This first of five annual reports focuses on employment and wages in energy and advanced manufacturing--related industries and on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education indicators in the Appalachia Partnership Initiative (API) region. Together, these reports will capture trends over the next four years to (1) inform the…

Within the curriculum guidelines for Bavaria, we designed a hands-on educational programme for teaching sustainability with regard to agriculture, food and consumerism, partly implemented on a farm as an out-of-school learning setting. The participants were fifth graders ("N"?=?176). The research followed a quasi-experimental design and…

In Canada, there exists a noteworthy educational initiative referred to as Environmental Studies Programs (ESPs). These secondary school programs are interdisciplinary, helping to link subject matter and encouraging student responsibility. This paper will present student reports from five case studies where I investigated how ESP participation…

In 2008 MSU Extension evaluated their program to identify the major areas of educational need for Michigan farmers and agribusiness operators. Surveys were mailed to a stratified random sample from Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service records of dairy, livestock, swine, cash crops, fruit, vegetable, and nursery/greenhouse producers. Findings…

Opportunities for farmers to participate in greenhouse gas (GHG) credit markets require that growers, students, extension educators, offset aggregators, and other stakeholders understand the impact of agricultural practices on GHG emissions. The Farming Systems Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator, a web-based tool linked to the SOCRATES soil…

Building on normative conceptualisations of multifunctionality as a decision-making spectrum bounded by productivist and non-productivist action and thought, this paper analyses farm-level multifunctional agricultural transitions. First, the paper suggests that it may be possible to categorise different farm types along the…

The FFA Creed by E.M. Tiffany has influenced the lives of countless FFA members. However, the creed has received little attention in terms of its origin. A creed is a foundational component for many organizations. It serves to establish collective vision and goals with the intent of providing purpose and direction to the individual as well as the…

Extension is experiencing a trend toward closer alignment of its programs serving families and youth, notably Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-H Youth Development. Projects are more multidisciplinary and comprehensive than in the past, and, in many states, FCS and 4-HYD are also becoming more administratively integrated. Several reasons for this…

Introduction: The purpose of the present study was to explore the educational and cognitive aspects of an innovative approach to Internet use within an interdisciplinary, integrated framework for activities set up to enable students to acquire knowledge informally. These activities had the potential to provide real-world results through a model…

Often organized as grassroots, nonprofit organizations, many farmers' markets serve as strategic venues linking producers and consumers of local food while fulfilling multiple social, economic, and environmental objectives. This article examines the potential of farmers' markets to play a catalyst role in linking local food systems to the social…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine the self-perceived proficiency level of Commissioners of Agriculture in six leadership skill areas. Major findings noted their proficiency in these areas. Researchers recommend providing professional development opportunities and software training for Commissioners at their annual…

It is known that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are a major contributor to global climate change and that reducing our emissions will stem its acceleration (Baker et al., 2007). Aside from emission reductions, another method for stemming global climate change is to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere by storing…

The economically successful model of industrial agriculture that is currently expanding throughout Argentina is leading to deep social, economic, environmental, and logistical changes that are seriously restricting the sustainability of the rural, urban and environmental systems. The transformation of activities, the arrival of new technologies,…

This article reports the findings of a study commissioned by the Montana Small Schools Alliance to explore the challenges and sustainability practices of frontier schools. A Montana frontier school is defined as a school district with 200 or fewer students with its attendant community located in a county with five or fewer people per square mile.…

This study analyzed Texas secondary agricultural education teachers' (n = 232) attitudes toward diversity inclusion in Texas secondary agricultural education programs. Using a web-based questionnaire, the researcher employed a nonproportional stratified random sampling technique. Researchers used descriptive statistics to report demographic and…