Abstract Visual messaging is becoming the new avenue to connect with consumers. The majority of the American public is not connected with agriculture and often questions procedures, practices, and tactics within the industry. Practitioners and researchers have suggested value congruent messages, a type of emotional appeal, may increase attention to agricultural messages. However, limited research has been conducted to define and investigate value congruent messages in agricultural communications. The purpose of this study was to describe the presented messages in videos used in one agricultural advocacy effort, CommonGround’s “Nothing to Fear Here” campaign. This content analysis described the video’s message content and use of value congruent messages. Schwartz Theory of Basic Human Values (2012) was used to identify the values present in each video within the campaign. The values of benevolence, security, self-direction, universalism, and hedonism were common values displayed in the campaign. Message sensation value was calculated, and it was found the videos had moderate levels of emotional arousal. The primary characters in the videos were mothers, farmers, and children. More research should be conducted to explore how the value congruent messages and message sensation value interact to increase a receiver’s level of attitude change after viewing the message.
{"title":"Visualizing Values: A Content Analysis to Conceptualize Value Congruent Video Messages Used in Agricultural Communications","authors":"L. Fischer, Kelsi Opat, Kayla Jennings, C. Meyers","doi":"10.4148/1051-0834.2368","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2368","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Visual messaging is becoming the new avenue to connect with consumers. The majority of the American public is not connected with agriculture and often questions procedures, practices, and tactics within the industry. Practitioners and researchers have suggested value congruent messages, a type of emotional appeal, may increase attention to agricultural messages. However, limited research has been conducted to define and investigate value congruent messages in agricultural communications. The purpose of this study was to describe the presented messages in videos used in one agricultural advocacy effort, CommonGround’s “Nothing to Fear Here” campaign. This content analysis described the video’s message content and use of value congruent messages. Schwartz Theory of Basic Human Values (2012) was used to identify the values present in each video within the campaign. The values of benevolence, security, self-direction, universalism, and hedonism were common values displayed in the campaign. Message sensation value was calculated, and it was found the videos had moderate levels of emotional arousal. The primary characters in the videos were mothers, farmers, and children. More research should be conducted to explore how the value congruent messages and message sensation value interact to increase a receiver’s level of attitude change after viewing the message.","PeriodicalId":33763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Communications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42044721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The USDA has identified coexistence, or producers growing food in a variety of ways (conventionally, organic, etc.) in a harmonious manner as a critical challenge and high priority. Despite this call for coexistence and assurance of mutual success, agricultural sectors often have conflicts. Both sides of the niche and mainstream rift tend to pick and choose radical examples of problematic practices to portray the opposition. Producers, more so than most other occupations, have a deeply entrenched occupational identity. Many studies focused on the need for relationships between agricultural producers and the public. No work has been found to understand how producers from different sectors of agriculture view one another. This study sought to understand producers’ identities and the relationships producers have with one another. Results indicate the occupation of farming, family ties, connection and duty to the land, hard work and pride defines producers’ identities. When defining a “good farmer,” producers cited innovation and efficiency, farm succession, passion and joy, and profits as markers of success. The relationships between producers varied. Overall, producers respected other producers enough to make their own choices concerning production. Social media was often mentioned when producers talked about how they communicate with one another.
