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Fruit Notes |
On-farm IPM Education: Displays and Self-guided Tours |
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Fruit Notes |
Craig Hollingsworth, William Coli, and
Ronald Prokopy Karen Hauschild |
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Fruit Notes |
Returning from a 1995 international scientific conference, two of us toured the fruit growing region of Switzerland. Among the techniques for educating the Swiss consumer about Integrated Fruit Production (the European version of IPM) that we observed were self-guided tours within vineyards. These tours consisted of signs and pictures which explained a variety of agricultural techniques in use in the vineyard. This spawned the idea of educating Massachusetts apple customers about IPM through similar orchard tours. Apple growers were solicited to participate in the project through announcements in extension publications and by phone. The nineteen growers who responded provided assistance in determining the content and design of the education displays and contributed matching funds for a grant by the Massachusetts Department of Food & Agriculture. It was determined that self-guided tours would the most appropriate for pick-your-own operations but that static sign-boards would be more useful for farmstands and farmers markets. Self-guided Tour Each tour consisted of eight signs, 18 x 24 inches, on laminated paper, mounted on 0.5-inch plywood, covered with Plexiglas and sealed with plastic. Each sign was mounted on a 7-foot, 3-x-5-inch pressure-treated post. The signs describe aspects of IPM, including monitoring, cultural control, biological control and pesticide use, as well as the biology of primary apple pests. A colorful 8-x-10-inch sign to advertise the tour was also included. At each orchard, the grower determined how the signs were placed. Most were arranged through part of the orchard. In some cases, a path was marked by mowing or with plastic tape. It was suggested that IPM tools such as insect traps and scare-eye balloons be placed in association with appropriate signs. Apple IPM Displays Self-standing displays were developed and distributed to eleven Massachusetts farms for use at farmstands and farmers markets. Displays consisted of a three hinged panels of vinyl lattice measuring 4 x 8 feet. For strength and stability, each panel was framed with vinyl edging. Four laminated posters describing and illustrating apple IPM through the four seasons were hung on the framework. The displays could be folded for transport and were light enough to be carried by one person. Evaluation The self-guided tour was evaluated by a questionnaire mailed to participating growers. Seven of the ten growers returned the questionnaire. Most growers (5 of 7) arranged the signs as tours within their orchards. Two growers placed all the signs in one place. Five of the seven growers told their customers about the tour. No growers provided extra signs to direct their customers to the tour. Four growers added traps and other IPM equipment to the tour. Positive comments from customers about the tour were received by four of the growers. Five growers reported their intentions to use the tour as part of their education program for school children. Growers reported that between 1% and 40% of their customers took the "tour". Two growers (with participation of 1% and 40%) rated this as "unsatisfactory." All growers reported that the message and information presented, presentation and workmanship were good to excellent. The over-all success of the project was rated good to excellent on six farms and poor on one farm. Both educational projects were also evaluated by a brief customer survey. Twenty-nine customers at two farmstands with self-guided tours were surveyed, 30 at a farmstand with an IPM display, and 40 at two farmstands with neither educational program. Twenty-four percent of all customers professed to having heard of IPM before coming to any of the orchards. Where a self-guided tour was located, 14% of customers interviewed had taken the tour, whereas, 60% of customers looked at available IPM displays. When asked to describe what they learned from a farmstand display, the most frequent response (37%) was that IPM uses less pesticide. Ninety-five percent (20 of 21 responses) of the respondents agreed that seeing this information affected their attitude about farming. Of these, 85% said that their attitude became more positive. Three individuals traveling together said that their attitude was more negative after viewing the display. We also evaluated the program by visiting farms where the tours and displays were used. It was apparent tours were less successful where customers were not adequately informed that the tours existed, or where the start of the tour was too far from the farmstand. Conclusions Public education on farms can be especially effective in a pick-your-own setting. As customers indicated, families pick apples, in part, as a recreational activity, but once the apples are picked, they are looking for other things to do. These educational products were successful for some growers, but not for others. As with most educational or marketing products, they are tools and must be used in an appropriate manner to produce the best results. Self-guided tours are best placed in a convenient, conspicuous location and promoted by the grower through welcoming signage, talking to customers, and other methods. Tours can become another reason for customers to come a particular farm. In this project, press releases attracted a number of customers. Static displays are much simpler for the grower to use, and while they did not have the novelty or recreational value of the tours, it was clear that the message from simple signs reached a greater percentage of customers. |
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