract was posted on: fsnet-archives, (May 25, 2004).

Despite the unique decentralizing features of the Internet

Governments continue to be capable of controlling information flows in rural development. So indicated the results of field research in Indonesia (1998), Peru (1999) and Vietnam (1998). Robin Van Koert found “the level of interactive use of [electronic media] in rural development appears, to a large extent, to be determined by the state of democracy in a nation-state.” Governments used political or economic restrictions to control information flows.

Reference: Use a title search (Impact of democratic deficits) or author search (Van Koert) for the full citation. The report from First Monday journal was posted at www.firstmonday.org

Lots of NPAC resources.

“AAACE was changed forever by the formation of NPAC,” said Mason E. Miller in a recent issue of ACE Signals newsletter from the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences. He described the remarkable professional development program, National Project in Agricultural Communication, which served ACE members and others from 1953-1960, and beyond.

If you are interested in NPAC we can report that the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center contains much of the material generated from that program. You can identify it through online ACDC searches such as:

Title search. Use terms such as:

The First Seven Years, 1953-60

Written communication training program

Writers workbook

Diffusion process

Guide communication training program

Campaigns in agricultural extension programs

Subject search. Use the term:

“National Project in Agricultural Communication”

Journal search. Suggested terms:

AGRICOM

AgriSearch

Communique

How civic journalists may save the media.

Get out and get connected with your communities, the editor of The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington) urged journalists in a speech that we have added to the ACDC collection. Chris Peck described a “coming transformation, perhaps even revolution, in the newsrooms of America’s newspapers, TV stations and online news operations.”

Reference: Use a title search (Transformation from within) or author search (Peck) for the full citation. The speech was posted on: www.pewcenter.org

Like playing in a parade band.

“Telling the cooperative story is like playing in a parade band,” a colleague once told Susie Bullock, executive director of Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA). “The song is the same, but the audience changes as the band moves down the street.”

She made this point in a recent article about how cooperative communicators can deal with the challenges of change, adding that issues cooperatives face and tools communicators use change along with audiences.

Reference: Use a title search (Executive directors) or author search (Trinkl) for the full citation.

1920 salaries of agricultural college editors

Here are results of the first salary survey conducted by the American Association of Agricultural College Editors (AAACE). Findings were reported in mid-1920:
Editors
Range: $2,000-$3,500 a year
Mean: $2739

Assistant editors
Range: $1,200-$2,400 a year
Mean: $1,850

Communicator activities approaching:

July 18-21, 2004
Marketing and Communication Excellence Conference of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) in Columbus, Ohio. For electric cooperative marketers, communicators and member services staff.
Information: www.nreca.org

July 20, 2004
“Driving the focus of primary industries in S.A.” Luncheon meeting Of Rural Media South Australia in Brisbane.
Information: www.ruralmediasa.com

July 23-25, 2004
Professional development program of Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) in Tampa, Florida. This gathering immediately precedes the Agricultural Communications Summit.
Information: www.agrelationscouncil.org

July 25-28, 2004
“Spring break this summer.” Agricultural Publications Summit involves members of the Livestock Publications Council (LPC), American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA), American Business Media – AgriCouncil (ABM) and National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT). Meeting in Tampa, Florida.
Information: www.ageditors.com

Best regards and good searching.

hard copies to:

Ag Com Documentation Center

510 LIAC Library

1101 S. Goodwin Avenue

Urbana, IL 61801

or electronic copies to:

docctr@library.uiuc.edu

July 2004

ACDC News – Issue 04-12

Posted on January 31, 2004 by Elizabeth Ray

Agricultural social scientists as interlopers

“Economists within [national agricultural research systems] are often perceived as interlopers in an establishment traditionally ‘owned’ by technical scientists.” The comment caught our eye in a conference report about the role of social sciences within the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. CGIAR is an association of public and private sector donors that support a network of international agricultural research centers.

If some economists consider themselves interlopers in agricultural research systems, then this conference reflected communications researchers as absent altogether. Economics and sociology earned mentions in the report as social sciences. Communications scholarship did not, as such, despite many references to mainstream areas of communications research. Examples:

Understanding the perspectives of farmers regarding the management of natural resources and needs for research.
Fostering farmer participation in diagnosing development issues and experimenting with solutions to them.
Identifying the decision-making structures and processes into which information must be channeled if it is to influence research agendas.
Establishing and maintaining effective linkages within the agricultural research community and with the user, donor and other publics to which it relates.

