ACDC News – Issue 14-07

Before bloggers there were ploggers (print loggers)

Communications researcher Beth Garfrerick made that point in a recent symposium about community media. Who were these ploggers? They were (and are) the community journalism correspondents who wrote (and write) about issues that mirror the lives of average folk.

“Throughout the twentieth century, these correspondents were mostly farm wives who wrote about their communities and recorded everyday happenings. They wrote about births, marriages, deaths, social events, such as bridal showers and church receptions, out-of-town visitors, and travel. These country correspondents played an important role in boosting the morale of readers and the bottom line of weekly publishers.”

You can read this insightful historical review that connects with today’s new interactive media: http://nnaweb.org/pub/doc/garfrerickpaper.pdf


New directions in agricultural communication

That is the title of an informative 78-page report of an international research effort by communicators Claudia and Hans-Heinrich Berghorn. They conducted it on behalf of the regional German Farmers’ Union, Westfaelisch-Lippischer Landwirtschaftberband, based in Muenster. Their goal was to identify benchmarks and best practice examples to help develop new communication strategies for German farmers. Their research took them to Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland, and the U. S., including the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center here at the University of Illinois.

They found that the scope of the challenges facing agricultural communication is even bigger than expected, calling for best practices that provide answers to the question of what agriculture contributes to society beyond providing food. They identified seven strategies for new directions in agricultural communication and five topics for future discussions.

The 2013 report was published in German, with an executive summary in English. You can reach Hans-Heinrich at hans-heinrich.berghorn@wlv.de for details. Or check with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu .


How to innovate in the food industry: ignore competition

“Competition doesn’t exist, really. It’s boring, and it’s very 80s,” a chef told those attending Food Vision 2014 in Cannes. Chocolate chef Dominique Persoone said that collaboration is the most powerful innovation trick in the book.

“Now you have to share with your friends and believe in your own project and your own ideas.”

You can see a FoodNavigator.com summary of his remarks, as well as a five-minute video interview with him, at: http://www.foodnavigator.com/Market-Trends/How-to-innovate-Ignore-competition-it-s-boring-and-very-80s


Photographer focusing on daily lives of female farmers

Marji Guyler-Alaniz visits women as they farm, taking photos of their daily lives. She then tells their stories through the images and a blog, FarmHer.com. This project came to our attention through an article during February by Sarah Baker Hansen in the Omaha World-Herald newspaper.

You can see the article and seven featured photos at: http://www.omaha.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140203/GO/140209967/1181#.UwkBFYV9B2A


“Large positive impact” from investment in agricultural extension

Rural families who took part in the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) program in Uganda during 2004-2007 gained benefits well beyond the program investment. That result was reported in a 2011 article we have added to the ACDC collection from the journal, Agricultural Economics .

  • Overall participation was associated with an average increase of 32-63 percent in gross agricultural revenue per adult equivalent.
  • Direct participation was associated with an average increase of 37-95 percent; indirect participation with an average increase of 27-55 percent.
  • The internal rate of return on expenditures for the program during the period was estimated at 8-49 percent.

NAADS is an innovative public-private extension service, begun in 2001. Authors note that the program generates a range of benefits to participants, beyond economic returns.

A summary of the article is available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1574-0862.2010.00512.x/abstract;jsessionid=00C00C9F80E07C6716FF8A6F5CF7BF90.f04t02

For help in gaining access to the article, check with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu .


Update on farm and rural broadband

The 2013 edition of “Rural broadband at a glance” from the U. S. Department of Agriculture shows that rural households are still less likely to subscribe to the Internet than are urban households. By 2010, only 62 percent of U. S. rural households and farms had home subscriptions to the Internet, compared with 73 percent of urban households.

“Broadband internet connections…are not available as often, nor used as readily by rural households as by urban households,” according to the report. Forty-two percent of online rural households without broadband report that broadband service is not available to them. Twenty-seven percent indicate that it is “too expensive” and 26 percent said “not needed, not interested.”

You can read the report at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1133263/eb-23.pdf


Welcome to a new ACDC associate

We are delighted to welcome Kelsey Berryhill as new graduate assistant in the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center. Kelsey is a candidate for the Master of Science degree in Library and Information Science. She was an honors graduate in anthropology from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and pursued minors in museum studies and global studies during her undergraduate program.

