Transcript An Electronic and Team Approach to Farm Management Education

An Electronic and Team Approach
Farm Management Education
Chris Bruynis, Extension Educator, Wyandot County
David Marrison, Extension Educator, Ashtabula County
Donald J. Breece, Farm Management Specialist
Barry Ward, Leader, Production Business Management
EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EDUCATION
to
Ohio Situation
• During the past several years the
number of faculty working in Farm
Management has steadily declined.
• Specialists’ roles changed, moving away
from an Educator support role to working
more directly with clientele.
• Farm managers were adopting
technology, including email and Internet
usage.
Recognized Need
• Growing diversity in the farm population
– Average age increased to 53.1 years old,
– Increasing dichotomy in farm size,
– Ohio is losing an average of 250 farms
annually (currently gaining small farmers),
– Increasing encroachment from urban centers
putting pressure on land prices, and
– Increasing number of hired employees on
the farm (verses family members).
Electronic Newsletter
• Impetus came from County Educators.
• Partnership between state, regional, and county
faculty was developed.
• A successful Electronic Newsletter model
already existed in Ohio for agronomic
information (CORN).
• Idea was to send short “sound bytes” of
information to subscribers with links to detailed
articles.
• Also wanted to create a way for subscribers to
communicate with the team.
Email Lists
• Three electronic email lists have been
developed
– OAM list serve
• For team member’s internal communication
– Ohio Ag Manager list serve
• For subscribers to receive newsletter
– Ohio Ag Manager Info
• For folks to ask management questions
• Is distributed to three members who direct the
questions to the right Educator/Specialist
Newsletter Creation
• 1st issue published July 2004.
• 1 ½ hour conference call monthly.
– Topics, authors, deadlines, editor and other
relevant information decided.
• Typically 8 – 10 articles per issue.
• Issue released on the 1st Friday of each
month.
– Posted to website and then emailed to
subscriber list.
Emailed Newsletter
Website Front Page
Newsletter View
Resources Page
Web Management With Contribute
Usage of Ohio Ag Manager
• The Ohio Ag Manager Team has
published 35 editions containing 301
management articles since July 2004.
• Currently 504 self-subscribers receive
the e-newsletter directly each month
compared to 217 in December of 2004.
Ohio Ag Manager Web Traffic
• Website is located at
http://ohioagmanager.osu.edu/
• Web traffic to the OAM web site has
increased significantly during the past
few years.
– 2005 – 17,868 individuals accessing the site
– 2006 – 34,236 individuals accessing the site
– 2007 – 42,840 if current trend holds
Impacts of Ohio Ag Manager
• A survey of subscribers indicated as a
result of the newsletter’s content they
– Saved money,
– Made better informed decisions,
– Improved marketing and employee
management skills, and
– Saved tax dollars.
• Results also indicated that subscribers
forwarded the newsletter to 3,352 other
people each year.
Other Benefits of OAM Team
• Improved relationships and dialogue
between state specialists, regional
specialists, and county educators.
• Received grants that have increased
research and programming in farm
management in Ohio.
• Educators with limited Farm
Management knowledge now have
network of Educators that can provide
expertise in the discipline.
Questions????
Ask the Ohio Ag Manager Team