The Dairy Manager  Web site was developed to provide producers access to current, reliable management information. The site is designed for efficient use by the producer or county Extension educator and contains compiled, reviewed, specific, and current dairy management information. The site is updated frequently and a panel of experts in various fields related to dairy production and management review the material prior to posting to the Web site

Chapa, AM

Ely, LO

Gilson, WD

Smith, JW

English

Clemson University: TigerPrints

The Journal of Extension Volume 40 Number 1 Article 20 2-1-2002 Development of a Dairy Management Information Web Site AM Chapa Mississippi State University, achapa@ads.msstate.edu JW Smith University of Georgia, jimsmith@arches.uga.edu LO Ely University of Georgia, laneely@arches.uga.edu WD Gilson University of Georgia, wgilson@arches.uga.edu This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Chapa, A., Smith, J., Ely, L., & Gilson, W. (2002). Development of a Dairy Management Information Web Site. The Journal of Extension, 40(1), Article 20. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol40/iss1/20 This Ideas at Work is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Journal of Extension by an authorized editor of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact kokeefe@clemson.edu. 	 JOEHOME JOURNAL GUIDELINES ABOUT	JOE CONTACT NATIONAL	JOB	BANKCurrent	Issues Back	IssuesFebruary	2002	//	Volume	40	//	Number	1	//	Ideas	at	Work	//	1IAW5Development	of	a	Dairy	Management	Information	Web	SiteAbstract"The	Dairy	Manager"	Web	site	was	developed	to	provide	producers	access	to	current,	reliablemanagement	information.	The	site	is	designed	for	efficient	use	by	the	producer	or	countyExtension	educator	and	contains	compiled,	reviewed,	specific,	and	current	dairy	managementinformation.	The	site	is	updated	frequently	and	a	panel	of	experts	in	various	fields	related	todairy	production	and	management	review	the	material	prior	to	posting	to	the	Web	site.	IntroductionThe	Internet	has	transformed	the	way	people	access	information	and	has	created	opportunities	fordistribution	of	general	and	scientific	information	in	areas	such	as	education,	business,	government,and	health	care	(Lawrence	&	Giles,	1999).	However,	a	major	disadvantage	of	an	Internet	search	isthe	time	required	to	sift	through	a	myriad	of	unorganized	sites	returned	from	a	typical	search	tofind	pertinent	information.The	amount	of	publicly	available	information	on	the	Web	has	increased	rapidly	(Lawrence	&	Giles,1998b).	The	Web's	doubling	period	was	under	3	months	the	second	half	of	1993,	nearly	5	monthsin	1995,	and	under	6	months	during	1997	(Gray,	1997).	The	percent	of	commercial	sites	increasedin	a	4-year	period	from	1.5%	of	all	sites	in	1993	to	nearly	63%	in	1997	(Grey,	1997).	Estimatesfrom	February	1999,	showed	the	publicly	indexable	Web	containing	approximately	800	millionpages,	with	83%	of	the	sites	containing	commercial	content	and	6%	containing	scientific	content(Lawrence	&	Giles,	1999).	Because	of	the	Web's	rapid	growth	and	dynamic	nature,	search	enginecoverage	relative	to	size	has	decreased	since	December	1997,	with	no	search	engine	indexingmore	than	approximately	16%	(Lawrence	&	Giles,	1999).	For	a	truly	comprehensive	index,	allpages	would	have	to	be	indexed	simultaneously.	Currently,	this	is	not	possible.	(Lawrence	&	Giles,1999).A.	M.	ChapaExtension	Dairy	SpecialistMississippi	State	UniversityMississippi	State,	MississippiInternet	Address:	achapa@ads.msstate.eduJ.	W.	SmithExtension	Dairy	ScientistInternet	Address:	jimsmith@arches.uga.eduL.	O.	ElyExtension	Dairy	ScientistInternet	Address:	laneely@arches.uga.eduW.	D.	