Reference: Use a title search (Social science in the CGIAR) or author search (Collinson) for full citation.

Real disparities in rural versus urban access.

A recent assessment in Bulgaria revealed “real disparities between rural and urban areas in terms of their access to both computing and connectivity.” This situation exists despite the fact that Bulgaria has the highest telephone density of any Eastern European country and “has been renowned for its technological innovative expertise, especially skilled software and computer engineers.”

The report explained how large areas of rural Bulgaria may have access to telephone lines, but the systems are likely to be poor and antiquated because they involve analogue equipment. It offered suggestions for improvement as the government privatizes the nation’s telecommunications system.

Reference: Use a title search (Bulgaria assessment) for the full citation. The report was posted on: http://www.usaid.gov/info_technology

Business brokers – a key to rural e-commerce.

It takes more than electronic technologies to develop electronic business networks, according to Jason Henderson in a report that we added recently to the ACDC collection. Also required:

A rural business culture that prizes cooperation
Funding support for development and sustained success
The presence of a broker

“Brokers bring owners together and help identify a common goal or objective for the network,” the author explained. “They can come from many sources: community colleges, extension services, nonprofit organizations and trade groups among others.”

Reference: Use a title search (Networking with e-commerce) or author search (Henderson) for the full citation. The report was posted on: www.kc.frb.org

Passing of “a giant among agricultural communicators.”

That is how a colleague described Roy Battles who died April 20 at the age of 92. The career of this native Ohio farm boy involved pioneering efforts in farm broadcasting and agricultural public relations. Among his many contributions and honors:

Participant in the first national conference of the National Association of Radio Farm Directors (1945). President of that organization (1950).
Inducted into the Farm Broadcaster Hall of Fame (1990)
One of the founders of the Agricultural Relations Council (1953). President of that organization (1970).
Longtime member of the judging panel of the Oscars in Agriculture program, which recognizes excellence in agricultural reporting.

Reference: Use title searches (“Ode to Roy Battles” and “Farm broadcasting: the first sixty years”) or a subject search (Battles) to identify information about him.

The teaspoon theory of farming.

We recently added to the ACDC collection a classic piece by Steven Berntson about the family farmer’s dilemma in the Midwest USA. Writing for the Sunday Register (Des Moines, Iowa) in 1986, Berntson sketched this dilemma through the attitudes and operating styles of two farmers:

Peter Plugalong buys little new, minimizes expenses, stays debt-free, works hard, expects no guarantees from a year of effort beyond the experiences and pleasure of it, and substitutes labor for capital. “If I farmed just one acre of ground, I might farm it with a teaspoon, if I could.”
Fred Getahead farms big with late-model equipment to get the work done fast, whittles time and labor in any way he can, uses automated grain storage, studies the markets, operates from spreadsheets and has debts – big ones – that are hurting in a time of cost-price squeeze.

Beyond Berntson’s vivid description of these styles, he analyzed them in terms of the future of family farms

Reference: Use a title search (Hayseed and the BTO) or author search (Berntson) for full citation.

Parity – an enduringly strong message appeal.

Nothing seems to have the staying power of the parity concept, as a message strategy to demonstrate that farmers should be getting higher prices for their products, that their purchasing power has slipped badly. Parity is the price farmers would receive if farm prices had increased at the same rate as expenses, using 1910-14 as a base period.

Many farmers watch parity ratios with interest. Some farm organizations publish them regularly.

Reference: For the current source of information concerning parity messages, check U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics at www.usda.gov/nass. Within that site, use the search system to enter terms such as “2004 parity price.”

Still want to be a journalist?

We close this issue of ACDC News with several more food, health and other assorted headlines cited in “So you want to be a journalist.”