{"title":"Cultivating Identity, Sowing Relationships, Fertilizing Success, and Harvesting Coexistence: Understanding Oklahoma Producer Identity and Relationships","authors":"A. King, Q. Settle","doi":"10.4148/1051-0834.2369","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2369","url":null,"abstract":"The USDA has identified coexistence, or producers growing food in a variety of ways (conventionally, organic, etc.) in a harmonious manner as a critical challenge and high priority. Despite this call for coexistence and assurance of mutual success, agricultural sectors often have conflicts. Both sides of the niche and mainstream rift tend to pick and choose radical examples of problematic practices to portray the opposition. Producers, more so than most other occupations, have a deeply entrenched occupational identity. Many studies focused on the need for relationships between agricultural producers and the public. No work has been found to understand how producers from different sectors of agriculture view one another. This study sought to understand producers’ identities and the relationships producers have with one another. Results indicate the occupation of farming, family ties, connection and duty to the land, hard work and pride defines producers’ identities. When defining a “good farmer,” producers cited innovation and efficiency, farm succession, passion and joy, and profits as markers of success. The relationships between producers varied. Overall, producers respected other producers enough to make their own choices concerning production. Social media was often mentioned when producers talked about how they communicate with one another.","PeriodicalId":33763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Communications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46327016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Extension programs must constantly evaluate communication plans and platforms to determine if they are worth the investment of time, money, and resources. Podcasts are growing in popularity as a communication platform for education and entertainment. With the VARK model of learning styles and core plant pathology concepts as a guide, researchers evaluated the prevalence and type of plant pathology information in podcasts to better understand how podcasts could benefit Extension plant pathology programs. Using keywords related to plant pathology, researchers searched popular mobile podcast listening applications and evaluated relevant podcast episodes using content analysis methods. Results indicated few podcast shows discuss plant pathology topics. The podcast shows identified, however, covered eight fundamental units of plant pathology knowledge: basics of plant pathology, plant pathology techniques, biology of plant diseases, biology of plant pathogens, management of plant diseases, influence of the environment, other causes of plant disease symptoms, and importance of fungi. Results suggested that podcasts can effectively communicate different types of plant pathology information to audiences. Plant pathology Extension programs can utilize the findings of this study to create new plant pathology podcasts that meet the changing needs of plant pathology Extension clientele. It is worthwhile to further explore the use of podcasts in plant pathology Extension programs.
{"title":"Talking Plants: Examining the Role of Podcasts in Communicating Plant Pathology Knowledge","authors":"M. Lim, R. Swenson","doi":"10.4148/1051-0834.2366","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2366","url":null,"abstract":"Extension programs must constantly evaluate communication plans and platforms to determine if they are worth the investment of time, money, and resources. Podcasts are growing in popularity as a communication platform for education and entertainment. With the VARK model of learning styles and core plant pathology concepts as a guide, researchers evaluated the prevalence and type of plant pathology information in podcasts to better understand how podcasts could benefit Extension plant pathology programs. Using keywords related to plant pathology, researchers searched popular mobile podcast listening applications and evaluated relevant podcast episodes using content analysis methods. Results indicated few podcast shows discuss plant pathology topics. The podcast shows identified, however, covered eight fundamental units of plant pathology knowledge: basics of plant pathology, plant pathology techniques, biology of plant diseases, biology of plant pathogens, management of plant diseases, influence of the environment, other causes of plant disease symptoms, and importance of fungi. Results suggested that podcasts can effectively communicate different types of plant pathology information to audiences. Plant pathology Extension programs can utilize the findings of this study to create new plant pathology podcasts that meet the changing needs of plant pathology Extension clientele. It is worthwhile to further explore the use of podcasts in plant pathology Extension programs.","PeriodicalId":33763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Communications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44765658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cara R. Lawson, C. Meyers, Amber McCord, E. Irlbeck, Amy E. Boren
Abstract Rural America faces challenges unique from other parts of the United States with vulnerabilities leaving its potential resilience at risk. In particular, issues associated with public health leave many in rural communities in lack of needed care and resources to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The rural opioid epidemic has added greater challenges to an already fragile rural health system. The mass media has for many decades served as a vessel for health promotion and health campaigns have been successful at changing levels of knowledge. Given that acceptance or action on an issue can be a result of how the message is framed, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of media frames on attitudes toward the rural opioid epidemic. A framing treatment featuring a story of person in recovery significantly affected perceptions of stigma beliefs. However, while previous studies found describing certain causes associated with addiction to be effective in changing stigma perceptions, that was not the case in this study which suggested not all causal frames are created equally. Additionally, while participants expressed a variety of blame perceptions for the rural opioid epidemic, there were no significant differences based upon the frame that was presented. Finally, policy support was not influenced by participant community types, but there were significant differences in support based upon political party affiliation indicating the rural opioid epidemic represents another example of a social issue with political influence.
