Final report for SNE24-002-DE
Project Information
Connecting and keeping the agricultural community engaged has become more challenging since Covid. Extension personnel had expressed the desire for more training with topics to help them become more comfortable and confident when making presentations in person and virtually. Often the information that is presented can be very technical or data-intensive. To address this, a program was developed using Simon Sinek's "The Art of Presenting" to address both of these issues. Participants in the program indicated that this was beneficial and provided them with tools to improve presentations. Another opportunity was to learn about other production types and agrivoltaics. A trip was planned to Rutgers University to see their research facilities, this provided the opportunity to see what challenges and solutions they are working on while simultaneously offering the chance for the agricultural extension team to do some team building. Both the presentation training and field trip improved the skillset and knowledge of the Ag Service Providers so that they could better serve farmers.
Objective: This program will be offered to forty extension professionals from the University of Delaware and Delaware State University. The opportunity to participate in the programs will be announced through the agricultural leadership team meetings, where a schedule will be shared with topics and objectives for the program. The topics focusing on utilizing tools and techniques that increase ASP’s skills to be more impactful in communications will be delivered in person through workshops to build skill set and knowledge, as part of this training the new knowledge will be applied through various methods to put in practice what has been learned. This will be accomplished through role playing and planning with discussions to follow to further develop the participants skill. The topics will be part of the Ag Team agenda allowing for an extended meeting. Each topic will be have three hours dedicated to increasing knowledge then skill building and application.
-Understanding Artificial Intelligence: How, When and Where it can be utilized to increase success.
-Techniques to presenting Technical / Data heavy information while keeping the audience engaged.
-Using Technology for Farmer Outreach
-Teaching Methods / Adult Education
-From Nervous to Confident When Facilitating a Program and Making Presentations
Community Engagement
Since Covid 19 there have been more challenges connecting with agricultural producers. We see less in person participation and an increase in the desire for hybrid options that offer more flexibility for the participants schedule. Many of our extension staff have expertise in their field but do not have the knowledge associated with educational techniques. When this proposal was developed, I surveyed our new personnel to see what additional training they needed to be more comfortable and confident in their position and utilized data gathered from the conclusion of the previous professional development program. The data collected indicated the need for additional training in the following areas: understanding AI and how to utilize it in extension, techniques for presenting information that is heavy in data, using technology for farmer outreach, teaching methods for adults, and tools for reducing anxiety when presenting or facilitating a program. The goal of this training was to help develop their knowledge of adult education, while also building an understanding of how new technologies like A.I., new presentation tools/ methodologies can assist in building the knowledge, acceptance, and implementation to a larger and more diverse population producers. The development of these skill sets within our ag service providers assists them in being more effective with producers. The more knowledgeable and confident the ASP is the more likely the farmer clients and community are to trust the information being shared.
Extension staff serve a many populations of farmers. Our extension agents serve everyone in our communities. In Delaware, we have many farmers growing various vegetable crops and animals that focus on the needs and desires specific to the local communities. Agricultural census data indicates there are over 700 commercial poultry growers, 2,000 plus small flock growers, and over 2,000 farmers growing crops and vegetables. We have growers from different backgrounds and levels of experience. Using tools like AI can assist in program development, to better understand a topic, or possibly give different approaches or challenge the developer's knowledge of the topic being explored and learned so that information can be used to solve challenges facing the agricultural community. As engagement changes, understanding different techniques to connect with producers will increase outreach potential and the number of individuals benefitting from the shared information. This may include how to better use hybrid education techniques, making of videos, and better content presentation. This better allows us to meet people where they are. Often times, much of the research done can be dense with data and statistical information, and it can be challenging to present this type of information and keep the audience engaged. Techniques were taught to help keep the audience engaged and increase impact and adoption.
Another area indicated by the survey was the need for more team building opportunities and awareness of program activities of other extension professionals. To address this, a two day, one night field trip was planned to Rutgers University. This trip provided the opportunity for team building, program sharing, and increased the opportunity to collaborate between programs to better serve the farming community. The field trip increased the knowledge and awareness of other growing systems utilizing agrivoltaics, cranberry and blueberry production, vegetable processing, and precision ag technology being in root crops, observations of their research facilities and projects, and learned about challenges facing other ag service providers in our region. This created an exchange of experiences and solutions to current and future challenges.
Five, $1,000 stipends were offered so that an individual participant could attend a conference that developed a skill or increased their knowledge and expertise. The participant was required to share what they had learned and how it improved their ability to better serve their clientele from attending the program with the other ag service providers. Once this information was shared, the group would discuss how this information could benefit their engagement with growers. Unfortunately, none of the ag service providers utilized the funds.
Project Team
Project Leader, Georgie Cartanza, Poultry Extension Agent, SARE State Coordinator, University of Delaware.