“New study of obesity looks for larger test group”

“Hospitals are sued by 7 foot doctors”

“Cold wave linked to temperatures”

“Red tape holds up new bridges”

“Man struck by lightning faces battery charges”

Communicator activities approaching:

July 18-21, 2004
NRECA Marketing and Communication Excellence Conference in Columbus, Ohio USA. Sponsored by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association for electric cooperative marketers, communicators and member services staff.
Information: www.nreca.org

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 communications documents that we might add to this unique collection. Send hard copies to: Ag Com Documentation Center 510 LIAC Library 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue Urbana, IL 61801 or electronic copies to: docctr@library.uiuc.edu

June 2004

ACDC News – Issue 04-11

Posted on January 31, 2004 by Elizabeth Ray

On the lagging access to broadband in rural U.S.

“The incredible growth of Internet access across the country has been fairly even between urban and rural areas,” according to an October 2003 report that we have added from The Main Street Economist. “Growth in broadband use, on the other hand, has been far less even. From 2000 to 2001, high-speed connections grew 9.4% in urban areas but just 4.9% in rural areas. Currently, less than 5% of towns with up to 10,000 residents have access to broadband. And areas that are both small and remote rarely have access to high-speed services.”

The author described several new technologies that may serve as alternatives to traditional wire lines.

Reference: On the “Database Search” page of this web site, use a title search (Update on rural broadband) or author search (Abraham) for the full citation. The article was posted on: www.kc.frb.org

Insights of agricultural editors needed more than ever.

“The developments in biotechnology only skim the surface of the revolution that is occurring in information,” said Martin Maleska of Primedia Inc. at the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) conference in Kansas City, Missouri, during April. “With the proliferation of information, what’s needed more than ever is the insight of knowledgeable, experienced people, such as our agricultural magazine editors, to help provide insight to our readers as to what that information can mean to them and how they can best use it.”

Elsewhere in the report, editors of some Primedia agricultural magazines offered brief perspectives on the adoption of biotechnology in agriculture.

Reference: Use a title search (Commentary: biotech advantages) or author search (Brandon) for the full citation. The commentary was posted on: http://deltafarmpress.com/news

What triggers the media.

Some stories about food safety and other public health risks “take off” spectacularly in the media. In a book chapter about understanding responses to risk, Peter Bennett cited nine “media triggers” that have been identified by research. Situations that raise questions of blame may be the most important among them, he said.

Reference: Use a title search (Understanding responses) or author search (Bennett) for the full citation.

Ag radio for Afghan farmers.

Radio remains the most popular and effective means of communications throughout Afghanistan. More than 80 percent of Afghan livelihoods are derived from agriculture. So now, after restrictions of recent years, radio stations of that nation are looking to agricultural programming to help achieve food security, improve nutrition and boost incomes. We have added to the ACDC collection a report of a recent workshop on agricultural journalism for radio reporters in Afghanistan.

Reference: Use a title search (Ag radio reaches out) for the full citation. Posted on: www.usaid.gov

Testimony to the extension concept.

L. Mishra, former dean of extension education in India, shared these enduringly timely insights in a 1997 Journal of Extension Education article that we added recently to the ACDC collection:

Extension education lives in villages not in the college campus.
Extension believes in the group approach and joint effort to achieve goals.
A piece of successful extension work acts as a “spark plug” with radiating effect.
Extension lives in the heart of people.

Reference: Use a title search (Glimpse of past) or author search (Mishra) for the full citation.

The time is ripe

To ensure that women in developing countries can enter the information age, according to an international study for the U.S. Agency for International Development. In a 120-page analysis, authors Nancy Hafkin and Nancy Taggart examined gender aspects of the Digital Divide. They identified ways in which new information technologies can improve the lives of women and their families through employment opportunities, political empowerment, reduced isolation and other benefits.

Reference: Use a title search (Gender, information technology) or author search (Hafkin) for the full citation. The study was posted on: www.usaid.gov

Bringing communications literature into the agriculture mainstream.

Day by day, year by year, communications is gaining visibility and focus within the body of agricultural literature. We are pleased to report that the Agriculture Network Information Center (AgNIC) now includes an “agricultural communications” subject area.

AgNIC is a collaborative alliance involving the National Agricultural Library of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, land-grant universities and associations. It seeks to provide access to quality agriculture-related information and resources by the Internet. Several years ago AgNIC approved our proposal to establish and maintain an agricultural communications subject area, with the Ag Com Documentation Center as a key resource. The University of Illinois, as partner site, provides primary support for this subject area.

