In days previous, the Greene County Cooperative Extension Company carried out subject days for the varied crops grown within the county, however with the arrival of the COVID-19 public well being emergency, the company has turned to know-how to beat the challenges of social distancing.
“We now have been doing digital subject days by way of the College of Arkansas,” mentioned Dave Freeze, County Extension Agent, Agriculture. A couple of weeks in the past they did one on rice, and final week they did one on corn.
On Sept. 17 one other digital subject day for soybeans is scheduled. A digital subject day for cotton is to happen Oct. 1. Freeze defined that digital subject days happen by way of webinars and using the Zoom utility.
The one final week on corn began with a reside introduction, Freeze defined.
“After which there have been 5 audio system, every in a prerecorded 12-minute presentation on a particular facet of the crop below dialogue, in order that’s an hour,” he mentioned. Following the displays, there was a 30-minute interval for questions and solutions. In that interval, particular person viewers may ship inquiries to the moderator, who would in flip ahead them to the suitable presenter for a solution. “Anybody that’s registered for it might watch,” Freeze mentioned.
Every digital subject day begins at 6 p.m.
An added good thing about the digital subject day is {that a} video of every one is saved on the internet web page https://aaes.uark.edu/field-days/ after it happens. “So in case you can’t view it on the time it’s taking place,” Freeze mentioned, “you may take a look at it when the time works for you.”
Freeze mentioned that Section 2 COVID restrictions have prevented the gathering of greater than 10 folks in a given place, and have subsequently scotched face-to-face conferences for probably the most half.
“We’re nonetheless doing one-on-one conferences with households and with farmers,” Freeze mentioned, “as a result of we’ve got discovered face-to-face conferences are more practical.”
Noting the present yr’s COVID-driven issues have been “discouraging,” Freeze nonetheless mentioned the Greene County Extension Company was doing all it might to offer its providers to the county’s residents.