Dr Alyssa Koehler, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist Plant Pathology, University of Delaware
Nate Bruce, Farm Business Management Specialist, University of Delaware
The project team has different areas of expertise, including poultry production, plant pathology, and farm business management. These individuals have the ability to collaborate and manage a program that increases the knowledge of participants while also connecting the synergies and challenges of different aspects of agriculture. Through there different experiences, backgrounds and connections, program material will be developed to reach the intended goals of the professional development grant.
Educational approach
The University of Delaware Agriculture Extension program in-service meetings traditionally provide an opportunity to focus on educational topics. Typically these ag in-service meetings take place in person six to eight times per year. However, scheduling challenges made it difficult to set aside time for training to the extent that was planned for initially. The plan included five specific topic areas to have three hours of content and discussion. Two of the topics were covered: Techniques in Presenting Technical and Data-Heavy Information, and From Nervous to Confident when Making a Presentation. Simon Sinek's Program was used as the foundation for the presentation and discussion. This was a series of videos with an outline of highlights.
The topic of utilizing artificial intelligence was covered at the Delaware Cooperative Extension Conference with both the University of Delaware and Delaware State University participating. This was accomplished with various presentations and discussions of how AI can be used in extension.
The topics that did not get covered were: Using Technology for Farmer Outreach and Teaching Methods for Adult Education.
The workshops improved the effectiveness of the attendees serving the farming community. The development of these presentation skills gives the ASP more confidence and makes them a more impactful presenter.
Another area indicated by the survey was the need for more team building opportunities and awareness of program activities of other extension professionals. To address this, a two day, one night field trip was planned to Rutgers University. This allowed for team building, program sharing, and increased the opportunity to collaborate between programs to better serve the farming community. This field trip increased the knowledge and awareness of other growing systems agrivoltaics, cranberry and blueberry production, food waste composting, vegetable processing, and precision ag. Participants observed research facilities and projects, and had the opportunity to learn about challenges facing other ag service providers in our region. This also allowed for the exchange of experiences and solutions to current and future challenges. Team building activities took place throughout the trip. The attendees also had the time to engage with one another through travel time, dinner and an evening of games that allowed them to get to know one another better.
Five, $1,000 stipends were offered so that individual participants could attend a conference of their choosing that developed a skill or increased their knowledge and expertise. The participant was required to share using a new adult teaching technique about what they have learned and how it will improve their ability to better serve their clientele from attending the program with the other ag service providers. Once this information is shared, the group would have discussed how this information could benefit their engagement with growers. Unfortunately, no one utilized the stipends offered.
Each component of this educational plan was intended to improve the ASP's knowledge, skill, and confidence to be more impactful to the agricultural community they serve. Data collected from the trip and on presenting did improve the ability for these individuals to grow in their awareness of challenges facing agriculture and increase their skills in making presentations.
At the completion of each workshop, participants were surveyed and asked for feedback on what can be improved and what additional topics would be beneficial. The needs assessment was not completed during this grant period.
Milestones
October 2024- We will utilize our monthly Agriculture In-service meetings to introduce the $1,000 stipend for professional development, the Rutgers Research Tour, and the professional development that focuses on adult education and outreach. The $1,000 stipend must be related to something in their field or a need that has been identified by the Ag team.
Status
Completed December 2024
Accomplishments
Extension Ag Team was made aware of stipend availability. No individuals participated.
Field trip October 2024- James Atkins is coordinating this trip and the final agenda will be determined once funding is approved. Three day, two night field trip has been planned to Rutgers. This trip will allow for team building, program sharing, and increase the opportunity to collaborate between programs to better serve the farming community. This field trip also will build knowledge and awareness of other growing systems, their research facilities and projects, and the opportunity to learn about challenges facing other ag service providers in our region. This will allow for the exchange of experiences and solutions to current and future challenge. The team building will be facilitated through planned games and discussions. The goal of this trip is to increase collaboration and the development of solutions to challenges faced by farmer clients.
Status
Delayed
Completed in May 2025
Accomplishments
Field trip took play May 5 and 6, 2025. Nineteen ASP's attended. Rutgers University research facilities were visited at various sites in New Jersey. This included two agrivoltaic sites researching solar placement, orientation relative to crops and energy production, cranberry and blueberry research facilities, food waste composting. Also included in the trip was a large vegetable processor / farmer with some additional precision ag technology. Participants had the opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas on current and future challenges facing the region. Team building activities took place throughout the trip. Attendees had time to engage with one another while traveling, dinner and an evening of games.
October 2024- Workshops 3 Hours- Once this project is funded, the project team will plan and organize the workshops, acquiring needed materials and presenters for the topics below:
Status
Not Completed
Accomplishments
Obtained material for the "Art of Presenting." Created an outline of subject material for participants to be presented in December. Other workshops were being planned depending on initial feedback from first workshop. The topic about Artificial Intelligence was covered by, presentations created for and presented at the Extension Conference by other faculty outside of this project. This met the need for the AI information that was intended to be shared by the grant. Unfortunately, at the beginning of January we experienced Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza on Delmarva and my attention focused on that for the remainder of the winter and spring. The remaining planning and workshops were not accomplished.
