Continuous professional development is critical for Extension staff, and many agriculture-focused Extension employees are tasked with outreach related to a wide variety of natural resource topics. The purpose of this study is to help prioritize trainings needed by Kansas Extension agents and specialists based on their current level of knowledge…

Hypoxic and anoxic stresses on mesophytes cause a waste of plant productivity. Many phenotypic responses of roots to hypoxia have long been known, and now genotypic and biochemical responses are being elucidated. Hypoxia causes activation of dozens of specific genes that help the plant to survive hypoxia. It is now clear that mesophytes actively…

There is a renewed interest in educating youth, Master Gardeners, and agricultural producers about soil quality. Three soil demonstrations show how soil organic matter increases water holding capacity, improves soil structure, and increases nutrient retention. Exercise one uses clay bricks and sponges to represent mineral soils and soil organic…

"Watershed Manager" is a spreadsheet-based model that is used in extension education programs for learning about and selecting cost-effective watershed management practices to reduce soil, nitrogen, and phosphorus losses from cropland. It can facilitate Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) stakeholder groups' development…

Purpose: Many farmers remain hesitant to implement structured management plans and strategies tailored to address soil health, irrespective of mounting scientific evidence for the credibility of certain soil health indicators, an increase in the reporting of program benefits and progress in communicating these benefits. Hence, the purpose of this…

In this paper, we apply a framework from Nikolas Rose to analyse the politics of "doing good" in food activist education, what we call food pedagogies. We argue that a detailed exploration of food pedagogies has been neglected in adult education and in the growing field of food studies, in spite of the rapidly proliferating forms and…

Purpose: Formal agricultural research has generated vast amount of knowledge and fundamental insights on land management, but their low adoption has been attributed to the use of public extension approach. This research aims to address whether and how full participation of farmers through the concept of Rural Resource Centre (RRC) provides new…

The purpose of this paper is to add to a growing body of literature that critiques the whiteness of the organic farming movement and analyse potential ramifications of this if farmers are to be understood as educators. Given that farmers do not necessarily self-identify as educators, it is important to understand that in raising this critique,…

The importance of healthy soil and of conveying the importance of soils starts by conveying a few basic concepts of soil science cannot be overstated. This article provides three hands-on exercises Extension professionals can add to natural resources or Master Gardener education curricula. These natural sciences exercises are easy to prepare for…

Purpose: The following study was carried out to evaluate the socio-economic factors influencing access to Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) information and knowledge among farmers in western Kenya, and subsequent ISFM uptake with a view to assessing communication gaps. Design/Methodology/Approach: Structured questionnaires were…

This study examines the status of women in relationship to land ownership, the resources they are exposed to and management practices, consequently its effect on the environment of Manjiya County, Mbale District in (now Manafwa since 2008) Uganda. It was found out that low levels of education limit women's abilities of creativity and…

This study aimed to determine farmers' perception of integrated soil fertility and nutrient management for sustainable crop production. Integrated soil fertility (ISF) and nutrient management (NM) is an advanced approach to maintain soil fertility and to enhance crop productivity. A total number of 120 farmers from eight villages in four districts…

People everywhere in the developed world regularly drive on paved roads. Learning about the construction techniques and materials used in paving benefits technology and construction students. This article discusses the use of geosynthetic textiles in pavement construction. It presents background on pavements and describes geotextiles and drainage…

The decentralization of natural resource management provides an opportunity for communities to increase their participation in related decision making. Research should propose adapted methodologies enabling the numerous stakeholders of these complex socioecological settings to define their problems and identify agreed-on solutions. This article…