{"title":"Individual Depictions, Causes, and Consequences: Effects of Media Frames on Perceptions Toward the Rural Opioid Epidemic","authors":"Cara R. Lawson, C. Meyers, Amber McCord, E. Irlbeck, Amy E. Boren","doi":"10.4148/1051-0834.2377","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2377","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Rural America faces challenges unique from other parts of the United States with vulnerabilities leaving its potential resilience at risk. In particular, issues associated with public health leave many in rural communities in lack of needed care and resources to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The rural opioid epidemic has added greater challenges to an already fragile rural health system. The mass media has for many decades served as a vessel for health promotion and health campaigns have been successful at changing levels of knowledge. Given that acceptance or action on an issue can be a result of how the message is framed, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of media frames on attitudes toward the rural opioid epidemic. A framing treatment featuring a story of person in recovery significantly affected perceptions of stigma beliefs. However, while previous studies found describing certain causes associated with addiction to be effective in changing stigma perceptions, that was not the case in this study which suggested not all causal frames are created equally. Additionally, while participants expressed a variety of blame perceptions for the rural opioid epidemic, there were no significant differences based upon the frame that was presented. Finally, policy support was not influenced by participant community types, but there were significant differences in support based upon political party affiliation indicating the rural opioid epidemic represents another example of a social issue with political influence.","PeriodicalId":33763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Communications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45805073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Social media has radically changed human communication patterns, impacting how people perceive scientific information. This study sought to explore how cultural identity impacts the use of, and engagement with, social media content related to agriculture and the environment. Informed by Social Representation Theory, a systematic qualitative literature review was conducted to investigate how cultural identity impacted engagement with social media sources of agricultural and environmental information. Several studies indicated differences in social media engagement between people from different cultures. However, different definitions and perspectives on cultural identity emerged with some researchers describing culture in relation to nationality and others in terms of beliefs. In cases where culture was described in relation to beliefs, it was observed that individuals are more likely to defend beliefs central to their sense of identity when contradicted by new information. Despite the availability of several studies integrating cultural identity, environment, and social media, a gap was observed within research explicating directly the intersection between science communication, cultural identity, and social media. Additionally, differences emerged between research on social media and cultural identity within agricultural communication as compared with more general environmental communication. Due to the changing dynamics in agricultural and environmental communication proliferated through social media, scholars should place greater emphasis on research aimed at investigating the impact of social identity, social media, interaction and engagement with online communication messages. Future research should investigate how a holistic social identity impacts individuals’ perceptions of science communication messages, as no clear answer emerged within the current literature.
{"title":"A Systematic Literature Review of the Intersection between Social Media and Cultural Identity: Implications for Agricultural and Environmental Communication","authors":"C. Dobbins, Fallys Masambuka-Kanchewa, A. Lamm","doi":"10.4148/1051-0834.2372","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2372","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Social media has radically changed human communication patterns, impacting how people perceive scientific information. This study sought to explore how cultural identity impacts the use of, and engagement with, social media content related to agriculture and the environment. Informed by Social Representation Theory, a systematic qualitative literature review was conducted to investigate how cultural identity impacted engagement with social media sources of agricultural and environmental information. Several studies indicated differences in social media engagement between people from different cultures. However, different definitions and perspectives on cultural identity emerged with some researchers describing culture in relation to nationality and others in terms of beliefs. In cases where culture was described in relation to beliefs, it was observed that individuals are more likely to defend beliefs central to their sense of identity when contradicted by new information. Despite the availability of several studies integrating cultural identity, environment, and social media, a gap was observed within research explicating directly the intersection between science communication, cultural identity, and social media. Additionally, differences emerged between research on social media and cultural identity within agricultural communication as compared with more general environmental communication. Due to the changing dynamics in agricultural and environmental communication proliferated through social media, scholars should place greater emphasis on research aimed at investigating the impact of social identity, social media, interaction and engagement with online communication messages. Future research should investigate how a holistic social identity impacts individuals’ perceptions of science communication messages, as no clear answer emerged within the current literature.","PeriodicalId":33763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Communications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46124512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Consumers have varying levels of trust in agricultural production practices, which can influence attitudes, shift opinions, and change behaviors. The purpose of this study was to determine what agricultural messages are considered the most trustworthy among consumers and what differences exist among five dimensions of trustworthiness. With a pro-agriculture video as the stimulus, this study used continuous response measurement (CRM) to collect data from 151 post-secondary students who were randomly assigned to evaluate one of five trustworthiness dimensions (trust, honest, sincere, dependable, reliable). Participants used handheld dials to continuously rate their evaluation of the messages in the video then completed a questionnaire to provide additional insights. Overall, participants trusted agricultural messages, although some specific phrases were rated more positively than others. Participants had more trust in messages that portray agriculture as a family endeavor and create connection between producers and consumers. Participants indicated skepticism in messages revolving around farmer/rancher motivation in agriculture. The results support the importance of strategically tailoring and crafting effective messages. Recommendations for future practice and research are discussed.
{"title":"A Moment-to-Moment Analysis of Trust in Agricultural Messages","authors":"L. Lagrande, C. Meyers, R. Cummins, M. Baker","doi":"10.4148/1051-0834.2375","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2375","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Consumers have varying levels of trust in agricultural production practices, which can influence attitudes, shift opinions, and change behaviors. The purpose of this study was to determine what agricultural messages are considered the most trustworthy among consumers and what differences exist among five dimensions of trustworthiness. With a pro-agriculture video as the stimulus, this study used continuous response measurement (CRM) to collect data from 151 post-secondary students who were randomly assigned to evaluate one of five trustworthiness dimensions (trust, honest, sincere, dependable, reliable). Participants used handheld dials to continuously rate their evaluation of the messages in the video then completed a questionnaire to provide additional insights. Overall, participants trusted agricultural messages, although some specific phrases were rated more positively than others. Participants had more trust in messages that portray agriculture as a family endeavor and create connection between producers and consumers. Participants indicated skepticism in messages revolving around farmer/rancher motivation in agriculture. The results support the importance of strategically tailoring and crafting effective messages. Recommendations for future practice and research are discussed.","PeriodicalId":33763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Communications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42843220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kristina E. Gibson, A. Fortner, A. Lamm, Madison Wilson, A. J. Moore
Agriculturalists and environmentalists must navigate complex challenges as the global population continues to increase and environmental resources are depleted. Colleges of agricultural and environmental sciences are tasked with addressing the nexus between environmental and agricultural challenges through research, education, and communication. However, the amount of research being conducted with both agriculture and the environment considered is largely unknown and, as a result, their corresponding communication messages may not provide coherent messages from the college. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify if research within a college of agricultural and environmental sciences takes a holistic approach so that communication efforts coming from the college can encompass both perspectives. The data were collected from a web-based system containing university research publications and analyzed using a thematic analysis and meta-synthesis. The metasynthesis revealed 212 codes overlapping agricultural and environmental themes compared to the total 4,325 codes found across all publications. The findings indicated there was a limited amount of collaboration occurring between environmental and agricultural researchers within the college. Without collaborative research, agricultural communicators cannot develop science communication efforts that holistically integrate evidence-based science. As new challenges emerge at the nexus of agriculture and the environment, researchers must shift toward a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to ensure the science communication efforts sharing their findings are inclusive.
{"title":"Examining Interdisciplinary Research Collaborations to Inform Agricultural and Environmental Science Communication: A Meta-synthesis Approach","authors":"Kristina E. Gibson, A. Fortner, A. Lamm, Madison Wilson, A. J. Moore","doi":"10.4148/1051-0834.2381","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2381","url":null,"abstract":"Agriculturalists and environmentalists must navigate complex challenges as the global population continues to increase and environmental resources are depleted. Colleges of agricultural and environmental sciences are tasked with addressing the nexus between environmental and agricultural challenges through research, education, and communication. However, the amount of research being conducted with both agriculture and the environment considered is largely unknown and, as a result, their corresponding communication messages may not provide coherent messages from the college. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify if research within a college of agricultural and environmental sciences takes a holistic approach so that communication efforts coming from the college can encompass both perspectives. The data were collected from a web-based system containing university research publications and analyzed using a thematic analysis and meta-synthesis. The metasynthesis revealed 212 codes overlapping agricultural and environmental themes compared to the total 4,325 codes found across all publications. The findings indicated there was a limited amount of collaboration occurring between environmental and agricultural researchers within the college. Without collaborative research, agricultural communicators cannot develop science communication efforts that holistically integrate evidence-based science. As new challenges emerge at the nexus of agriculture and the environment, researchers must shift toward a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to ensure the science communication efforts sharing their findings are inclusive.","PeriodicalId":33763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Communications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42285290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
When it comes to food, consumers are increasingly concerned with the welfare of the livestock used to produce it. To display transparency and build trust with patrons, businesses such as The Maschhoffs, a pork production company, have created online tools to answer questions about production processes. This study implemented eye tracking and survey methodologies to attain insight regarding the visual attention of website visitors. While results revealed no discernable pattern of navigation among respondents, the findings illustrated a sector of the pork industry consumers expressed interest in was the breed-to-wean section of the farm. Researchers encourage agricultural communicators to develop messaging surrounding this specific process to continue building trust with consumer audiences as well as make recommendations for utilizing eye tracking to assess visual attention to websites.
