1995 Progress Report |
SECTION II - Annual Report
1. Objectives
- Teach ranchers/farmers a process of integrated management-Western Integrated Ranch/Farm Education-in three western states: Wyoming, Montana, and Utah.
- Develop in-depth follow up training in specific resource areas, to meet needs identified by program participants.
- Evaluate the program in terms of adoption of management concepts and resource sustainability following implementation of the WIRE process by selected cooperators.
2. Abstract
The primary accomplishments of this project to date have been focused on
objective A listed above. Specific activities directed toward the accomplishment of this
objective are outlined below.
Pre-grant Activities
Although grant funds were made available in 1995, regional WIRE activities
actually began a year before this. These activities included: teams of interested
individuals from Utah, Montana, and Idaho extension attending a Wyoming producer course;
discussions of methods of offering the WIRE course in each
state; and preliminary discussions of methods of funding a regional WIRE effort.
Coordinating Committee
A multi-state coordinating committee was formed to provide leadership to this
project for the entire region. This coordinating committee is composed of three
representatives from each state.
These, representatives include the state team coordinator(s), another state team
instructor, and a producer from each state. In addition, the project coordinator
(Principal Investigator) also to serves on the committee.
The first regional coordinating committee was held in Thermopolis Wyoming in
March 1995. Committee function and governance was discussed, as well as how the Wyoming
WIRE program would be implemented across the region. In addition, the committee voted to
include the state of Idaho on the committee, as they are attempting to institute the WIRE
program in that state as well. Sub-committees were formed for investigating changes and/or
updates to the Wyoming WIRE materials to better fit the regional program. In addition, the
committee discussed the development of new program materials for use in regional program
offerings. A second meeting scheduled for September 1995 was canceled due to time and
obligation conflicts. This meeting was attempted using e-mail, primarily to keep all
regional teams up to date on progress of the program.
State Team Activities
In early 1995, three members of the Wyoming WIRE teaching team traveled to
sites in Logan Utah and Sheridan Wyoming to provide training to state teams from Utah and
Montana, respectively. At these training sessions, teaching materials were supplied,
course outlines were discussed, and teams were assisted in organizing themselves in
preparation for offering the course in the coming year. After receiving
training, state teams began many and various activities to begin building the WIRE program
in their states. The Montana team conducted informational meetings with the
following audiences: the International Beef Symposium, MSU Animal & Range Departmental
Field Days, Montana Stockgrowers Convention, Montana Woolgrower's Convention, Montana
Association of Conservation Districts, the Montana State Department's Young Ag Couples
program, and at least five Montana county extension producer meetings in southwest
Montana. The total number of people reached is estimated to be 670. In addition, the
Montana WIRE team held several organization/planning meetings and trained an additional
seven MSU county agents who are now part of the Montana WIRE team. This newly formed
Montana WIRE team offered the course in two locations this fall to a total of 52 producers
representing 23 ranches.
The Utah WIRE team met periodically throughout the year in an effort to
develop a new case study operation and format for the course that fit Utah ranch
situations. The new case study includes irrigated crop production and public land grazing
allotments, both of which are common in Utah. A trial in-service offering of the Utah WIRE
course was made in October, in preparation for presentation to producers in January, 1996.
The Utah team also marketed the program to the Utah Cattlemen's Association and the Utah
Wool Growers Association conventions.
The Wyoming team offered their seventh WIRE course in May. This provided an
opportunity to bring in a film crew and produce video and audio tape for advertising the
program around the Western region. This tape was distributed to all state teams by
September. The Wyoming team used the video tape in conjunction with a poster display to
advertise the program at the Wyoming state fair, Wyoming Stock Grower's, and Wyoming Wool
Grower's meetings. The poster was also displayed at a Wyoming Public Lands program. In
addition, television time was
purchased on three TV stations to run the WIRE ad over a period of two weeks. This coupled
with a distribution of an audio tape to Wyoming radio stations, helped to raise producer
awareness of the program.
The project coordinator took the lead in developing a WIRE workbook for use
with producers taking WIRE courses. It is designed to assist producers in working through
the first three steps of the WIRE process-establish strategic goals, inventory resources,
and explore possible enterprises. This workbook along
with other WIRE course materials were supplied to state teams for offering producer
courses. These materials included the WIRE reference book, course materials and case
history book, financial calculators, custom clipboards, and frames for certificates of
completion. In addition to these activities, the Wyoming team also continued to offer the
WIRE follow up programs in Financial Management and Marketing and Risk Management. The
total number of participants in Wyoming WIRE programs was 25 in 1995.
6. Producer Involvement
Number of growers/producers in attendance at:
77 Workshops
__ Conferences
__ Field Days
1470 Other events (specify): presentations to producer organizations, extension meetings, and other publicity efforts