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Using Effective Adult Education in Outcome Based Programming: A Women in Agriculture Approach

Kendall Kunelius

Summary

The UNH Extension Women in Agriculture program supports human and financial risk management through workshops, seminars, and outreach content aimed at driving participant behavior changes for enhanced safety, efficiency, and profitability.

The 2022-2023 workshops were designed to address common roadblocks that prevent women farmers from growing and expanding their operations. These workshops utilized effective adult education methods to ensure participants could immediately implement behavior changes on their farms to gain benefit from new skills including active risk management and financial planning. Women who attended these courses learned to utilize mechanical farming methods to reduce human labor needs and enhance viability in their agricultural operations. Two of the workshops in this program were funded through ERME grants.

Key Takeaways to Share with Educators:

We identified desired outcomes and achieved those by using effective adult education methods when presenting information and materials. We encouraged peer-to-peer connection and fostered group processing of information through active discussion.
- We set participants up for success by creating a safe space to fail and make mistakes.
- Encouraged self-led learning with instructors present for reassurance and guidance.

We took feedback from our participants and adapted our programs to solve issues that prevented or deterred women from attending our workshops.
- Roadblocks for attendance included finding adequate childcare and chore coverage.
- We utilized two-hour sessions with three participants per session to increase hands-on learning time and to accommodate those who could not make a full-day commitment.

Workshops included: tractor safety and operation, sprayer calibration and safety, truck and trailer operation and safety.

Details

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