{"title":"Navigating Transparent Pork Production: Analyzing Visual Attention of The Maschhoffs Website","authors":"N. Hill, Maggie Elliot, C. Meyers","doi":"10.4148/1051-0834.2352","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2352","url":null,"abstract":"When it comes to food, consumers are increasingly concerned with the welfare of the livestock used to produce it. To display transparency and build trust with patrons, businesses such as The Maschhoffs, a pork production company, have created online tools to answer questions about production processes. This study implemented eye tracking and survey methodologies to attain insight regarding the visual attention of website visitors. While results revealed no discernable pattern of navigation among respondents, the findings illustrated a sector of the pork industry consumers expressed interest in was the breed-to-wean section of the farm. Researchers encourage agricultural communicators to develop messaging surrounding this specific process to continue building trust with consumer audiences as well as make recommendations for utilizing eye tracking to assess visual attention to websites.","PeriodicalId":33763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Communications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43303027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kevin Kent, Jarred Shellhouse, Angela B. Lindsey, Lisa Lundy
{"title":"No Science in Politics: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Industrial Hemp Production in Florida Newspapers","authors":"Kevin Kent, Jarred Shellhouse, Angela B. Lindsey, Lisa Lundy","doi":"10.4148/1051-0834.2360","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2360","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":33763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Communications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47052503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anissa M. Zagonel, L. Baker, S. Ingram, J. Ulmer, J. Kouba
The equine industry is an established part of Maryland agriculture with 79,100 equines valued at approximately $714 million in the state; approximately 10% of these animals are housed in one county. Equine operators are a unique demographic in the agricultural realm, because they are not managing land to produce food or fiber and often are employed in other professions unrelated to agriculture. These operators tend to be unaware of land conservation practices and can have a detrimental effect on areas, like the Chesapeake Bay economy and ecosystem, if shared resources are exploited. The purpose of this study was to explore equine operators’ knowledge and connection of conservation best management practices (BMPs) and their role in being a caretaker of the land. The study was informed by the diffusion of innovations theory and gathered data through semi-structured, qualitative interviews. Equine operators in the study were found to use a variety of informational sources, had a high level of adoption of the BMPs they used, and overall, a majority of participants saw their role as caretakers of the land as an important aspect of their environmental actions. Recommendations from this research include improving communication processes to increase the spread of BMPs and adjusting specific infrastructure aspects to improve retention of equine operators practicing conservation efforts. Further research should investigate other niche areas of agriculture that could potentially be struggling with a knowledge deficit of BMPs and communication neglect between conservation offices and audiences.
{"title":"Beyond the Post: Exploring Equine Operators’ Understanding and Role in Conservation Best Management Practices","authors":"Anissa M. Zagonel, L. Baker, S. Ingram, J. Ulmer, J. Kouba","doi":"10.4148/1051-0834.2351","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2351","url":null,"abstract":"The equine industry is an established part of Maryland agriculture with 79,100 equines valued at approximately $714 million in the state; approximately 10% of these animals are housed in one county. Equine operators are a unique demographic in the agricultural realm, because they are not managing land to produce food or fiber and often are employed in other professions unrelated to agriculture. These operators tend to be unaware of land conservation practices and can have a detrimental effect on areas, like the Chesapeake Bay economy and ecosystem, if shared resources are exploited. The purpose of this study was to explore equine operators’ knowledge and connection of conservation best management practices (BMPs) and their role in being a caretaker of the land. The study was informed by the diffusion of innovations theory and gathered data through semi-structured, qualitative interviews. Equine operators in the study were found to use a variety of informational sources, had a high level of adoption of the BMPs they used, and overall, a majority of participants saw their role as caretakers of the land as an important aspect of their environmental actions. Recommendations from this research include improving communication processes to increase the spread of BMPs and adjusting specific infrastructure aspects to improve retention of equine operators practicing conservation efforts. Further research should investigate other niche areas of agriculture that could potentially be struggling with a knowledge deficit of BMPs and communication neglect between conservation offices and audiences.","PeriodicalId":33763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Communications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46297437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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