170 Effectiveness of On-line Webinars for Delivering Extension Education to Beef Producers Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all in-person Extension programs in Kentucky were canceled in March 2020. In order to continue reaching beef producers, a webinar series was developed. The initial series was eight weekly evening sessions. Sessions were streamed live on a video meeting and social media platform and were recorded for future viewing. Programs consisted of a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session, covering multi-disciplinary topics related to beef management. Following each session, participants were asked to complete a survey to gauge the effectiveness of the programs using a series of questions with responses on a 5-point Likert scale. The average number of responses was 17 and ranged from 4–31 respondents per session. Knowledge level before and after the presentation was asked for a given topic to assess the increase in subject awareness/understanding (1: not very knowledgeable; 5: very knowledgeable). The average response across all respondents (n = 138) for pre-program knowledge was 2.98, and the average response post-program was 4.37. This represented a 46.6% change across all topics covered in the post-attendance surveys. The most common age demographic represented by survey respondents was 50–59 years of age, and 84% of respondents reported previously participating in a webinar. Participants were asked to evaluate the webinar technology in terms of its ease of access (1: not very easy; 5: very easy), and the average response was 4.64. Participants were asked to evaluate the material presented in each session for its usefulness (1: not very useful; 5- very useful), and the average response was 4.71. When asked if the webinar was an effective use of time (1: not very useful; 5: very useful), the average response was 4.8. Overall, webinars were an effective means of delivering Extension education related to beef cattle management in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.