Grainswest - Tech 2022

Tech 2022 grainswest.com 49 “Farmers have a strong desire for third-party, independent perspective on products and practices.” —Sheri Strydhorst regulator staging and soil sampling. Despite the return of in-person events, they now continue to produce more of these videos, which have proven valuable to farmers. “Not everyone can always attend field days,” said Boychyn. “We strengthened our capacity to educate and share information online,” he added. The challenge with digital media is to capture and engage users. It took patience on both sides, but the need for virtual programming quickly evolved into a preference for many farmers. HYBRID APPROACH AWINNER As an applied research organization, extension activities are central to GRO, which serves Westlock and surrounding counties. When the pandemic curtailed in-person meetings, the organization produced how-to videos for farmers unfamiliar with virtual tools such as GoToMeeting. General manager Sandeep Nain credits the broad adoption of virtual tools by Alberta farmers to the group effort of farm organizations. Online programming created by commissions, applied research associations and colleges created an irresistible tide that carried the industry forward. “Everyone adapted to the best of their ability,” he said. Though they held online events, he and his colleagues realized the networking component was missing. To fill this gap, GRO presented online discussions with guest speakers semi-monthly during the winter. Sparsely attended at first, these interactive forums became much-anticipated and lasted from two to four hours. GRO outreach officer Amber Kenyon also hosted Coffee Shop Talk , a podcast series that features casual conversations with guests from scientists to politicians. Its 29 episodes have racked up more than 19,000 downloads on Podbean alone and remain available on YouTube. With the return of in-person events, uptake remains highest where virtual options are available, said Nain. “Seeing that success, maybe we will stick with that hybrid option for longer than we predicted.” Boychyn cites Agronomy Update , which the commissions co-present each January with Alberta Canola and Alberta Pulse Growers. The virtual version of the in- formation session was very well received. Prior to the pandemic, the in-person version drew 300 to 400 attendees. In 2020 and 2021, 500 to 600 people at- tended the online version. “The response we had from farmers was, ‘I'm glad this is available online, because I’m not able to drive there and attend.’ This really demonstrates the value of having some of these opportunities for extension and learning online,” he said. Strydhorst noted podcast listenership gradually increased over the pandemic as familiarity grew and people worked them into their routines. She and Boychyn agree the extension picture is a work in progress. “The webinars were seen as this great saviour to extension when we started the pandemic, but we’re realizing to get the engagement becomes progres- sively more challenging,” said Strydhorst. To avoid “webinar fatigue” and encourage interactivity will require creative and perhaps selective use of virtual tools in the future. Much of the appeal of field days is socialization, she said. Attendees bounce ideas off scientists, presenters and fellow farmers. “We haven’t successfully recre- ated that in a virtual field day or found a workaround. You just can’t replace touch- ing and feeling a plant and the ability to look into the canopy and see a particular disease in situ. “Farmers like getting out, seeing their neighbours and getting information in traditional formats,” she added. This in- cludes fact sheets. “Everyone wants that quick reference source.” After in-person events, she emphasized, farmers typi- cally follow up using online resources for details to implement what they’ve learned. In-person events may even incorporate digital elements such as the QR code used at the 2021 Lacombe Field Day that linked to related online resources. In future, field days could incorporate podcasts to provide back- ground information during the drive from site to site. As pent-up demand for in-person events meets newly established reliance on virtual options, ag groups must weigh budgetary limitations against the value of doubling up. The process will have its bumps, but will ultimately benefit farmers, said Boychyn. “As an industry, we’ve gained a lot of capacity to share agronomic extension information with a larger swath of farmers and agronomists because of it. It looks good for the future of ag extension.”