Take a look at “AgCom on AgNIC” www.agnic.org via the search option, using the term “communications.” It features more than 120 live links to sources of information about agricultural communications. And it is a work in progress. We welcome your reactions and suggestions – and your cooperation – in helping users gain easier and greater access to research and other information about the communications aspects of agriculture.

Recognizing contributors.

The ACDC web site now features communicators who have contributed personal collections to the Center during the past 23 years. Through biographical sketches on individual pages, you can learn about the careers of nine contributors. This project began during March and will continue as we gather information to recognize those who are serving their profession in this important, enduring way.

Reference: Go to the “Our Collection” page and use the live links to visit pages that feature individual contributors.

A salary review

In closing, here is a question for those interested in the communications programs of U.S. agriculture colleges.

Question: What salaries did agriculture college editors receive in 1920?

Please forward your estimate of average salary level to docctr@library.uiuc.edu. We will report the answer in a future issue of ACDC News.

Communicator activities approaching:

June 20-24, 2004
“ACE’s High in Nevada.” 2004 International Meeting of the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) at Lake Tahoe, Nevada USA.
Information: www.aceweb.org

June 23-24, 2004
Agricultural Communications Summit, held in conjunction with the ACE convention (above). The summit will provide an opportunity for facilitated discussion and planning to position the profession for success in the preparation of tomorrow’s agricultural communicators.
Information: www.ag-communicators.org

June 23-26, 2004
Summer meeting of National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Information: Pam Jahnke at 608-441-3746.

Best regards and good searching.

hard copies to:
Ag Com Documentation Center
510 LIAC Library
1101 S. Goodwin Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
or electronic copies to: docctr@library.uiuc.edu

June 2004

ACDC News – Issue 04-10

Posted on January 31, 2004 by Elizabeth Ray

On the lagging access to broadband in rural U.S.

Join your colleagues at the Agricultural Communications Summit, held in conjunction with the 2004 ACE International Meeting in Lake Tahoe, NV, on June 23 and 24. The summit will provide an opportunity for facilitated discussion and planning to position the profession for success in the preparation of tomorrow’s agricultural communicators. For more information, visit www.ag-communicators.org

Crop producers use more than a scientific framework

In deciding how to face severe plant disease outbreaks and economic stresses.

“It is clear that educators who assume that all farmers make decisions through a scientific mental causal mode are likely not correct in that assumption,” concluded the authors of a recent article in Agriculture and Human Values.

Minnesota producers who took part in this study also used institutional and spiritual frameworks to decide about diversifying their cropping systems. “Institutional” frameworks involved basing decisions more on personal experience or the experience of relatives and peers than on science. “Spiritual” frameworks involved, for example, considering crop rotations within the biblical context of letting the ground rest.

Reference: Use a title search (Farmer perspectives on cropping) or author search (Corselius) for the full citation.

Connecting with telecom in Africa

And without financial support from telecom companies, international development agencies or local authorities. A countrywide network of tele-based information centers (telecenters) in Ghana relies, instead, on a business model.

A recent case report in Telecommunications Policy described how these centers focus on the currently most profitable service – telephony. Many of the centers complement the revenue from the telecenters by combining several types of businesses, such as su-su (a type of informal banking service), renting of videocassettes, gift shops and restaurants. In a region poorly served by telecommunication services, telecenters are helping local communities gain access. The report described five kinds of impact on the communities involved.

Reference: Use a title search (Tele-centres as a way) or author search (Falch) for the full citation.

As information systems become more centralized.

Nearly 25 years ago Daryl Hobbs, a rural development specialist, examined implications of increasingly centralized information systems (e.g., media, education). He observed, “When viewed in the context of increased centralization of decision making…a consequence is that people become better and better informed about matters over which they have less and less control.” As a corollary, he said, people increasingly lack information about local matters they can control.

“A few years ago in a small Iowa community, an attempt was being made to identify community problems through interviews with residents. One of the most frequently identified problems was that of drug abuse. Those in charge of the project were curious and began seeking information about the extent of drug abuse. They found that none of the local authorities could recall any cases. It then occurred to the project leaders that perhaps community residents were extrapolating to the local situation from frequent national TV public service announcements concerning drug abuse.”

Hobbs encouraged the use of community self-studies that involve local residents in all phases of doing the survey.

Reference: Use a title search (Community perspective) or author search (Hobbs) for the full citation.

Consumer attitudes toward COOL.

Here are some of the documents we have added about results of recent U.S. consumer surveys regarding country-of-origin labeling of food:

“Country-of-origin labeling of beef products: U.S. consumers’ perceptions.” Paper presented at the 2003 FAMPS conference on food labels, Washington, D.C., March 2003. http://johnson.senate.gov/legispage/COOLBeefProducts-Consumers.pdf
“Grocery shopping preferences: point-of-origin.” Report prepared by the Division of Marketing and Development, Florida Department of Agriculture, January 2003. http://www.nfu.org/documents/legislative/cool/florida_survey_2003v2.pdf
“National Farmers Union survey: consumer attitudes on COOL.” Survey conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, Inc., Washington, D.C., January 2004.http://www.nfu.org/documents/legislative/cool/2004/cool_poll_jan2004.pdf
“Food from our changing world: the globalization of food and how Americans feel about it.” Report of a national survey as part of a multi-state land-grant university project on the consequences of globalized agricultural and natural resource systems, February 2003. http://sasw.chass.ncsu.edu/global-food

Even one person out there – better than a thousand signs.

The headline of an article in Birdscapes caught our eye: “Blue vest, a smile, and a small brown bird.” It turned out that the article described how a volunteer docent in a blue vest and straw hat was helping protect a tiny endangered bird, the western snowy plover, on California’s central coast. Docents learned outreach techniques to help them inform beach goers of the importance of staying clear of the birds’ nesting area in the dunes.

“I was amazed at the positive response we got from the public,” said the Wildlife Refuge manager on site. “Even one person out there, greeting the people, answering their questions, and addressing their concerns, is better than a thousand signs.”

Reference: Use a title search (Blue vest) or author search (Stockton) for the full citation. The article was posted on http://library.fws.gov/birdscapes/fall03/wetensp.html

Compelled to tell farmers what they should do

“The important issue is that some agricultural scientists feel compelled to tell farmers what they should do,” observed Andrew Hall and Silim Nahdy in an analysis of efforts in Uganda to strengthen agricultural research. They found disappointing results in national efforts to involve farmers in research projects. Four problem areas appeared:

Researcher/farmer power relationships
The professional identity of scientists
The skill base and available human resources
Perceptions concerning the validity of research methods (e.g., on-farm trials)

Authors noted “the tendency of institutionalized science to perpetuate these problems” that are not unique to Uganda.

Reference: Use a title search (New methods and old institutions) or author search (Hall) for the full citation.

How to build trust.

We close this issue of ACDC News with a comment by George Gaskell during a recent presentation on risk perception and genetically modified foods. He expressed the thought at an international conference organized by the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium.

“…trust…is not built by working on the other – it has to be earned by working on oneself.”

Communicator activities approaching:

June 12-15, 2004
“Run for the Gold.” 2004 Institute of Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Louisville, Kentucky USA.
Information: www.communicators.coop

July 25-28, 2004
“Spring Break This Summer.” Agricultural Publication Summit involves members of the Livestock Publications Council (LPC), American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA), American Business Media – Agri-Council (ABM), Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) and National Agricultural Communicators Of Tomorrow (ACT). Meeting in Tampa, Florida.
Information: www.ageditors.com

Best regards and good searching.

hard copies to:
Ag Com Documentation Center
510 LIAC Library
1101 S. Goodwin Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
or electronic copies to: docctr@library.uiuc.edu

May 2004

ACDC News – Issue 04-09

Posted on January 31, 2004 by Elizabeth Ray

Journalists as instant experts – in any subject.

Conrad Smith, author of Media and Apocalypse, took that notion to task after finding poor media coverage of complex disasters such as forest fires, oil spills and earthquakes. The root of the problem appears to be twofold, he concluded:

In the education of journalists, which deals primarily with routine stories.
In the professional culture of journalism which perpetuates customs that interfere with good reporting and encourages the notion that any journalist can quickly acquire expertise in any subject.

“There will always be a need for generalists in journalism,” Smith said, “but as science and technology become more complex there will be increasing need for specialized reporters to translate those complexities into lay terms.” This notion speaks directly to potentials (and challenges) facing professional communicators who understand complexities of the agriculture/food enterprise.

