Cultivating Identity, Sowing Relationships, Fertilizing Success, and Harvesting Coexistence: Understanding Oklahoma Producer Identity and Relationships

The USDA has identified coexistence, or producers growing food in a variety of ways (conventionally, organic, etc.) in a harmonious manner as a critical challenge and high priority. Despite this call for coexistence and assurance of mutual success, agricultural sectors often have conflicts. Both sides of the niche and mainstream rift tend to pick and choose radical examples of problematic practices to portray the opposition. Producers, more so than most other occupations, have a deeply entrenched occupational identity. Many studies focused on the need for relationships between agricultural producers and the public. No work has been found to understand how producers from different sectors of agriculture view one another. This study sought to understand producers’ identities and the relationships producers have with one another. Results indicate the occupation of farming, family ties, connection and duty to the land, hard work and pride defines producers’ identities. When defining a “good farmer,” producers cited innovation and efficiency, farm succession, passion and joy, and profits as markers of success. The relationships between producers varied. Overall, producers respected other producers enough to make their own choices concerning production. Social media was often mentioned when producers talked about how they communicate with one another

Coauthor Network Analysis of Journal of Applied Communications Articles from 2008-2017

Coauthorship networks offer a glimpse of collaborations within a discipline, illustrating the social networks that enable users to leverage more resources than they could on their own. This study used relational bibliometric data from the last 10 years of the Journal of Applied Communications (JAC) to create a social network analysis. The following research objectives guided this study: 1) Describe authorship, category (i.e., research article, commentary, book review), and number of JAC papers published from 2008 to 2017, 2) Describe the coauthor network characteristics of JAC papers, and 3) Describe the relationship between publication frequency and social network characteristics of authors. Results showed the majority of articles published in JAC were research articles and written by more than one author. Typically, authors who were well connected in the network were those who collaborated with other faculty at their own institution and continued to collaborate with graduate school classmates after graduation. Based on the results, recommendations to broaden connections in agricultural communications included increasing collaborations based on research interests, as opposed to geographic proximity and past working relationships to increase connections across the agricultural communications discipline

Examining the Social Properties of Oklahoma Agricultural Facebook Pages: A Quantitative Content Analysis

Social media is used by millions of people in the United States, and producers are often encouraged to maintain a social media presence to promote their businesses and agriculture in general. Farmers have deeply entrenched identities. Social identity theory states people self-sort into certain groups. Social comparison and positive distinction are two principles of social identity theory. There is a need to research how agricultural operations are portraying those identities, including how they portray the identities of dissimilar agricultural operations online. This study compared Oklahoma mainstream and alternative producers in a quantitative content analysis of their Facebook pages. The following objectives guided this study: 1) Describe the agricultural operations in Oklahoma present on Facebook, 2. Describe the Facebook presence of agricultural operations in Oklahoma, 3) Describe operations’ expression of social-identity via Facebook, and 4) Compare the communication of alternative and mainstream agricultural operations in Oklahoma. Results of this study indicate that overall agricultural operations do not post frequently. While operations were likely to use positive distinctions to distinguish products from others, they were not likely to use social comparison. Moreover, there were not major differences between mainstream and alternative producers. Qualitative research exploring producers’ sense of identity would be valuable. Future studies should also explore the personal pages of agricultural producers, how producers use other social media outlets, and how the results of this study compare to other states’ producers

A Perplexing Process: Understanding How Agricultural Producers Process Best Management Practice Information

Best management practices (BMPs) are suggested practices that help agricultural producers optimize production while reducing pollution, soil erosion, and other environmental impacts. Many audiences, including scientists and policy makers, have expressed disappointment at the current level of BMP use. Elaboration likelihood model (ELM) is used to understand how people process messages. ELM states that people can process messages either centrally or peripherally. This study sought to understand how producers processed information related to BMP adoption in grazing systems. Researchers conducted qualitative, in-depth interviews with 42 beef-cattle producers in Kansas and Oklahoma. It was found producers process information both centrally and peripherally, more specifically ­­through past experiences and visual observations. This study suggests that when promoting BMPs, communicators should use visual cues to help producers process information. More importantly communicators should utilize strategies that encourage producers to reflect on past experiences to promote central processing

