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Badger Crop Connect: Using Virtual Education to Provide Crop Production Updates During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Search for Excellence in Crop Production

Daniel Marzu
Agriculture Extension Educator
UW-Madison, Division of Extension
Merrill

Team Members: Schmidt, K*1, Kamps, J2, Voss, A*3, Ballweg, M*4, Marzu, D*5
  1. Shawano County Agriculture Educator, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension, Shawano, Wisconsin, 54166
  2. Lafayette County Agriculture Educator, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension, Darlington, Wisconsin, 53530
  3. Juneau & Sauk Counties Agriculture Educator, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension, Mauston, Wisconsin, 53948
  4. Sheboygan County Crops & Soils Agent, University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, 53081
  5. Lincoln & Langlade Counties Agriculture Educator, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension, Merrill, Wisconsin, 54452

Abstract

Face-to-face meetings were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Division of Extension UW-Madison Crops and Soils program area formed a team to develop a virtual program called the Badger Crop Connect (BCC).  The target audience for the BCC were farmers, agronomists, crop consultants, government agencies, and other agricultural professionals.  The BCC consisted of ten bi-weekly programs and two special edition programs beginning in May and ending in September, in which county agriculture educators and state specialists provided updates on research projects and guidance on current crop production practices.  A total of 415 farmers, crop consultants, government agency personnel, agricultural media, and other agriculture service providers participated in one or more of the webinars.   Over the twelve sessions, 1217 unique sign-ins into the meetings occurred.  In evaluations that took place after each session, 48% of the participants indicated that they strongly agreed that they were more confident in using the information.  Completed evaluations  (n=419) indicated  40% of  participants  somewhat agreed  they were more confident in using the information.  In a post evaluation, 80.43% of agronomists and crop consultants, lenders, government agency staff, and educators (n=92) reported that they were able to use the information to make recommendations to their clientele.  Nearly 86% of the 14 farmers responding to  the survey reported  they implemented the knowledge they learned on their acreage.  Additionally, 478 continuing education units were earned by Certified Crop Advisers to maintain their certification.  The overwhelming response and success of this program resulted in the BCC becoming an integral part of the Crops and Soils programming portfolio. 

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Years of CES Service: 0

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