Kelsey brings to the Center a variety of professional experience and skills. For example, she has worked with special collections at the Davenport (Iowa) Public Library, with curation at the John A. Logan Museum (Murphysboro, Illinois) and with digital archiving at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology here at the University of Illinois. You can reach her at berryhi1@illinois.edu .

Photo of Kelsey Berryhill


Preserving history about rural-urban communications

You may be aware that the Agriculture Council of America Foundation recently assumed the assets and selected programs of the National Farm-City Council. In related news, we are delighted to report that the 60-year history of the National Farm-City Council has an enduring home. Those historical materials, dating from the founding in 1955, are being processed into the University of Illinois Archives after arriving recently.

Thanks to Council representatives Hugh Whaley, Gene Hemphill and Holly Fritz for collaborating with Archives and ACDC personnel in making the preservation possible. These materials represent an important, pioneering initiative in promoting rural-urban understanding in the United States. During the years ahead, they will be available as resources for research, teaching, and ideas from a wealth of knowledge about ways to do so.

Get in touch with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu if you would like more information about these materials.


Communicator activities approaching

  • July 26-30, 2014
    “Rev it up!” Agricultural Media Summit, joint meeting of the American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA), Livestock Publications Council (LPC) and the Agri-Council of American Business Media in Indianapolis, Indiana. Also features the annual meeting of the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT). Information: http://www.agmediasummit.com
  • September 4-8, 2014
    “Innovations from a small island.” Annual IFAJ Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists in Aberdeenshire Angus, Banffshire and Moray, Scotland. Information: http://www.ifaj2014.com/action-packed-days

Simple formula for gathering news

We close this issue of ACDC News with a piece of timeless advice from J. Milam, a country newspaper editor and publisher. It was cited in a 1934 article we reviewed recently in The North American Review :

“Keep listening, and never do more than half the talking.”


Best wishes and good searching

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC . And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu

ACDC News – Issue 14-06

Starving for agriculture coverage

Canadians are starving for agriculture coverage, Marilee Devries reported in the Spring 2014 issue of Ryerson Review of Journalism . “If food is the world’s most essential industry,” she asked, “why have newspapers forsaken the farm?”

“The quality of agriculture reporting in the urban press is like a wheat crop infected with fusarium head blight,” Devries observed. Her article explored trends in agriculture reporting by newspapers in Canada, causes of slippage and results for citizens and the entire country. She concluded:

“Now Canadian journalists must find a way to tell theAg story, because it’s more than nice-to-know information. It’s the story of something the whole country—and the whole world—needs: food.”

You can read this article at: http://www.rrj.ca/m28589


2014 survey of U. S. consumer perceptions of food technology

The 16 th edition of this survey by the International Food Information Council is now available. It is based on a survey of 1,000 U. S. adults, weighted on gender, age, race, education, marital status, region, and income. Among the key findings reported:

  • Confidence in the safety of the U. S. food supply remains consistently high
  • Disease/contamination and handling/prep remain the greatest food safety concerns
  • Consumers have a positive view of modern agriculture and believe biotechnology can play a role in improving multiple aspects of sustainability
  • Most have heard something about food biotechnology
  • The majority still support the current Food and Drug Administration policy for labeling of foods produced through biotechnology
  • More consumers this year are aware of biotech foods in the supermarket
  • Health and government organizations are the most trusted sources for information on food biotechnology, animal biotechnology, and sustainability
  • Millennials and moms differ from the general population on several key factors

You can read an executive summary of the survey report at: http://www.foodinsight.org/foodtechsurvey.aspx


Provide “well-written journalism and accurate facts”—in any medium

Chris Brune, executive director of American Horse Publications, made that point in a recent newsletter commentary we have added to the ACDC collection. A brand can be anything, she emphasized, including a print publication.

“Publishers are the communicators in the equine world. It is your responsibility to provide the horse community with well-written journalism and accurate facts that can be delivered quickly when necessary or with inspiration and beauty for posterity.”

You can read this thoughtful commentary at: http://www.americanhorsepubs.org/communication/newsletter_archive

Click on the October/November 2013 issue and scroll to “Writing for the brand.”


