With increasingly complex issues facing agriculture, being informed on up-to-date information is more important than ever.
South Dakota State University Extension iGrow started Contours for that reason. Contours is a series of video episodes that discuss issues in the agriculture industry and the state.
iGrow, which began four years ago, was by itself a success.
Barry Dunn, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences and director of SDSU Extension. says Contours was created to address current hot topics in agriculture.
“Contours meets the ‘what’s next’ challenge after iGrow,” he says. “It uses another medium to help people understand agriculture and the world around them.”
Each episode focuses on a current issue in agriculture and brings in a panel of experts to discuss the topic. The idea for Contours originated from the concept of Ted Talks.
“We want to address controversial topics, where there is misinformation or confusion,” Dunn says. “This will include topics such as confined animal feeding, soil health, livestock disease and more, that impact a lot of people. The goal is to provide as much unbiased, science-based information as we possibly can.”
Robert Thaler, professor and swine extension specialist, was one panelist on the first episode.
“Dean Dunn was looking for another new and innovative way to reach the people of South Dakota and the region,” Thaler says. “We do the traditional monologue types, such as meetings and podcasts. The cool thing about Contours is that it is a dialogue conversation. Instead of one person giving all of their thoughts on one topic, you get a group of four to five people sharing their insights on it, and really coming together for a great conversation.”
Plans for success
The knowledge base and diversity of opinions on panels is important to the success of Contours.
“We know, with a lot of these issues, that Contours will be discussing, it’s not black and white. There is a lot of grey area,” Thaler says. “To be able to move forward in the right direction, we all have to understand where everybody else is coming from. There’s always enough seats at the table for Contours to get a diverse group of opinions, that way everybody in the state and region can understand what will be the best direction to head. We may not come to consensus on this, but the cool thing about Contours is everybody will have a much better understanding of the issues.”
Learning tool
Contours is an excellent educational opportunity to both producers and consumers, Thaler says.
“Looking at the type of questions asked and the people on the panel, it really is to educate everybody in South Dakota,” he says.
Contours has a bright future as a platform to keep people around the state up-to-date with accurate information on what agriculture is today.
“My hope is that it becomes a place of learning; to teach, discuss and answer questions for a broad spectrum of agriculture,” Dunn says. “It truly fulfills the land grant mission.”
Dunn says increasing the discussion of agriculture is valuable, because of the amount of misinformation about agriculture. Very few people understand where their food comes from, as such a small percentage of the population is directly involved.
“Our responsibility is to address that problem,” Dunn says.“We can’t sit on the sidelines and expect people to understand the complexity of the modern food system.”
Consumers need to trust their food source. It is important for people to know the sincerity of those who work to produce healthy food for a growing world. Panelists are selected to include a wide breadth of experiences and backgrounds, Dunn says. Episodes will typically include an SDSU Extension Specialist, industry professionals, a farmer or rancher and a leader of community discussion, such as a legislator.
“We want the panels to have a discussion format and have people engaged,” Dunn says.
