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STEPHANIE MARIE LEIS - THESIS.pdf (1.15 MB)

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Engaging with Consumers: How College of Agriculture Graduates Engage with Consumers After Graduation

Leis, Stephanie Marie
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7846-3273
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1432692118

Abstract Details

2015, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Agricultural and Extension Education.
Americans are more removed from agriculture than they have ever been in the nation’s history. While fewer people farm or live on farms today since more people have been moving to urban communities, the researcher wanted to interview College of Agriculture graduates to see if they were talking about their experiences growing up on a farm with the consumers they interact with every day. This qualitative study was conducted by reaching out to undergraduate alumni from The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). One hundred alumni were emailed, and 12 responded and participated in telephone interviews. The self presentation theory, cognitive dissonance theory, and schema theory guided this study. Findings included that five participants grew up on family farms, with three of the five saying they had considered moving back to their rural community to farm. One participant who grew up on a farm returned to his community to farm. The participants said the main reasons why college students do not move back to a rural community after graduating were because of a lack of jobs and the family farm may not be large enough to support more families. Ten of the alumni also said that they talked about agriculture with consumers often. Major themes that were seen when study participants were asked what types of conversations typically came up with consumers included food, organic foods, and food safety. Seven of the 12 participants (58.33%) said that they felt qualified to answer questions from consumers about agriculture. Eleven of the 12 participants said yes, it was important to talk to consumers about agriculture. After being asked what topics the participants believed farmers should be informing consumers about more frequently, the major themes from participants were that consumers should be informed about genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, and general information about agriculture. When the participants were asked what they believed were the biggest obstacles facing farmers trying to engage with consumers who are most likely not connected to agriculture, the major themes that emerged were a lack of education or ignorance, distance and lack of exposure to agriculture, and perception and culture. One finding from this study was that the people who left their agricultural backgrounds had very positive experiences. They didn’t move away because they did not enjoy being involved in agriculture, but either a lack of job opportunities in the area, not enough room for them to join their family’s current operation, or simply a desire to excel at something different led them away from agriculture. Recommendations for future studies include using the results from this study to make a survey and engage a larger audience to gain more data. Other recommendations include encouraging farmers to interact with consumers more frequently and consider doing agricultural entertainment, also known as agritainment or agritourism, to introduce consumers to what they do to raise livestock and grow food.
Emily Buck (Advisor)
Annie Specht (Committee Member)
311 p.
Agricultural Education
consumers; agriculture; farming; farmer; farmers; Ohio; urban, communication; talking with consumers; college of agriculture; alumni; Ohio State; disconnect; rural; rural and urban communities; graduates; communication; family farm; jobs; GMOs; culture

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Leis, S. M. (2015). Engaging with Consumers: How College of Agriculture Graduates Engage with Consumers After Graduation [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1432692118

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Leis, Stephanie. Engaging with Consumers: How College of Agriculture Graduates Engage with Consumers After Graduation. 2015. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1432692118.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Leis, Stephanie. "Engaging with Consumers: How College of Agriculture Graduates Engage with Consumers After Graduation." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1432692118

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1432692118
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.