The Ever-Evolving Brand of the Land-Grant Institution: A Historical Overview

A brand is a multifaceted system of management choices and consumer responses that distinguishes products, goods, services, or ideas and creates awareness and meaning. In a highly competitive environment, the importance of the branding of universities is continually increasing. Land-Grant Institutions (LGIs) have a long and storied history of serving the public, who may have little awareness of the institutions’ overall missions or importance. This inquiry sought to describe the brand and branding of LGIs over time. The Morrill Act of 1862 established LGIs and their brand as schools of higher learning for the common people. The LGI and its brand was expanded through the Hatch Act of 1887 and Smith-Lever Act of 1914. LGIs have undergone many changes, some of which are name changes. The total number of name changes for all 1862 LGIs is 93. Even though the overall brand of LGIs as a system has changed, adapted, evolved, and rebranded numerous times, the original brand mission and vision have remained intact. Results suggest most LGIs have renamed or rebranded to be more appealing to broader audiences and to populations not directly tied to the agricultural sector and rural America

Let\u27s Get Theoretical: A Quantitative Content Analysis of Theories and Models Used in the Journal of Applied Communications

Theories and models are an important element in the progression of an academic field. This article focused on quantifying theories and models used in agricultural communication through a quantitative content analysis of the last 20 years of the Journal of Applied Communication (JAC). Specifically, the following research objectives guided this study: 1) describe characteristics (methods, number of authors) of articles in JAC, 2) identify which theories and models have been used in JAC, 3) determine how theory was used in JAC, 4) determine what characteristics predict the use of a theory or model in JAC. Researchers found 87 theories and models identified in JAC with 11 used five or more times and 19 that used between two and four times. Approximately 35% of the articles in JAC used a theory or model. Of those using a theory or model, the majority used it to inform the study, but rarely tested, created/built theory. Other results indicate the use of theory has increased in recent years and the number of authors and number of articles published. Implications for this study are a clear need for increased theoretical vigor in agricultural communication through increased focus on using theory to build on previous work in the industry

It's complicated: Exploring the co-creation of land-grant brand identity amongst faculty members at Oklahoma State University

Land-grant institutions (LGIs) are tasked with providing accessible education to the common man and improving their quality of life. This study examined faculty members' awareness, perceptions, and interpretations of the land-grant mission at Oklahoma State University (OSU). Branding is the theoretical framework for this study. Faculty members are the primary deliverers university missions. Universities' effectiveness are often called into question by the public and funds continue to be reduced. Past studies have indicated some personnel are unaware of pieces of the land-grant mission. A strong brand presence increases the likelihood of a positive public image. Participants were recruited using a purposive sampling method. Eleven focus groups were conducted in the summer of 2020. The audio was transcribed and imported into MAXQDA20. The data were analyzed using Glaser's constant comparative method to identify themes, which were confirmed by assistant moderators. The data were triangulated using artifacts from OSU's website, faculty orientation materials, and a post-focus group questionnaire. All participants had heard about the land-grant mission, but not all had a grasp of what it meant. Participants were unsure if the public or students understood the land-grant mission. Participants had multiple definitions of the land-grant mission. Although the land-grant mission did not specifically influence which behaviors faculty members engaged in, it did seem to affect how faculty members worked. There was a general state of concern for the future. Participants did not mention Extension when asked about OSU. As university brands should be consistent with its missions, one could argue the internal branding of OSU could be improved. Results indicate a need to improve the internal understanding of the land-grant mission at OSU. Given the less than prolific understanding of the land-grant mission amongst faculty members, internal communication of the land-grant mission should improve. I suggest hosting an annual summit where faculty members could discuss their efforts related to the land-grant mission, network with colleagues from other colleges, and learn more about the land-grant mission in action. Future research should explore the internal brand of other LGIs. University staff, administration, and student perceptions of the land-grant mission should be explored

