Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
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Item A needs assessment of operational and production practices of Montana beef prodcuers(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2024) Paul, Makayla Rae; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Shannon ArnoldMontana State University Extension provides educational programming for beef producers across the state of Montana. To develop programming opportunities for beef producers in Montana, Extension agents must first identify their needs. To determine the needs of beef producers in Montana, needs assessments should be conducted periodically. The purpose of this study was to explore Montana beef producers' operational and production practices and preferences for educational programming. This study used a descriptive research design. The study utilized a web-based survey for data collection and was distributed to participants utilizing email to examine the characteristics of Montana beef producers. The survey was delivered to county Extension agents employed by Montana State University, agents forwarded the survey information to beef producers located in their counties. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The study identified barriers to attending programming were timing of programming and scheduled dates. The preference of program delivery was identified to be traditional 1-2-hour meetings with applicable research, reading materials, and tools to take home. The data indicated Montana beef producers want education focused on cattle marketing, range management, and virtual fencing. It was also identified that producers utilize pocket-sized books to collect herd level data and most often collecting data on pregnancy rate. Respondents indicated they do not collect herd level data on liver and blood, fecal, and not harvested feedstuffs. When adopting new operational practices, the data declared cost to be a major concern to producers and their biggest daily concern to be cow/calf management. It was recommended for Extension agents to focus programming efforts to provide tools for producers to use on their operations. These tools should include tools to assist with cattle marketing, range management and accounting software. It was recommended for MontGuides to be developed for herd health, reproduction, and sampling of distinct types of feedstuffs and bodily fluid.Item Continued professional development among secondary agricultural education teachers in Uganda, a case study(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2023) Kibirige, Brian; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dustin PerryThe purpose of study was to identify the existing professional needs among Ugandan secondary agricultural education teachers. This was investigated using the following research objectives: 1. Profile the educational background of Ugandan secondary agricultural education teachers. 2. Identify the kind of continuous professional development activities that Ugandan secondary agricultural education teachers participate in. 3. Assess the perceptions of Ugandan secondary agricultural education teachers towards the available CPD programs. 4. Establish the level of subject content knowledge among majority of Ugandan secondary agricultural education teachers. 5. Determine if pedagogical gaps exist among Ugandan secondary agricultural education teachers.Item Science communication and the advantages of the contextual model in documentaries(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2020) Portuondo, Jessica; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Cindy StillwellDocumentaries can be an effective method for informing the public on agricultural trends and policies. Incorporating the contextual model of science communication into these films is one way to improve public awareness and to explain the complexities of sustainable agricultural practices. A comparison of Food Inc. and the 'Dan Barber' episode of Chef's Table demonstrates how a reliance on the deficit model inhibits the propagation of knowledge about sustainable agriculture. This critique also highlights how a character-based story can function as an educational tool to teach audiences about the value of regenerative food production practices by emotionally connecting with the protagonist.