Extension educators have been enlisted to assist farmers in meeting requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule (PSR). Although food safety is a familiar topic for Extension educators, helping farmers learn how to prepare for PSR regulations is new. In this article, we describe a needs assessment conducted in the north…

This study focuses on the agri-food sector in Morocco and 'drivers' of change for skills. It alerts education and training institutions to prepare workers for the jobs of the future. The Moroccan society and economy depend heavily on agriculture production, employing around one third of the population and accounting for around 12% of GDP over the…

Purpose: Meat processing companies have the potential to raise farm and sector productivity by directly working with farmers. This study assesses how commercial companies can undertake the roles of innovation intermediaries to increase productivity in New Zealand's sheep and beef sector. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a case study…

This chapter describes the role small-scale organic farmers are playing as adult educators in alternative food networks and as leaders for food systems transformation. Findings are drawn from a survey of organic farmers in British Columbia, Western Canada.

One goal of Extension is to provide practical information that makes a difference to producers. Cow Herd Appraisal Performance Software (CHAPS) has provided beef producers with production benchmarks for 30 years, creating a large historical data set. Many such large data sets contain useful information but are underutilized. Our goal was to create…

In this case study, Irish academics reflect on our involvement in a project--Transformative Engagement Network (TEN). This project aims to transform the nature of the engagement between the various stakeholders impacted by or concerned with climate change and to insert the voice and concerns of the most vulnerable food producers into climate…

As early-career Extension educators challenged by societal, structural, agricultural, and fiscal trends, we designed a multiyear educational program to support the diverse needs of emerging specialty crop producers in northwest Michigan. This article presents outcomes of that program. We explore how Extension professionals can develop impactful…

There are two well-known and often-quoted facts about Sub-Saharan Africa. One is that, in spite of significant progress made in recent years, Africa remains the least developed region in the world and is unlikely to achieve all the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The other is that Africa fares very poorly in terms of research and innovation;…

The local food movement relates to the local food system that offers an alternative to the dominant industrialized food system. The hope of the local food movement is that through engagement with the local food system, participants will develop a deeper connection with the food beyond commodity perspectives, develop a social consciousness about…

During the recent economic downturn, media and industry reports of skill shortages in the trades continued to appear. The intent of this paper is to examine the evidence for skill shortages in the trades persisting during the economic downturns over the last 20 years, using various indicators. These include employment growth, vacancy rates,…

New technology developed over the past several decades have allowed farmers to grow more food using fewer resources. Compared with 60 years ago, today's farm can supply more than three times more corn per acre, and the average dairy cow produces almost four times more milk. Even as technology improves farm yields, however, many consumers are…

As Australia's economy recovers from the economic downturn, attention is turning once again to skills shortages. To gain insights into the labour market for tradespeople, this report investigates changes in supply, demand and how adjustment occurred through the varied economic conditions of the past 20 years. It concludes that there was no overall…

This article presents a study on work-related lifelong learning for entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector. Accordingly, learning needs, learning preferences, learning motivation and conditions in the context of lifelong learning were identified. The results indicate that technology, IT and entrepreneurial competencies will become of increasing…

This curriculum guide contains 5 teaching units for 44 agricultural business and management cluster problem areas. These problem areas have been selected as suggested areas of study to be included in a core curriculum for secondary students enrolled in an agricultural education program. The five units are as follows: (1) agribusiness operation and…