Reference: Use a title search (Media and apocalypse) or author search (Smith) for the full citation.

Front doors locked, shades drawn.

That is how Mark Stober recently described most agribusiness companies these days. He argued in Strategic Agribusiness Review that most agribusiness firms are “laboring under the foolish pretense that if they open up, someone will steal their great ideas and make off with their customers. What hogwash!”

A Harvard Business Review article that examined businesses as ecosystems triggered Stober’s comments. The authors suggested that business ecosystems are kept viable by keystone firms that continually try to improve the health of the entire system by creating and sharing value (money, ideas, other) with their business partners. A keystone company is focused outward and system-wide. “Agribusiness is woefully short of keystones,” Stober observed.

Reference: Use a title search (Commentary on how agribusiness) or author search (Stober) for the full citation. The commentary was posted online at: www.strategicagreview.com

Big gap between saying and doing.

Researchers found a big gap recently when they used several methods to study knowledge level, attitudes and behaviors involving food safety. They (1) surveyed a sample of 100 caregivers of children in Hartford, Connecticut, (2) made 10 in-depth household observations of food safety behavior and (3) conducted two focus groups.

Even though 97 percent of survey participants reported washing their hands with soap and water before preparing foods, only 1 of the 10 participants in the household observations actually did so.

Reference: Use a title search (Food safety knowledge) or author search (Bermudez-Millan) for the full citation. An abstract of the article in the Journal of Food Protection was archived March 22, 2004, at: http://131.104.232.9/fsnet-archives.htm

Three dimensions of public relations – not one.

Firms, industries and organizations often think of public relations mainly in terms of attempting to influence public attitude and opinion in ways favorable to their interests. However, Stuart Rich of the University of Oregon emphasized two other vital dimensions in his introduction to a conference about public relations for the timber industry. They included:

Gaining an understanding of public attitudes and opinions toward your industry.
Taking those attitudes and opinions into account in managing your companies.

The use of all three dimensions plays out into public involvement that, he said, can be constructive rather than destructive.

Reference: Use a title search (Public relations in an era) or author search (Rich) for the full citation.

Problems with Internet video access.

When A.M. Van Der Zanden and Bob Rost surveyed master gardeners in Oregon they found that 80 percent who completed their training in 2001 owned or had access to a computer. Ninety-three percent of those had access to the Internet. However, only 37 percent were able to view a 1.17-MB video clip via the Internet. Problems reported:

Extremely long download times (as much as 1 hour and 28 minutes)
Software not installed
Software not compatible

Reference: Use a title search (Internet video access) or author search (Rost) for the full citation.

Communicating when the power is off and pressure is on.

“Eye of the storm” is the title of a case report that we added recently to the ACDC collection from the Cooperative Communicators Association newsletter. Jim Krut of Adams Electric Cooperative in south-central Pennsylvania identified six communications lessons learned through the devastation of a hurricane that hit the area late last year. “Just like lemons and lemonade,” he noted, “our communications team learned some valuable lessons from this destructive storm.”

Reference: Use a title search (Eye of the storm) or author search (Krut) for the full citation.

Ah, the wonders of headlines.

How could we keep from passing along these examples from “So you want to be a journalist? Obviously, headlines about food are among those that provide eye-catching news.

“Kids make nutritious snacks”
“Typhoon rips through cemetery – hundreds dead”
“Chef throws his heart into helping feed needy”
“War dims hope for peace”

Do you have other examples to share – especially headlines involving food, agriculture, natural resources or rural affairs? We’d appreciate getting them.

Communicator activities approaching:

May 24-27, 2004
“Education and Extension for Multi-Function Agriculture.” Annual conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education in Dublin, Ireland.
Information: www.aiaee.org/2004.htm

June 10-12, 2004
“Red, White and Bluegrass.” Annual seminar of American Horse Publications in Lexington, Kentucky USA.
Information: www.americanhorsepubs.org

June 12-15, 2004
“Run for the Gold.” 2004 Institute of Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Louisville, Kentucky USA.
Information: www.communicators.coop

Best regards and good searching.

hard copies to:
Ag Com Documentation Center
510 LIAC Library
1101 S. Goodwin Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
or electronic copies to: docctr@library.uiuc.edu

May 2004

ACDC News – Issue 04-08

Posted on January 31, 2004 by Elizabeth Ray

Journalists as instant experts – in any subject.

