1994 Annual Report for EW94-003
Multidisciplinary On-Site Training in Sustainable Agriculture Education
Summary
Objectives
1.Develop multidisciplinary workshops on sustainable agriculture practices to train Farm Advisors, other extension personnel, USDA-NRCS field officers and PCAs using the SAFS project as a "living laboratory."
2.Develop educational materials on sustainable agriculture for workshop participants that can be used by Farm Advisors, USDA-NRCS field officers, other extension personnel and PCAs as educational tools.
3.Develop outreach and educational programs to disseminate information from results of the first eight years of the SAFS project to Farm Advisors, USDA-NRCS field officers, other agricultural professionals as information becomes available.
Abstract
In addition to three annual field days, the Professional development component of the SAFS project has conducted a series of six intensive workshops from 1995 to 1997, in which close to 500 agricultural professionals received in-service training. These participants included representatives from Extension, USDA-NRCS and various university and government sectors. Since the SAFS project is a research-based project, it functions as both a demonstration trial and a living laboratory for workshop participants. Due to the "real-world" applicability of the SAFS project, the Principal Investigators are highly motivated to participate in workshops and field days, where they can interact and exchange information with trainees. Accordingly, the workshops and field days serve not only as a resource for new information and materials, but perhaps more importantly, as training in research methodology for sustainable agriculture issues.
Educational materials were distributed at all workshops, which included several research publications, various tables and graphs, resource lists for alternative management methods, fertility management tools and methods.
Two annual summer field days were held, each attended by over 125 participants. These included growers, farm advisors, international visitors and scholars as well as students from throughout the state. These field days consisted of a field tour, update of recent findings and several laboratory demonstrations. In 1996 an Agricultural Technology section was added to the field day.
Two different slide shows were produced in 1995. One was an overview of the project, including the goals, methods and experimental design, with general agronomic and economic results generated by the first eight years. The other was produced for the SAFS Principal Investigators to help in presentations at academic and industry meetings. These shows were continuously updated throughout 1996 and 1997 as new information from the project emerged. Extensive sections on fertility, soil biology and pest management were added in 1996 and 1997.
A video of the SAFS project was completed January 1, 1997. This includes an overview of the project, the experimental design, the participatory research process as well as all current findings.
A Web page for the SAFS project is posted at http://agronomy.ucdavis.edu/safs/home.htm. This includes the project description, experimental design, publications and abstracts and current education and outreach events. Several other URL links are posted on the page, providing a gateway to over 25 other Sustainable Agriculture websites.
A quarterly SAFS Bulletin of Research Findings is distributed to the target audience, as well the SAFS mailing list of over 1500 agricultural professionals statewide. Distribution occurs regionally and internationally, through postings on the SAFS Web page and the SANET network.
To advertise the workshops and field days, flyers, personal letters of invitation and posters were distributed by mail and FAX to several hundred potential participants. Workshop participants were solicited from regional, state and county Cooperative Extension and USDA/NRCS field offices throughout the state, as well as from state coordinators of the Western Region SARE grants. All forms of electronic media such as SANET, SAED-SHARE, WSARE, other bulletin boards and the SAFS Web page were also used to advertise the workshops. Additionally, press releases were sent out to over 200 regional and ag industry publications to advertise the annual field day.
The field days are particularly exciting events, bringing growers, students, visiting scholars as well as members from the PDP target audience to the project. With a mailing list of over 1500 members, the project has gained visibility throughout the Western Region.
Potential Benefits or Impacts
Workshop and field day participants gained exposure to the methods and results of the project and had the opportunity to interact with the researchers, Farm Advisors and growers on the SAFS project team. In the workshops, participants were instructed in field sampling and lab analysis methods to evaluate soil health and quality, weed population dynamics, general fertility guidelines and cover crop management.
The SAFS workshops have been continually improved upon, in response to evaluations and exchanged ideas among the SAFS team. Consequently, the attendance at each workshop and field day has also improved steadily. Each workshop has had a focused theme, which was explored in depth by the researchers within that particular discipline. Although the target audience is broad and diverse in its scope, we feel that we have satisfied the needs and interests of most of our participants.
In California, the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Farm Advisors are highly educated specialists. Their skill level, combined with their active involvement in research, makes it both necessary and possible to offer these training sessions at a very sophisticated, graduate level. Since the SAFS project is a research-based project, it functions as both a demonstration trial and a living laboratory for workshop participants. Due to the "real-world" applicability of the SAFS project, the Principal Investigators are highly motivated to participate in these workshops where they can interact and exchange information with the UCCE and NRCS participants. Accordingly, the workshops serve not only as a resource for information and materials, but perhaps more importantly, as training in research methodology for sustainable agriculture systems. Therefore, the training would ideally lead to exponential growth in sustainable agricultural research, as the participants familiarize themselves with the SAFS researchers and utilize these newly acquired skills in their own cropping systems and diverse geographical areas throughout the Western Region.
Impacts on Agricultural Professionals
Most participants responded enthusiastically to the methodology used and the results generated by the SAFS project. The evaluations showed that they also responded positively to the sampling and evaluation methods taught in the workshops, as well as the education packets provided.
New Hypotheses and Future Recommendations
We are finding that after nine years of operation, as a collectively operated multidisciplinary project, far more information and expertise has been generated than expected, and the current resources do not enable information to be shared at the level we would like. While our information dissemination program is strong, we feel that with some extra resources we could greatly expand this facet of our project.
The success at which we have actually changed the way in which agricultural professionals advise their growers in farm management is still open to question. The SAFS research results must be accessible to effect alternative management practices for impact in using alternative management. In order to bridge the gap of information dissemination from advisors to the growers, it is important to build consensus by facilitating collaborative research and demonstration programs with Extension and NRCS professionals throughout the state. It is our belief that growers have to study the results of locally implemented sustainable practices before adopting any changes in their own farm management.
Reported in 1998