Alabama Extension Commercial Horticulture Virtual Events and Social Media Evaluation System During the COVID-19 Pandemic
ISSN 2158-9429
Volume 15, Issue 1 - June 2022
Editor: Linda Chalker-Scott
Abstract
Alabama has a rapidly growing specialty crop industry valued at $165 million in direct sale and $103 million in value-added products. The demand for fresh fruits and vegetables remained high during the COVID-19 pandemic. To support producers with timely information, the Alabama Extension Commercial Horticulture Team used three different social media (SM) events along with a unique monitoring and evaluation system as formative evaluations. Overall, 120 virtual events via a Facebook channel and a farmer group page reached 2,271 direct and 57,000 indirect participants with many new clients and beginning farmers that found the information useful and timely.
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