Southern Risk Management Education Center announces 2018 Projects of Excellence

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Nov. 6, 2018

Fast facts:

Southern Risk Management Education Center lists top 3 projects for 2018
Projects ranked for innovation, outcomes

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LITTLE ROCK – Programs to help farmers make better use of online marketing strategies, implement biosecurity protocols and make better decisions in livestock operations were named 2018’s top three Projects of Excellence by the Southern Risk Management Education Center’s advisory council.

The risk management center’s mission is to help agricultural producers manage risk and grow the markets for their products.

This year’s winning projects were:

Advanced Online Marketing Strategies for Tennessee Farmers, University of Tennessee. This project helped 567 people to efficiently and effectively reach potential customers by understanding e-commerce options, advanced social media/digital marketing and video content creation and marketing. (See: http://bit.ly/TN-OnlineMktg)
Gate to Plate: Targeted Business and Production Management Training for Women, Beginning, and Transitioning Ranchers Selling Meat into the Marketplace, North Carolina State University, focused on female livestock producers and sought to maximize production techniques, enhance marketing and sales skills, better manage finances and related decision making and limiting risk through contracting and liability coverage. (See: http://bit.ly/GatePlate18)
Implementing Biosecurity and Disease Prevention Measures and Evaluating Marketing Strategies and Contract Opportunities in Small Ruminant Production, University of Tennessee. Two conferences covered several topics, focusing on animal health and disease prevention, biosecurity planning and implementation for disease outbreak, as well as a variety of marketing avenues, market diversification and contract fulfillment. (See http://bit.ly/TNBio18)

SRMEC Director Ron Rainey, who is also a professor of agricultural economics for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said “these Projects of Excellence provided outstanding educational and promotional materials, innovative use of technology to deliver programming, exceptional evaluation results and collaborations across disciplines and regions.”

Rainey said that each summer, the advisory council convenes to evaluate the most recent round of completed projects funded by the Southern Risk Management Education Center, which is based at the Division of Agriculture. The council ranks projects by the importance of outcomes, audiences reached, realized and potential impacts, as well as the quality and value of project communications.

To learn more about the Southern Risk Management Education Center and its programs, visit the Center’s website, https://srmec.uada.edu/.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2126
mhightower@uada.edu