Conrad Smith, author of Media and Apocalypse, took that notion to task after finding poor media coverage of complex disasters such as forest fires, oil spills and earthquakes. The root of the problem appears to be twofold, he concluded:

In the education of journalists, which deals primarily with routine stories.
In the professional culture of journalism which perpetuates customs that interfere with good reporting and encourages the notion that any journalist can quickly acquire expertise in any subject.

Reference: Use a title search (Media and apocalypse) or author search (Smith) for the full citation.

Front doors locked, shades drawn.

Reference: Use a title search (Commentary on how agribusiness) or author search (Stober) for the full citation. The commentary was posted online at: www.strategicagreview.com

Big gap between saying and doing.

Even though 97 percent of survey participants reported washing their hands with soap and water before preparing foods, only 1 of the 10 participants in the household observations actually did so.

Reference: Use a title search (Food safety knowledge) or author search (Bermudez-Millan) for the full citation. An abstract of the article in the Journal of Food Protection was archived March 22, 2004, at http://131.104.232.9/fsnet-archives.htm.

Three dimensions of public relations – not one.

Gaining an understanding of public attitudes and opinions toward your industry.
Taking those attitudes and opinions into account in managing your companies.

The use of all three dimensions plays out into public involvement that, he said, can be constructive rather than destructive.

Reference: Use a title search (Public relations in an era) or author search (Rich) for the full citation.

Problems with Internet video access.”

Extremely long download times (as much as 1 hour and 28 minutes)
Software not installed
Software not compatible

Reference: Use a title search (Internet video access) or author search (Rost) for the full citation.

Communicating when the power is off and pressure is on.

Cliff Ganschow, chairman of AgriStar Global Networks, closed his recent comments to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission with that thought. His presentation emphasized the increasing importance of high-speed information and services to producers and the companies with which they do business. He also traced the development of AgriStar programming and reported some user experiences with it.

Reference: Use a title search (Eye of the storm) or author search (Krut) for the full citation.

Ah, the wonders of headlines.

How could we keep from passing along these examples from “So you want to be a journalist?” Obviously, headlines about food are among those that provide eye-catching news.

“Kids make nutritious snacks”
“Typhoon rips through cemetery – hundreds dead”
“Chef throws his heart into helping feed needy”
“War dims hope for peace”

Do you have other examples to share – especially headlines involving food, agriculture, natural resources or rural affairs? We’d appreciate getting them.

Communicator activities approaching:

June 10-12, 2004
“Red, White and Bluegrass.” Annual seminar of American Horse Publications in Lexington, Kentucky USA.
Information: www.americanhorsepubs.org

June 12-15, 2004
“Run for the Gold.” 2004 Institute of Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Louisville, Kentucky USA.
Information: www.communicators.coop

Best regards and good searching.

hard copies to:
Ag Com Documentation Center
510 LIAC Library
1101 S. Goodwin Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
or electronic copies to: docctr@library.uiuc.edu

May 2004

ACDC News – Issue 04-07

Posted on January 31, 2004 by Elizabeth Ray

“It’s a jungle out there.”

So read the headline of an environmental journalism piece we added recently to the ACDC collection. Writing in Columbia Journalism Review, Kevin Carmody traced trends in coverage of environmental issues “in an age of backlash.”

“At a time when well-financed interests are working hard to manipulate the public policy debate over the environment, coverage of the issue has been cut sharply at many news outlets, especially broadcast.”

Reference: On the Database Search page of this web site, use a title search (Jungle out there) or author search (Carmody) for the full citation.

How newspapers cover controversy about food irradiation.

Results of a content analysis of the New York Times and Des Moines Register newspapers (1992-2000) led researcher Hong-Lim Choi to conclude:

“In the news coverage of irradiation, journalists unconsciously have relied on powerful sources and they have been pressured by organizational constraints, therefore these powerful sources and constraints strongly come into play in constructing new reality in the food irradiation discourse.”

Reference: Use a title search (Framing of an agricultural controversy) or author search (Choi) for the full citation.

Abandon expert approaches.

