Using Face-to-Face Tours to Provide Education and Awareness to Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable Agriculture
Gary Lesoing
EXTENSION EDUCATOR
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN EXTENSION
AUBURN
Abstract
On-farm tours are an excellent method to provide education and awareness to other educators, farmers and the general public about local food systems, sustainable agriculture and diversified agricultural enterprises being implemented in Nebraska. Nebraska Extension has partnered with NCR SARE and the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society to conduct these tours in recent years. In 2021, despite concerns for the pandemic, a driving tour to several farms and local entrepreneurial enterprises was conducted with 25 participants throughout the day. I conducted 2 diversified ag tours in 2018 & 2019 each year with 88 and 73 participants, respectively. In 2018 a SARE sponsored tour visited 5 diversifed enterprises in southeast Nebraska; including two organic vegetable farms. a hog confinement facility converted into a shrimp farm, a portable saw-mill used to repurpose damaged trees into lumber or used to make biochar, and an organic grass farm. A survey following the tour of the 5 enterprises with n=51, indicated on a scale of 0-5, with 0-poor and 5-excellent, the average knowledge gained was 4.25 for these five enterprises. Comments of tour participants included, "There are more producers involved in sustainable ag than I realized." "Small farms can be profitable."
The Southeast Nebraska Diversified Ag Tour has been held for 15 years. It was initiated to bring awareness of all the diversified agricultural enterprises possible in southeast Nebraska. The 13th tour was held in 2018 with 24 participants that visited a nursery, a winery and distillery, and a sheep and pasture poultry farm that direct markets its animals. Fifty-nine percent gained ideas of possible diversified agriculture enterprises/opportunities from other producers. Seventy-one percent agreed or strongly agreed thy gained knowledge about the advantages diversifying a farm/ranch may have. Comment from a participant, "I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to meet the ag producers. The diversity of the visits helped me open my eyes to the creativity and hard work of southeast Nebraska producers."
Authors: Gary Lesoing, John Porter
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Gary Lesoing EXTENSION EDUCATOR, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska, 68305-2395
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John Porter Extension Educator, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska, 68124