As beef industry trends have evolved, beef producers are looking for value-added beef practices and marketing strategies. To ensure that a new value-added beef Extension program framework at Iowa State University aligns with beef producers' needs, a needs assessment instrument was created. We developed a needs assessment tool focused on program…

COVID-19 challenges induced a U.S. meatpacking industry bottleneck. Ohio Extension identified the need and responded by creating a three-step hands-on training for teenage junior fair exhibitors. Ohio Extension Meat Scientist and graduate students assisted in demonstrating an on-farm hog harvest and processing event in collaboration with a local…

Cooperative Extension strives to deliver relevant programming to residents. However, problems facing communities are increasingly complex. We used a three-phase needs assessment to describe Utah residents' perceptions of issue areas for Extension programming. We gathered data from 1,043 Utah residents. Results highlighted four priority issue areas…

Disasters are deeply affecting communities and economies in the United States, and the role of Cooperative Extension in disaster management efforts continues to grow. We surveyed University of California Extension personnel to identify existing disaster management programs and future needs. We found that about one third of our respondents had been…

Understanding how farmers prefer to learn is critical for the development and delivery of successful extension programming. Therefore, Michigan State University Extension specialists conducted an interactive hands-on demonstration workshop (Potato University) addressing pressing issues to Michigan potato production at the Michigan Winter Potato…

Entities that seek to provide quality community-based health education need sustainable funding to maintain their efforts. With dwindling funding sources, it has become important to have diverse financial support for program stability. A promising new practice for expanding funding involves partnering with third-party payers. Michigan State…

Since 2011, Oregon State University has conducted integrated pest management (IPM) training specific to public schools. School personnel receive onsite training on key IPM practices as well as associated materials. To determine which practices and materials school employees are using as a result of the program, we administered a survey to 2016…

Utah's rural counties have experienced high levels of unemployment compared to the state's urban counties. Utah State University Extension developed a remote work educational program intended to reduce rural unemployment. We conducted a descriptive study to gather data from May-August 2019 participants (N = 1,025). Our results indicate that…

Extension's in-person hiring processes have been complicated in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. To prevent delays in hiring for three vacant county faculty positions, our search committee conducted remote interviews using a variety of innovative techniques, such as a live "we're hiring" webinar, an icebreaker session, and live and…

Within University of Minnesota Extension's health and nutrition program area, we created and are using a decision-making tree to prioritize our work with communities of color through equitable decision-making practices. The tool is currently used to help grant administrators winnow down a pool of applicants for a participatory grant-making program…

A representative sample of Mississippi residents were asked about their knowledge and perceptions of the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service through an online questionnaire. About half of the respondents were aware of MSU Extension, but fewer than one fifth had used MSU Extension resources. Respondents who were aware of MSU…

Despite external influences such as societal restrictions imposed during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, farmers continue to work, and needs for outreach and education have not waned. Extension professionals must continue to support these needs by using media and channels not typically employed when more traditional vehicles, such as on-site…

A statewide need for Latino cultural competency training for Utah State University (USU) Extension personnel was identified. The solution involved the collaborative efforts of our team of two USU Extension faculty members and one Washington State University (WSU) Extension faculty member on adaption and customization of a needs assessment tool and…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension, and the Mississippi Forestry Commission partnered on the Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Project, a collaboration on forest health. MSU Extension provided educational outreach to a wide audience of forest landowners and screened applications for the…

Extension is known for creating educational environments conducive to the transformative learning required for people to change their perspectives and make better decisions in their lives. However, creating such environments is not easy. The complex Extension context often produces barriers to including program components that support…