Robert Huesca came away with that perspective after his analysis in Bolivia of a reporteros populares program in which local citizens served as radio reporters. His findings, published in Gazette journal, led him to conclude:

“The implications of taking a more situationally focused approach to participation development is that communication behaviors – of researchers, trainers and media practitioners – are conceptualized as an integrated part of social life, rather than as a distinct set of professional skills. …researchers, trainers and practitioners must abandon expert approaches to media practice and turn to involvement processes.”

Reference: Use a title search (Participation for development) or author search (Huesca) for the full citation.

A helpful overview of rural extension services, worldwide came into the ACDC collection recently.

Produced by Jock R. Anderson and Gershon Feder of the World Bank, this concise review ranged broadly over rural extension, an enterprise that involves at least 800,000 official extension workers and billions of dollars each year. The review dealt with history, trends and policy issues involved in aspects such as:

The role of information and extension in rural development
Types and models of extension services
Public financing and administrative support of extension
Impact and economic return of extension programming

“There is clearly much yet to be done in bringing needed extension services to the poor around the world,” the authors concluded. “But investors need to be cautious in designing and adjusting public extension systems if they are not needlessly to re-learn the lessons of the past.”

Reference: Use a title search (Rural extension services) or author search (Anderson) for the full citation. The report was posted online at: http://econ.worldbook.org.

Thanks for a journal series.

We express special appreciation to Professor Dorothy Jenkins of Louisiana State University for contributing 10 volumes of a journal that has not been available for review here. Southern Rural Sociology, official journal of the Southern Rural Sociological Association, holds special interest for us. These contributed volumes, for example, provided 17 communications-related research articles relevant to the ACDC collection.

Reference: Use a “journal” search (Southern Rural Sociology) to identify the documents added from this series.

Media efforts to mock/exploit rural America?

We have added to the ACDC collection several recent news report about efforts by rural interests to oppose another “reality” television show being proposed by CBS Television. “Last year, CBS quietly dropped plans to create ‘The Real Beverly Hillbillies’ after a national campaign of rural and urban groups, members of Congress, labor unions, and thousands of individuals said the show would mock rural Americans.”

This time UPN (a firm owned, along with CBS Television, by Viacom) is proposing “Amish in the City.” It would “take Amish teens to the city, tempt them with contemporary culture and technology, and televise their struggles to maintain their religious faith.” Information about some of the communications efforts to resist this show is available on www.ruralreality.org Rural Realities is a coalition organized by friends of the Amish Community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Reference: You can identify ACDC documents related to this issue by conducting a cross-search of subject terms such as: religion television.

Relaxing the turkeys with Gregorian chants and dawn choruses.

New research in communicating with animals is examining sounds that turkeys find serene and soothing. National Farmers Union, Britain, recently sent 300 turkey farmers a CD with 10 tracks – a “Turkey Top 10” – asking producers to help determine what types of sounds soothe turkeys and what sounds disturb them. Early results suggested that Gregorian chants and a dawn chorus of bird sounds were the biggest hits. “They keep the flocks quiet.”

“No one is going to read 4 days of stories that end up with one enormous ‘Huh?’ There needs to be a flow and a direction to a series, a point of view. I organize my stories around viewpoint; it helps me select the topics I am going to cover and how I am going to present them.”

Reference: Use a title search (Reporting on the changing science) or author search (Blum) for the full citation.

And on that “note,” shouldn’t we close with a piece of poultry wisdom?

The ACDC News reader who shared it remembers its use in communications workshops with extension staff members.

The codfish lays a million eggs,
The little hen but one.
But the codfish doesn’t cackle
When her noble deed is done.

So we praise the artful hen,
The codfish we despise;
Which clearly shows to thinking ones
IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE.

Communicator activities approaching:

April 18-20, 2004
Spring meeting of North American Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ). Events take place at U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service facilities in Beltsville, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
Information: http://naaj.tamu.edu/meetings.htm

April 30-May 1, 2004
Annual meeting of Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) in Seattle, Washington.
Information: www.toca.org

June 12-15, 2004
“Run for the Gold.” 2004 Institute of Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Louisville, Kentucky USA.
Information: www.communicators.coop

Best regards and good searching.

hard copies to:
Ag Com Documentation Center
510 LIAC Library
1101 S. Goodwin Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
or electronic copies to: docctr@library.uiuc.edu

April 2004