GilsonExtension	Dairy	ScientistInternet	Address:	wgilson@arches.uga.eduM.	NakazawaGraduate	StudentInternet	Address:	nakazawa@ai.uga.eduUniversity	of	GeorgiaAthens,	GeorgiaTwo	approaches	can	be	used	when	searching	the	Web.	Subject	guides	(Yahoo,	LookSmart)	arecommonly	used	for	general	topics,	while	search	engines	(Alta	Vista,	Northern	Light)	are	bettersuited	for	finding	specific	information.	A	common	complaint	regarding	search	engines	is	the	returnof	numerous	pages	containing	irrelevant	material.	The	results	of	a	search	are	influenced	by	variousfactors,	including	database	size,	update	frequency,	search	capability	and	design,	and	speed.Indexing	new	or	modified	pages	by	a	search	engine	can	take	months.	Lawrence	and	Giles	(1999)found	that	search	engines	are	more	likely	to	list	commercial	sites	than	educational	sites	and	sitesthat	have	more	links.	Therefore,	the	more	"popular"	sites	are	more	apt	to	be	listed	in	searchresults.Another	disadvantage	of	an	Internet	search	is	lack	of	quality	control.	Although	there	are	over	100peer-reviewed	science,	technical,	and	medical	journals	available	online	(Taubes,	1996)	and	manyinstitutions	review	material	before	it	is	placed	on	a	Web	site,	no	formal	review	process	exists	forindexing	a	Web	site	on	the	Internet.	Therefore,	sites	can	be	biased,	misrepresent	facts,	or	containlittle	factual	information.	Users	must	not	only	consider	the	relevance	of	the	information	to	theircurrent	situation,	location,	and	resources,	but	also	the	credibility	of	the	Web	site.Development	and	Use	of	the	Dairy	Management	Web	SiteInformation	on	the	Internet	pertaining	to	the	dairy	industry	comes	from	a	variety	of	sources,including	but	not	limited	to:Universities	and	colleges,Private	industry,Magazines,Breed	organizations,	andThe	federal	government.Not	all	resources	are	linked,	and	deciding	where	and	how	to	start	searching	can	be	a	challenge."The	Dairy	Manager"	Web	site	was	developed	in	an	attempt	to	simplify	finding	and	deliveringreliable	dairy	management	information	to	dairy	producers	and	county	Extension	educators	(Website	currently	unavailable).A	panel	of	experts	in	various	fields,	including	dairy	nutrition,	reproduction,	veterinary	medicine,agricultural	engineering,	and	farm	management	review	materials	prior	to	placement	on	this	site."The	Dairy	Manager"	consists	of	a	compiled	list	of	reviewed,	specific,	current	dairy	managementreference	Web	sites.	Each	reference	Web	site	is	listed	by	title,	description	of	contents,	andkeywords.	Reference	Web	sites	on	"The	Dairy	Manager"	are	from	private	industry,	governmentagencies,	and	public	institutions.	Most	of	the	information	on	"The	Dairy	Manager"	comes	fromuniversity	sources	such	as	Extension	bulletins,	circulars,	newsletters,	and	other	publications.	Therural	market	presents	challenges	in	designing	an	effective	Web	site.	Examples	include	reliability	oftelephone	service	and	dated	computer	hardware	and	software	(Samson,	1998).	"The	DairyManager"	is	designed	to	consider	the	limitations	of	the	rural	market.	A	simple	Web-page	layoutand	limited	graphics	allow	for	faster	loading	and	access.The	initial	"Welcome"	page	summarizes	announcements	or	changes,	allows	users	to	choose	thenavigation	method,	and	provides	links	that	may	be	of	importance	to	the	dairy	producer.	Twomethods	of	navigating	"The	Dairy	Manager"	are	available.	The	"Search"	feature	searches	lists	ofkeywords	in	an	internal	database	of	reference	Web	sites	for	a	match.	The	search	engine	searchesreference	Web	sites	listed	within	"The	Dairy	Manager,"	not	the	entire	Web,	with	results	displayedas	a	list	of	relevant	Web	sites	containing	the	specified	keyword(s).The	Directed	Browsing	feature	consists	of	various	topics.	