Daily Ag Zoom Session Programs (COVID-19)

Summary

COVID-19 caused significate changes to how the extension service could provide information to the state’s citizens. The term social distancing and providing programs in that manner have become the means by which offices have had to adapt in this changing environment. Virtual programing essentially became the best means to reach out to clientele and to continue being relevant in the community. In responds to COVID-19 the Hart (Reid Miller), Jones (Michael Abney), Mitchell (Cale Cloud), Seminole (Cindy Meadows), Stephens (Thad Glenn), and Wilkes (Andrew Warner) County Extension Offices along with help from the Dublin High School FFA (Jeffery Tomblin) implemented a Daily Ag Zoom Session focus on both youth and adult education in agriculturally related issues effecting citizen across Georgia. The program consisted 26 live Zoom meetings and recordings which were available on several social media platforms. In total approximately 620 individuals attended the live Zoom session and video posted on social media received over 1,100 direct views and over 15,000 indirect views. Post evaluation of 4-Her’s knowledge gained through an Ag Trivia Game showed ~70% overall retention of information covered during Daily Ag Zoom Sessions. Qualtrics XM survey on program effectiveness showed: 100% of participates either thought the program was good to very good, and 100% of participates reported gaining valuable knowledge from programs.

Situation

On March 16th, 2020, Governor Kemp ordered all schools be closed due to COVID-19. This closing was supposed to end on March 31st, however, the dates for students to return to school continued being pushed back till eventually schools were closed for the rest of the year. On, March 16th several extension agents and a FFA Advisor came together to create a temporary virtual program that would provide 4-Her’s and their families with agriculturally related information. On March 23rd the first of the Daily Ag Zoom Sessions occurred only one week after the Governor’s initial order to close schools due to COVID-19. The Daily Ag Zoom Session program was initially only planned to last until the end of March, but was continued until April 27th when attendance started to dwindle. The program provided timely and relevant information to viewers on topics in the areas of: Agronomy, Horticulture, Farm Safety, Forestry/Natural Resources, and Livestock Production.

Response

In response to schools being closed during the initial COVID-19 period county extension agents from Hart, Jones, Mitchell, Seminole, Stephens, and Wilkes County Extension Offices along with the Dublin High School FFA Advisor came together to create 26 different programs that provided meaningful agriculturally related information to 4-Her’s and their families members. These programs were conducted via Zoom and focused on a several different topics impacting Georgia’s #1 industry: Agriculture. The Daily Ag Zoom Session Program was initially only planned to last two weeks, but was extended to the 26 different meetings as the COVID-19 restrictions were extended. Meeting topics during the program included: Agricultural Trivia, Farm Safety, 4-H/FFA Officer Talk, Current Beef Cattle Situation, John De La Howe School of Agriculture, Wetlands Restoration, Common Cattle Health Problems, Pork and Poultry Meats Lab, Using Lagoon Water for Irrigation, Basics to Raising Sheep and Goats, Tips for Selecting your Show Steer/Heifer, Freshwater Fish Species of Georgia, Forestry Contest Tips, Water Wars, Prescribed Forestry Burns, Raising Fishing Bait, Tips for Successful Home Gardening, Basic Greenhouse Operation, Basics to Irrigation, Judging Live Birds, Farm Equipment of Past and Present, Row Crop Update, 3 Good and 3 Bad Insects, Pig Show Tips, Land Use/Rotational Grazing, Pasture Weed Identification, and Grazing Options. These programs were presented by six different extension agents, one FFA Advisor, and the program hosted eight special guest speakers. After the completion of the Daily AG Zoom Sessions evaluations were conducted in two parts to determine the overall effectiveness of the program. The first part was as an Ag Trivia Game to test viewers knowledge of material covered during talks. Only 4-Her’s that had been present for at least one meeting could attended. The second part of evaluation was a short survey on how the program went and improvements that could be made in the future. The survey was conducted using the Qualtrics XM program and the link was sent to all individuals that attended at least one meeting.

Impact

The Daily Ag Zoom Session Program consisted of 26 live Zoom meetings and recordings which were available on several social media platforms. In total approximately 620 individuals attended the live Zoom session and video posted on social media received over 1,100 direct views and over 15,000 indirect views. Post evaluation of 4-Her’s knowledge gained through an Ag Trivia Game showed ~70% overall retention of information covered during Daily Ag Zoom Sessions Program. Qualtrics XM survey on program effectiveness showed: 100% of participates either thought the program was good to very good, and 100% of participates reported gaining valuable knowledge from programs. More importantly than knowledge gained during the Daily Ag Zoom Session Program provided viewers with a community at a distance. The most common comment written in the survey indicated the opportunity to interact with other people and having something do during the initial COVID-19 quarantine was very much appreciated by all that were involved. 4-H participate Ryan Kelly commented on survey saying, “As an Ag Zoom Participant the classes taught me a lot and were fun. It was also great to talk to other people during the COVID-19 quarantine, and the program gave me something to do.”4-H parent Jesse Kelly also stated on the survey, “As a parent I was impressed with the Ag Zoom Sessions. They provided a broad curriculum covering many topics of the agricultural industry. My child learned information relating to agriculture production and careers. We are grateful for the time and effort from the leaders and speakers. It provided great way to learn and socialize during the COVID-19 quarantine.”

State Issue

Youth & Family Development

Details

• Year: 2020
• Geographic Scope: State
• County: Wilkes
• Location: College Station, Athens
• Program Areas:
  • 4-H Youth
  • Agriculture & Natural Resources