Protest videos fall short of potential

Researcher Catherine Collins found a major gap in narrative when she examined videos on YouTube about managing old-growth timber in the U.S. and Tasmania, Australia.

“Most videos discussed here do little to explain why one’s values and interests should be accepted,” she reported. “Arguments to support one’s position or refute one’s opponent’s claims are seldom presented; the protest videos celebrate or denigrate protest without arguing for the rationale behind their position.” She argued that such videos “must articulate shared values and compelling reasons for cooperation and joint action, and they must offer well-crafted narratives that have coherence and fidelity for the viewers.”

Check with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu if you would like help in gaining access to this case study in the 2013 book, Environmental conflict and the media .


Mobile phone—helping disadvantaged farmers more than those better off

A rural e-service project in India involved special mobile phones carried by young assistants traveling with extension agents in the villages. An assistant used the phone to generate images and audio messaging about the issue or question facing a given farmer, then pass them on to an agricultural scientist for response. Among the findings:

  • More than 75 percent of the farmers viewed these services as useful.
  • More than 95 percent were using more agricultural advice after they were exposed to innovation.
  • The experience of using this mobile phone technology made farmers feel more at ease with new technology.
  • The disadvantaged farmers and poorer communities gained more from this ICT-assisted service than those who were better off.

You can read this 2012 research report at: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/126798


View entries for IFAJ Star Prize in Photography

The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists is displaying more than 80 photos entered in the 2014 Star Prize for Photography. These images captured by photographers throughout the world fit into three categories: nature, people, and production. Winning entries will be recognized during the IFAJ Congress in Scotland during September.

You can view the IFAJ Star Prize in Photography entries at: http://www.ifaj.org/contests-awards/photo-contest/2014.html


Farm broadcasters preparing for an anniversary

We enjoyed seeing Tom Brand, Executive Director of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting, and NAFB Historian Mike Adams when they visited the NAFB Archives here on May 20. They are scouting for materials to feature during the 70 th Anniversary Celebration of NAFB later this year.

NAFB has an excellent collection of historical materials, which are maintained in the University of Illinois Archives. If you are interested in learning what they include, you can visit the detailed, online finding aid at: http://archives.library.illinois.edu/archon/index.php?p=core/search&subjectid=3155

You can also identify hundreds of these archived documents by using the ACDC online search system at: http://library.illinois.edu/funkaces/acdc . Some years ago we reviewed the NAFB Archives and identified resources that reveal innovations, impact, issues, and other developments in U. S. farm broadcasting.


Communicator activities approaching

  • June 19, 2014
    Reception of the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists at the Royal Highland Show near Edinburgh, Scotland. Information: http://www.gaj.org.uk/dates-deadlines
  • June 19-21, 2014
    “Gallop n’ Grits.” Seminar of American Horse Publications in Charleston, South Carolina. Information: http://www.americanhorsepubs.org/programs/seminars
  • June 24-26, 2014
    25 th annual meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) in Madison, Wisconsin. Information: http://www.agrelationscouncil.org
  • June 24-27, 2014
    Annual conference of the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) in Portland, Oregon. Information: https://aceweb.org/index.php/en/2014-conference
  • July 26-30, 2014
    “Rev it up!” Agricultural Media Summit, joint meeting of the American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA), Livestock Publications Council (LPC) and the Agri-Council of American Business Media in Indianapolis, Indiana. Also features the annual meeting of the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT). Information: http://www.agmediasummit.com
  • September 4-8, 2014
    “Innovations from a small island.” Annual IFAJ Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists in Aberdeenshire Angus, Banffshire and Moray, Scotland. Information: http://www.ifaj2014.com/action-packed-days

Breath-taking writing skills

Those of us who teach agricultural journalism and communications pay great attention to helping students improve their writing. We close this issue of ACDC News with an unusual suggestion. It comes from Marilyn Johnson in The Dead Beat , her book featuring “the lost souls, lucky stiffs and perverse pleasures of obituaries.” Noting one especially-engrossing obituary, she observed:

“It’s almost impossible to teach that sort of writing except by pointing students to a stack of clips and telling them, ‘Inhale these’.”


Best wishes and good searching.

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC . And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu