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Evaluation of the Southeast Equine Conference 2008
Abstracts Vol 29, No 5 (2009)
and five horses, 70% of participants were 40 years old or older, and 84% were female. The top five topic participants want to learn more about were horse behavior, care of elderly horses, tack fitting, trailering a horse, and rehabilitation therapies and trail riding.
DISCUSSION Evaluation has become a significant component of planning and delivering Extension programs. Gathering participant demographics and interests is essential to better understanding audiences and developing successful programs. Evaluating programs are also needed to demonstrate impacts, behavior changes, and assist faculty and staff with promotion and tenure. Keywords: Evaluation; Extension; Mail-in survey; Online survey; Outreach; and Post-program evaluation REFERENCES 1. Dillman DA. Mail and internet surveys: The tailored design method. (2nd Edition) New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000. 2. Martinson K, Hathaway M, Wilson J, Gilkerson B, Peterson P, Del Vecchio R. University of Minnesota Horse Owner Survey: Building an Equine Extension Program. Journal of Extension, [On-line] 2006; 44(6). Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2006december/ rb4.shtml
31879 Evaluation of the Southeast Equine Conference 2008 B.J. McIntosh,1 P.R. Buff,*2 and S.M. Fulgham2, 1 University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA, 2 Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
INTRODUCTION The Southeast Equine Conference (SEEC) was a multistate fee based Extension program designed to provide education for horse owners, horse professionals, 4-H leaders and youth involved in horse activities. In an effort to increase the level of outreach, a multi-state collaboration of eleven Southeastern Land Grant Universities was developed to deliver the program. The University of Tennessee and Mississippi State University co-hosted the first SEEC. The focus of the program was on Equine Nutrition as this is one area in which clientele and Extension agents commonly request assistance. The objective of this program was to provide face-to-face and web-based (live and recorded) Extension education to participants.
455
MATERIALS AND METHODS The program consisted of two four h sessions, focusing on nutrition for the life stages of horses and recent advances in equine nutrition. The topics of the life stages session included; Feeding for Reproduction, Feeding the Young Growing Horse, Feeding the Performance Horse, Feeding the Easy Keeper and Feeding the Senior Horse. The recent advances session included: Advances in Equine Dentistry; Selenium Nutrition: Sources, Safety and its Role in Equine Health; Nutritional Management of Diseases and Disorders; The 2007 NRC: The Future of Horse Nutrition; and a Roundtable Discussion on the Myths and Facts of Feeding Supplements. The program was conducted at the Agricenter International and Expo Center in Memphis, Tennessee for participants attending in person. Additionally, participants could pre-register to participate live via the internet through a secure web based program (Mediasite) that enabled the participants to view the presenters and Powerpoint slides simultaneously in real-time. The program was broadcasted to the internet using a mobile satellite transmission station. The program was recorded and made available on-line using the Mediasite program through the Mississippi State University Extension website (http://msucares.com/livestock/equine/ seec.html). Participants were asked to complete an anonymous survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the presenter and the value of each topic on a scale of one to five, with one representing poor and five representing excellent. The participants were asked if the length of the program was appropriate by indicating; yes or no (too long or too short). Participants were presented with a panel of statements to assess the knowledge gained from the program. They were asked to respond in the following format; strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree.
RESULTS There were 28 participants that attended the program in person and 17 registered peripheral locations logged in via the internet with multiple participants. The overall rating of the program content was 4.4. The ratings of individual topics ranged from 3.2 to 4.8. The rating of speakers based on presentation, content and effectiveness in answering questions ranged from 3.8 to 4.6 with an overall rating of 4.5. When asked if the program length was appropriate 50% responded that the length was appropriate and 50% responded that the program was too long. The response to the statement I know more about horse nutrition than before I attended this course was 40% strongly agree and 60% agree. Participant response to the statement Attending this program will help me improve how I feed my horses was 40% strongly agree and 60% agree. The response to the statement I will implement feeding changes that I learned from this program was 25% strongly agree and 75% agree.
456
DISCUSSION The SEEC was designed to provide Extension education which focused on many topics within a centralized theme. This format provided an in-depth educational program focusing on equine nutrition and feeding management. The survey results indicated that participants in SEEC increased their knowledge level in equine nutrition and that they would implement the knowledge they gained in their feeding program, meeting the main objectives of the program. On-line participant usage was enhanced by implementing advanced technology that included satellite transmission and computer programs. By offering Extension programs in an interactive web-based format, the number of clientele that are reached is increased and the program can be offered for indefinite periods of time. The SEEC is currently available as a fee based online course at: http://msucares. com/livestock/equine/seec.html. This program was offered for the first time in 2008 and was successful. There are currently plans to continue the SEEC and focusing on different topic areas in different host locations. Keywords: Multi-State; Extension; Fee-based; Nutrition ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors thank corporate sponsor Alltech Inc. and additional sponsors Purina Mills, Kentucky Equine Research, ADM Alliance Nutrition, Performance Horse Nutrition, Tennessee Farmers Cooperative, Zinpro Performance Minerals and Mid-South Horse Review. Special thanks to the Agricenter International and Expo Center for holding SEEC 2008.
31808 Conducting State Level Equine Surveys and Economic Impact Studies: The NCSU-Mereo Method of Determining Missing Data Points M.J. Yoder,*1 I.S. Ha,2 R.A. Mowrey,1 J. Hollars,2 and M. Foushee-Lancaster3, 1North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA, 2Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, USA, 3East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
INTRODUCTION Today, with state and federal budgets strained, convincing state legislators to support horse industry promoting legislation requires numbers. Legislators need to know how many of their constituents are involved in the horse industry and the economic impact of the industry on their state’s
Abstracts Vol 29, No 5 (2009)
economy. Given the option, a census is more accurate than a survey but requires more time and resources. A survey is less time consuming but may be biased by the validity of the mailing list from which participants were selected and the ability of study organizers to determine what percentage of the industry was not accounted for. Those not included in the survey become missing data points. An accurate determination of missing data points is required to extrapolate the demographic and economic information collected via survey to the broader population of the state. In a 1996 equine survey of North Carolina, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), using existing list and area frames conducted audits in support of the study. NASS was not available to participate in the 2008 equine study so a new method of determining missing data points was introduced.
MATERIALS AND METHODS The NCSU-Mereo method of determining missing data points utilizes Rural Urban Continuum Codes (RUC Codes) which were developed by the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture to enhance communication between government agencies. RUC Codes are assigned to each county and portion of a county according to population and proximity to a major metropolitan center. Ten thousand survey participants, randomly selected from a list of 31,000 horse owners, received the 2008 North Carolina equine owners’ survey. Each address was matched with its corresponding RUC Code so that participants were sorted into urban (codes 1-3), suburban (codes 4-6) or rural (codes 7-9) classifications. To determine the percentage of missing data points in each classification, the state was divided into six districts using the system currently used by the NCSU Cooperative Extension. Within each district, one county from each of the rural classifications was randomly selected and a one square mile area was determined for canvassing. Paid canvassers went door to door within the assigned areas recording the number of individuals who were involved in the equine industry and how many of them had received the mailed survey. Those who did not receive a copy of the mailed survey were determined to be missing data points and encouraged to complete a copy of the survey. The number of equine industry participants and the number of missing data points were totaled within each rural classification such that a percentage of missing data points was determined within each rural classification. This information was then used to determine multipliers needed to extrapolate the equine population data and complete the economic impact analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 1 demonstrates that the percent of missing data points for each of the three rural classifications ranged
and five horses, 70% of participants were 40 years old or older, and 84% were female. The top five topic participants want to learn more about were horse behavior, care of elderly horses, tack fitting, trailering a horse, and rehabilitation therapies and trail riding.
DISCUSSION Evaluation has become a significant component of planning and delivering Extension programs. Gathering participant demographics and interests is essential to better understanding audiences and developing successful programs. Evaluating programs are also needed to demonstrate impacts, behavior changes, and assist faculty and staff with promotion and tenure. Keywords: Evaluation; Extension; Mail-in survey; Online survey; Outreach; and Post-program evaluation REFERENCES 1. Dillman DA. Mail and internet surveys: The tailored design method. (2nd Edition) New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000. 2. Martinson K, Hathaway M, Wilson J, Gilkerson B, Peterson P, Del Vecchio R. University of Minnesota Horse Owner Survey: Building an Equine Extension Program. Journal of Extension, [On-line] 2006; 44(6). Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2006december/ rb4.shtml
31879 Evaluation of the Southeast Equine Conference 2008 B.J. McIntosh,1 P.R. Buff,*2 and S.M. Fulgham2, 1 University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA, 2 Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
INTRODUCTION The Southeast Equine Conference (SEEC) was a multistate fee based Extension program designed to provide education for horse owners, horse professionals, 4-H leaders and youth involved in horse activities. In an effort to increase the level of outreach, a multi-state collaboration of eleven Southeastern Land Grant Universities was developed to deliver the program. The University of Tennessee and Mississippi State University co-hosted the first SEEC. The focus of the program was on Equine Nutrition as this is one area in which clientele and Extension agents commonly request assistance. The objective of this program was to provide face-to-face and web-based (live and recorded) Extension education to participants.
455
MATERIALS AND METHODS The program consisted of two four h sessions, focusing on nutrition for the life stages of horses and recent advances in equine nutrition. The topics of the life stages session included; Feeding for Reproduction, Feeding the Young Growing Horse, Feeding the Performance Horse, Feeding the Easy Keeper and Feeding the Senior Horse. The recent advances session included: Advances in Equine Dentistry; Selenium Nutrition: Sources, Safety and its Role in Equine Health; Nutritional Management of Diseases and Disorders; The 2007 NRC: The Future of Horse Nutrition; and a Roundtable Discussion on the Myths and Facts of Feeding Supplements. The program was conducted at the Agricenter International and Expo Center in Memphis, Tennessee for participants attending in person. Additionally, participants could pre-register to participate live via the internet through a secure web based program (Mediasite) that enabled the participants to view the presenters and Powerpoint slides simultaneously in real-time. The program was broadcasted to the internet using a mobile satellite transmission station. The program was recorded and made available on-line using the Mediasite program through the Mississippi State University Extension website (http://msucares.com/livestock/equine/ seec.html). Participants were asked to complete an anonymous survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the presenter and the value of each topic on a scale of one to five, with one representing poor and five representing excellent. The participants were asked if the length of the program was appropriate by indicating; yes or no (too long or too short). Participants were presented with a panel of statements to assess the knowledge gained from the program. They were asked to respond in the following format; strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree.
RESULTS There were 28 participants that attended the program in person and 17 registered peripheral locations logged in via the internet with multiple participants. The overall rating of the program content was 4.4. The ratings of individual topics ranged from 3.2 to 4.8. The rating of speakers based on presentation, content and effectiveness in answering questions ranged from 3.8 to 4.6 with an overall rating of 4.5. When asked if the program length was appropriate 50% responded that the length was appropriate and 50% responded that the program was too long. The response to the statement I know more about horse nutrition than before I attended this course was 40% strongly agree and 60% agree. Participant response to the statement Attending this program will help me improve how I feed my horses was 40% strongly agree and 60% agree. The response to the statement I will implement feeding changes that I learned from this program was 25% strongly agree and 75% agree.
456
DISCUSSION The SEEC was designed to provide Extension education which focused on many topics within a centralized theme. This format provided an in-depth educational program focusing on equine nutrition and feeding management. The survey results indicated that participants in SEEC increased their knowledge level in equine nutrition and that they would implement the knowledge they gained in their feeding program, meeting the main objectives of the program. On-line participant usage was enhanced by implementing advanced technology that included satellite transmission and computer programs. By offering Extension programs in an interactive web-based format, the number of clientele that are reached is increased and the program can be offered for indefinite periods of time. The SEEC is currently available as a fee based online course at: http://msucares. com/livestock/equine/seec.html. This program was offered for the first time in 2008 and was successful. There are currently plans to continue the SEEC and focusing on different topic areas in different host locations. Keywords: Multi-State; Extension; Fee-based; Nutrition ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors thank corporate sponsor Alltech Inc. and additional sponsors Purina Mills, Kentucky Equine Research, ADM Alliance Nutrition, Performance Horse Nutrition, Tennessee Farmers Cooperative, Zinpro Performance Minerals and Mid-South Horse Review. Special thanks to the Agricenter International and Expo Center for holding SEEC 2008.
31808 Conducting State Level Equine Surveys and Economic Impact Studies: The NCSU-Mereo Method of Determining Missing Data Points M.J. Yoder,*1 I.S. Ha,2 R.A. Mowrey,1 J. Hollars,2 and M. Foushee-Lancaster3, 1North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA, 2Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, USA, 3East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
INTRODUCTION Today, with state and federal budgets strained, convincing state legislators to support horse industry promoting legislation requires numbers. Legislators need to know how many of their constituents are involved in the horse industry and the economic impact of the industry on their state’s
Abstracts Vol 29, No 5 (2009)
economy. Given the option, a census is more accurate than a survey but requires more time and resources. A survey is less time consuming but may be biased by the validity of the mailing list from which participants were selected and the ability of study organizers to determine what percentage of the industry was not accounted for. Those not included in the survey become missing data points. An accurate determination of missing data points is required to extrapolate the demographic and economic information collected via survey to the broader population of the state. In a 1996 equine survey of North Carolina, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), using existing list and area frames conducted audits in support of the study. NASS was not available to participate in the 2008 equine study so a new method of determining missing data points was introduced.
MATERIALS AND METHODS The NCSU-Mereo method of determining missing data points utilizes Rural Urban Continuum Codes (RUC Codes) which were developed by the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture to enhance communication between government agencies. RUC Codes are assigned to each county and portion of a county according to population and proximity to a major metropolitan center. Ten thousand survey participants, randomly selected from a list of 31,000 horse owners, received the 2008 North Carolina equine owners’ survey. Each address was matched with its corresponding RUC Code so that participants were sorted into urban (codes 1-3), suburban (codes 4-6) or rural (codes 7-9) classifications. To determine the percentage of missing data points in each classification, the state was divided into six districts using the system currently used by the NCSU Cooperative Extension. Within each district, one county from each of the rural classifications was randomly selected and a one square mile area was determined for canvassing. Paid canvassers went door to door within the assigned areas recording the number of individuals who were involved in the equine industry and how many of them had received the mailed survey. Those who did not receive a copy of the mailed survey were determined to be missing data points and encouraged to complete a copy of the survey. The number of equine industry participants and the number of missing data points were totaled within each rural classification such that a percentage of missing data points was determined within each rural classification. This information was then used to determine multipliers needed to extrapolate the equine population data and complete the economic impact analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 1 demonstrates that the percent of missing data points for each of the three rural classifications ranged