ASSESSING NEEDS AND COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES
Leadership and Administrative Skills
Kalen Taylor
Extension assistant Professor - Agriculture
Utah State University Extension
Delta
Abstract
In 2022-2023 the Utah State University (USU) Dairy Extension team led by Dr. Bruce Richards, the USU Dairy Extension Specialist, completed a dairy needs assessment across the state of Utah. In total, 31 assessments were returned from dairies varying in size from 10 lactating cows to 10,000 with the majority being in the 100 to 500 cow range. Topics were ranked by importance and access to information with the difference between the two numbers ranking as the need. This means, a topic with high importance but low access to resources would rank as a high need. According to this needs assessment, the top five needs for Utah Dairies are 1) Improving public perception of water use 2) Succession planning 3) Managing risk 4) Labor recruiting 5) Reducing feed costs. In addition to the formal needs assessment, Dr. Richards and other members of the dairy team toured Utah dairies to get qualitative feedback with an on the ground approach. Labor, managing people and risk management were often topics of conversation during tours. The dairy industry in Utah mainly employs non-native speakers of English who come from diverse cultural backgrounds around the world. The Cross-Cultural Leadership program was presented at two dairy workshops in Utah during 2023 to meet the needs of dairy producers. Our program uses a research-based approach to bridge gaps in culture and communication leading to a stronger labor force. The purpose is to increase the cultural awareness of those in attendance to help labor recruitment, labor retainment and risk management. Feedback and participation from attendees has been positive and thought provoking. Cross Cultural Leadership is highly adaptable and could be implemented in non-dairy settings, as well as other regions throughout the United States.
Authors: Kalen Taylor, Justin Clawson, Bruce
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Kalen Taylor Extension assistant Professor - Agriculture, Utah State University IOTA Chapter, Utah, 84624
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Justin Clawson Extension Assistant Professor, Utah State University, Utah, 84321
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Bruce Dairy Extension Specialist, Utah State University, Utah, 84321