Printing and Mailing for the Brand: An Exploratory Qualitative Study Seeking to Understand Internal Branding and Marketing Within University and Extension Communication Services Units

Investment of employees in a brand can lead to greater public understanding and positive impressions of a brand by external stakeholders. However, this can be challenging in public organizations with multiple brand segments and a large number of employees spread across great distance with limited funds for marketing. While previous work has looked at Extension agents, faculty, and volunteers’ brand perceptions, no studies have looked at communication services employees’ investment in the brand. The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover how well employees in a university and Extension printing and mail entity understood the Extension brand and their investment in the brand. Research questions that guided this study were: 1) What perceptions and investment do communication services employees have in the Extension brand? And 2) what are employees’ perceptions of the organization’s branding and marketing efforts? Each of the 18 interviews included a series of questions focusing on employees’ story related to Extension and employees’ thoughts on branding and marketing efforts. Results in this study with communication services employees indicate these employees are not invested in the brand with the majority having little to no understanding of the mission of Extension. This contradicts previous research with employees in other brand segments of Extension. Implications of this work include a need for training on the Extension mission for communication services employees, a shift in culture to encourage investment in the brand, and inclusion of all Extension employees in the mission of Extension

Communicating towards resiliency: identifying the barriers and social constraints related to grazing best management practices in Kansas and Oklahoma

Master of Science - Agricultural Education and CommunicationDepartment of Communications and Agricultural EducationLauri M. BakerKansas and Oklahoma were in the top five cattle producing states in the United States. Beef cattle producers across Kansas and Oklahoma had access to best management practices (BMPs) for proper grazing land management, but were still underutilizing these practices. This study sought to understand why producers did not adopt grazing BMPs suggested by Extension professionals and to identify opportunities to improve communication and adoption. Under the postulates of elaboration likelihood model (ELM), if BMPs were communicated to producers in a way that persuaded them to adopt BMPs, the resiliency of the entire beef cattle grazing system, would increase. This study was guided by community-based social marketing (CBSM) and elaboration likelihood model (ELM). Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 43 producers in north central Oklahoma and south central Kansas during the summer of 2015. Initial participants were recruited using a purposive sampling method through Extension contacts with a snowball sample after initial participants were identified. Interviews were transcribed by a professional transcription service and analyzed using Glaser’s constant comparative method. Producers in the study were aware of BMPs like rotational grazing, prescribed burning, and the usage of alternative forages. The major themes discovered in this study include Producers had varying definitions of both rotational grazing and cover crops; Producers used each other, Extension and university materials and personnel as information sources; Practices producers used were determined by visual observations and past experiences. Barriers and social constrains to the adoption of BMPs that were discovered included: water availability and quality, land leases, time and labor, land lords, generational gaps, and a lack of skilled employees. Producers saw the benefits of burning practices and rotational grazing. Another major theme was drought tested the resiliency of producer’s operations. This study offers several recommendations for Extension professionals and research. The way that Extension agents were communicating BMPs should be researched and analyzed. The implementation of CBSM and ELM by Extension professionals could increase the adoption of BMPs in grazing systems. A major implication of this study was the need for Extension to more openly communicate with producers rather than just exchange information

Community-Based Grazing Marketing: Barriers and Benefits Related to the Adoption of Best Management Practices in Grazing Systems

Environmental impacts of less than optimal grazing management choices can be intense and widespread. Improved communication of responsible grazing practices known as best management practices (BMPs) may increase adoption of these practices and increase sustainability of grazing systems. Community-based social marketing (CBSM) is a tool that can be used by communicators to generate behavior changes. This strategy emphasizes the identification of barriers to goal behaviors and the development of strategies to overcome them. This study sought to identify barriers and benefits associated with the adoption of grazing BMPs. Barriers identified include water availability and quality, and leasing and renting land. Benefits identified were increased resiliency through rotational grazing, improved watering and burning practices