Extension Education
Extension Programming During a Pandemic: The Cooperative Director Foundations Program
Michael A. Boland(a), Christopher J. Kopka(b), Keri L. Jacobs(c), Courtney Berner(d), Brian C. Briggeman(e), Matthew Elliott(f), Diane Friend(g), Phil Kenkel(h), Greg McKee(i), Frayne Olson(j), John L. Park(k), Will Secor(l), Kristi Schweiss(j), Hannah Scott(m), and Tom Worley(n)
University of Minnesota(a), Center for Agricultural Cooperative Director Development(b), University of Missouri(c), University of Wisconsin(d), Kansas State University(e), South Dakota State University(f), Texas A&M University-Kingsville RELLIS Campus(g), Oklahoma State University(h), Brigham Young University—Idaho(i), North Dakota State University(j), Texas A&M University(k), University of Georgia(l), Ohio Cooperative Development Center(m), and The Ohio State University South Centers(n)
JEL Codes: A29, Q13, Q16
Keywords: Agribusiness, cooperatives, education, Extension, learning, online
Publish Date: June 16, 2022
Volume 4, Issue 2
Abstract
In summer 2020, when it became apparent that our Extension programming was not likely to be done in person in 2020/2021, a broad group of collaborators, representing universities, cooperative centers, and practitioners, began discussions to collaborate on some form of online learning platform to offer our Extension education modules for new directors on agricultural cooperatives boards across state lines and develop a program that was unavailable in most states. The objective is to describe the process, content, and lessons learned from our collaboration two years later. A legal entity was formed to develop and launch a common learning platform across our universities to handle registration fees and to pay for the development of the programs. The result is a comprehensive, peer-reviewed curriculum composed of 23 digital modules comprising 15 hours of content with a workbook written by a collaboration of 11 universities and 15 authors. We used state-of-the-art technology including storyboards, recorded lecturers, animations, vignettes, and online assessments for the digital content. In May 2022, adoption of the programming has begun slower than expected but moving in the right direction. We discuss lessons learned and about evolving new insights about future Extension programming for this largely underserved group.
References
Bekkerman, A., E.J. Belasco, and V.H. Smith. 2019. “Does Farm Size Matter? Distribution of Crop Insurance Subsidies and Government Program Payments across U.S. Farms.” Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy 41(3):498–518.
Black, M. 2020. “Insights for Asynchronous Lecture Viewing Behavior.” Applied Economics Teaching Resources 2(5):18–25.
Boland, M.A. 2019. “Governance in Agricultural Cooperatives.” Western Economic Forum 17(2):42–51.
Boland, M.A., B.C. Briggeman, K. L. Jacobs, P. Kenkel, G. McKee, and J. Park. 2021. “Research Priorities for Agricultural Cooperatives and Their Farmer-Members.” Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 43(2):573–585.
Boland, M.A. 2020. “Measuring Duration in a Life Cycle Analysis of U.S. Agricultural Cooperatives.” Staff Paper 20-03, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota. https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/302578.
Boland, M.A., and D. Barton. 2013. “Overview of Research on Cooperative Finance.” Journal of Cooperatives 27:1–14.
Boland, M.A., and J. Crespi. 2010. “From Farm Economics to Applied Economics. The Evolution of a Profession as Seen through a Census of Its Dissertations from 1951 to 2005.” Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 32(3):456–471. https://doi.org/10.1093/aepp/ppq012.
Boland, M.A. 2017. Introduction to Cooperatives and Mutualism. St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/191871.
Briggeman, B., K. L. Jacobs, P. Kenkel, and G. McKee. 2016. “Current Trends in Cooperative Finance.” Agricultural Finance Review 76(3):402–410.
Cook, M.L. 2019. “The Emergence of GICL, the Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership: Engaged Scholarship, Theory and Practice in Cooperative Education.” Western Economic Forum 17(2): 24-33.
Elliott, M. and M.A. Boland. 2023. Handbook of Research on Co-Operatives and Mutuals. EE Elgar Edwards Publishing, forthcoming.
Froker, R.K. 1933. “Extension in Cooperative Business Management.” Journal of Farm Economics 15(4):685–690.
Hanson, E., and M.A. Boland. 2020. “Safety Climate at Agricultural Cooperatives.” Journal of Safety Research 75(1):150–154.
Hedges, H. 1951. “Financing Farmer Cooperatives.” Journal of Farm Economics 33(4), Part 2:918–926.
Hoppe, R.A. 2014. Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 2014 Edition, EIB-132, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/43913/50364_eib-132.pdf?v=42103.
Kenkel, P., G. McKee, M.A. Boland, and K. Jacobs. 2019. “The New Role of Agricultural Cooperatives in Pooling and Distributing Tax Deductions.” Western Economic Forum 17(2):16–23.
King, R.P., M. Boehlje, M.L. Cook, and S.T. Sonka. 2010. “Agribusiness Economics and Management.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 92(5):554–570.
Koller, E.F. 1952. “Some Aspects of the Financing of Farmers’ Cooperatives.” Journal of Farm Economics 34(5):949–957.
Li, Z., K. Jacobs, and G. Artz. 2015. “The Cooperative Capital Constraint Revisited.” Agricultural Finance Review 75(2):253–266.
MacDonald, J.M., R.A. Hoppe, and D. Newton. 2018. “Three Decades of Consolidation in U.S. Agriculture.” EIB-189, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/88057/eib-189.pdf.
McKee, G., J. Parsons, and P. Kenkel. 2019. “Livestock Marketing Benefits in the 21st Century.” Western Economic Forum 17(2):34–41.
Park, J., D. Friend, G. McKee, and M. Manley. 2019. “A Framework for Training and Assessment of the 21st Century Cooperative.” Western Economic Forum 17(2):5–15.
Pruitt, J.R., R. Tewari, and J.E. Mehlorn. 2020. “Reflections in Adjusting to a Global Pandemic from a Regional Agribusiness
Program.” Applied Economics Teaching Resources 2(5):32–43.
Risch, C., M.A. Boland, J. Crespi, and M. Leinweber. 2014. “Determinants of Occupational Safety in Agribusiness Workers.” Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy 36(3):546–559.
Taylor-Powell, E., and E. Henert. 2008. “Developing a Logic Model: Teaching and Training Guide.” Madison, WI: University of
Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation. https://peerta.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/public/uploaded_files/Logic%20Model%20Guide.pdf.
Wells, J.E. 1935. “Financing Cooperatives.” Journal of Farm Economics 17(1):167–175.
Articles in this issue
Engaged Learning: Linking Course Instruction and Extension Programming
Todd M. Schmit, Richard Stamm, and Roberta M. Severson
Cross-Hedging in the Classroom: Engaging Students Scholarly Extension Output
Joel Cuffey, Wenyig Li, Wendiam Sawadgo, and Adam Rabinowitz
Nurturing International Graduate Students for a More Diversified and Inclusive Extension Workforce
Yangxuan Liu and Wendong Zhang
Extension Programming During a Pandemic: The Cooperative Director Foundations Program
Michael A. Boland, Christopher J. Kopka, Keri L. Jacobs, Courtney Berner, Brian C. Briggeman, Matthe
Can We Foster the Future of Extension through (Friendly) Competition? The Past, Present, and Future of the Graduate Student Extension Competition
Aaron J. Staples, Carlos A. Fontanilla-Diaz, Kate Binzen Fuller, and Maria I. Marshall
On the Strategic Creation of Extension and Outreach Content in a New Media Environment
Trey Malone, Jim Monahan, Katie Nicpon, K. Aleks Schaefer, and Madelyn Cary