November 2024 - Understanding Artificial Intelligence: How, When and Where it can be utilized to increase success. An AI expert will present information exposing them to the potential of AI while simultaneously facilitating group discussions amongst the participants.
Status
Completed
Accomplishments
Thirty ASP's participated in a conference hosted by Delaware Cooperative Extension that included both University of Delaware and Delaware State University. This program was offered without SARE support. This addressed some of the material intended to be presented through this grant.
December 2024-From Nervous to Confident When Facilitating a Program and Making Presentations
Status
Completed
Accomplishments
Twenty ASP's participated in the program, Simon Sinek's presentation "The Art of Presenting," This program was a set of videos we watched as a group. An outline was created of the highlights from the video series. The program was made available to those who were unable to attend and was available for a year post program. The group discussed how some of the techniques shared would help calm their nerves and would improve the quality of their presentations. Survey results post program showed the following results: 92% of participants indicated they had learned a little or a lot, 80% indicated they will adopt some of the new techniques they learned about, 70% indicated it was worth their time and 63% indicated they would like more programs like this. One of the highlights of the presentation was to not start speaking until you get settled in at the microphone, which seemed to really resonate with the group. Also that a presentation is not about you, it is about the audience, which seemed to change the focus to settle the nerves. This program also explained techniques for doing hybrid and online presentations, like where you should be looking, adjusting lighting, ways to increase impact online through speaking techniques, and the challenges when presenting virtually. Another item indicated was the importance of using your hands, changing the sound of your voice and volume to be more impactful. One suggestion to improve this workshop was to have more discussion between the videos. This would allow for the group to do more sharing of experiences.
January 2025 -Techniques to presenting Technical / Data heavy information while keeping the audience engaged.
Status
Completed
December 2024
Accomplishments
This topic was addressed by the same presentation that was used to focus on the topic Nervous to Confident. "The Art of Presenting," presentation addressed the challenges of presenting when information is data heavy or technical. The program explains the importance of telling the story of the project and the conclusions rather than how you arrived at the results and the data. This is a more effective way to engage the audience. Separate data was not collected as it was all one program. There is more opportunity to dive deeper into this topic.
February 2025-Using Technology for Farmer Outreach
Status
Not Complete
Accomplishments: n/a
March 2025-Teaching Methods / Adult Education - This will be broken down into topics: Introduction to adult education, learning styles, instructional design, teaching techniques assessment and evaluation, and communication skills for diverse learners. One of these topics will be assigned to a particular Ag team meeting. Participants will provided a list of materials (articles, videos) to review prior to the Ag Team meeting. The first hour of the meeting will be dedicated to group discussion about that topic. A series of questions will be posed to reinforce the key concepts. After the completion of the topic an evaluation will be performed to determine if further information is needed.
Status
Not Complete
Accomplishments: n/a
January 2025- Five, $1,000 stipends will be awarded so that an individual participant can attend a conference that develops a skill or increases their knowledge and expertise. The next meeting post attendance to a conference of their choosing- The participant will be required to share what they have learned and how it will improve their ability to better serve their clientele from attending the program with the other ag service providers. Once this information is shared, the group will discuss how this information could benefit their engagement with growers.
Status
Not Complete
Accomplishments: n/a
No one chose to participate in the stipend program.
February 2025- Create and conduct needs assessment.
Status
Not Complete
Accomplishments: n/a
Milestone activities and participation summary
Participation summary:
Learning Outcomes
Performance Target Outcomes
Performance Target Outcomes - Service Providers
Target #1
n/a
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0 | 0 |
Improved presentation skills
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 600 | 0 | 0 |
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|
$6,800,000 |
0 | 0 |
| Activity | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curricula, factsheets and other educational tools | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Consultations | 23 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| On-farm demonstrations | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Online trainings | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Published press, articles, newsletters | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Webinars, talks and presentations | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Workshops and field days | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
As a one-year project, no Performance Target was required or set. However, participants of the program were still asked to provide this data via email as to the use of the program knowledge gained and if growers changed practices based off of the new information they had learned. This can be challenging to measure as the individual who learned the new skill can provide feedback as to the improvement in their confidence and presentation skills, but can be difficult to measure whether the skill improvement increased adoption of the practice or would adoption have happened anyway. 24 participants were sent an email with survey questions, 10 responded.
Performance Target Outcomes - Farmers
Target #1
n/a
n/a
467
Improved biosecurity practices on their farms.
Implemented irrigation strategies to improve efficiency.
n/a
No farmer performance target was required or set for this project. Farmers were not directly surveyed: information was obtained through agricultural service providers indicating there would be a change.
Additional Project Outcomes
In the future, I would lean more on the project team in the development of the content. There were events this year that made it difficult to meet the milestones. This is also the first grant for which I have been then PI. I would have taken more time to understand the process and the outcomes. For the milestones that we did complete, the participant feedback was positive and acknowledged that it was beneficial.
SARE Outreach
I was unable to attend Delaware Ag Week due to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.