Users	can	look	for	information	regarding"Livestock	Management,"	"Forage	Production	and	Management,"	"Labor	and	BusinessManagement,"	or	"Articles	in	Spanish."	In	order	to	narrow	the	choices,	these	categories	aresubdivided	into	additional	topics	such	as	"milking	herd,"	"calves,"	"forage	production,"	and	"labormanagement."	The	livestock	topics	are	subdivided	into	areas	covering	"nutrition,"	"health,""housing,"	and	"management."	Some	sites	may	relate	to	numerous	topics,	therefore,	a	Web	sitemay	be	listed	under	more	than	one	topic	and	subtopic.To	access	the	information	described	in	the	reference	Web	site,	a	link	"points"	to	the	specific	site.By	clicking	on	the	link,	the	reference	Web	site	is	opened	onto	a	new	window.	"The	Dairy	Manager"is	intended	to	provide	current	information	and	is	updated	frequently,	with	out-of-date	informationremoved.	"The	Dairy	Manager"	currently	contains	300-plus	individual	reference	Web	sites.	Since	itsrelease	in	April	1999,	the	site	has	logged	approximately	4,700	hits,	averaging	400	hits	per	month.Counters	on	the	Search	page	and	Directed	Browsing	page	indicate	that	the	Search	feature	is	usedtwice	as	much	as	the	Browsing.	Although	"The	Dairy	Manager"	presently	contains	informationfocused	on	management	topics,	future	expansion	is	planned.ConclusionThe	"Dairy	Manager"	Web	site	is	an	attempt	to	simplify	the	process	of	finding	dairy	information	forproducers	and	county	Extension	educators.	By	incorporating	two	methods	of	navigating	the	siteand	linking	to	specific	articles,	users	can	use	time	more	efficiently.	Although	face-to-face	meetings,hands-on	workshops,	and	demonstrations	remain	the	mainstays	of	Extension,	new	technology	andelectronic	media	can	provide	opportunities	to	university	and	county	Extension	educators	forinnovative	and	cost-effective	ways	of	information	distribution	to	producers	(Latour	&	Meunier,1999).ReferencesGrey,	M.	(1997).	Measuring	the	growth	of	the	Web:	June	1993	to	January	1997	[On-line].Massachusetts	Institute	of	Technology.	Available	at:	http://www.mit.edu/people/mkgray/growthLatour,	M.	A.,	&	Meunier,	R.	A.	(1999).	Transferring	poultry	information	to	the	public	using	theInternet:	AvianNet@Purdue	University.Journal	of	Extension	[On-line]	37(5)	Available	at:http://www.joe.org/joe/1999october/iw1.htmlLawrence,	S.	&	Giles,	C.	L.	(1998).	Searching	the	World	Wide	Web.	Science.	280,	98-100.Lawrence,	S.	&	Giles,	C.	L.	(1999).	Accessibility	and	distribution	of	information	on	the	Web.	Nature.400,	107-109.Lawrence,	S.	&	Giles,	C.	L.	(1999).	Searching	the	Web:	General	and	scientific	information	access.IEEE	Comm.	37,	116-122.Samson,	S.	A.	(1998).	Technological	issues	of	improving	access	to	Internet	Web	sites	for	ruralusers.	Journal	of	Extension	[On-line]	36(4).	Available	at:http://www.joe.org/joe/1998august/tt2.htmlTaubes,	G.	(1996).	Science	journals	go	wired.	Science.	271,	764-766.Copyright	©	by	Extension	Journal,	Inc.	ISSN	1077-5315.	Articles	appearing	in	the	Journal	become	the	property	of	theJournal.	 Single	 copies	 of	 articles	 may	 be	 reproduced	 in	 electronic	 or	 print	 form	 for	 use	 in	 educational	 or	 trainingactivities.	Inclusion	of	articles	in	other	publications,	electronic	sources,	or	systematic	large-scale	distribution	may	bedone	only	with	prior	electronic	or	written	permission	of	the	Journal	Editorial	Office,	joe-ed@joe.org.If	you	have	difficulties	viewing	or	printing	this	page,	please	contact	JOE	Technical	Support©	Copyright	by	Extension	Journal,	Inc.	ISSN	1077-5315.	Copyright	Policy

Development of a Dairy Management Information Web Site

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Development of a Dairy Management Information Web Site

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