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Multiple federal and state agencies provide assistance to qualified agricultural producers following a natural disaster, such as a hurricane. However, the programs change over time, and many producers are not aware of the programs available. The purpose of this publication is to list and briefly describe disaster assistance resources available to agricultural producers in Florida after Hurricane Idalia. To the extent that some information remains the same, this publication could provide guidance to Extension agents, nongovernmental organizations, and producers impacted by future hurricanes. The information was compiled from websites, government documents, and discussions with government agency representatives following Hurricane Idalia.

The UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (PIE Center) conducted a series of national public opinion surveys to examine the perceptions of Americans related to COVID-19. The PIE Center shared the survey data using Extension and outreach communication pieces, including issue guides, kinetic typography videos, webinars, and communication toolkits. Data collected from the PIE Center on Americans’ perceptions related to COVID-19 also informed two communication toolkits developed for Extension. This new 5-page article, published by the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, describes the instruments used to collect public opinion data related to COVID-19. Written by Lauri M. Baker, Ashley McLeod-Morin, Shelli Rampold, Anissa Zagonel, Ricky Telg, Angela B. Lindsey, Michaela Kandzer, Sandra Anderson, Sydney Honeycutt, Phillip Stokes, Valentina Castano, and Alena Poulin. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/wc426

The spread of accurate and inaccurate information happened quickly in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and understanding how this occurred is important to prepare for communication of future disease outbreaks. The purpose of this study was to understand Americans’ information seeking and sharing behaviors during the early stages of COVID-19 and was guided by the following objectives: identify passive sources/channels of information; identify active sources/channels of information; and describe how frequently and across which channels/sources the U.S. public shared information about COVID-19 in early stages of the pandemic. Results indicated people first found information about COVID-19 from personal communication but turned to national and international organizations if they were to actively seek information. Scientists and universities were some of the least sought after and shared sources of information. The sources shared most were from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. Implications from this research are a need for communicators to use grassroots communication efforts during a crisis, to actively share information early during a crisis, to share information outside of traditional academic networks, and to collaborate with sources inside and outside of traditional Extension networks.

Disruptions from COVID-19 forced agricultural business owners to navigate the uncertainty of market disruptions with limited information. As an effect, the quality of information available for agricultural businesses to adapt to changes was a concern. The purpose of this study was to determine the availability and credibility of resources for agricultural businesses to make informed decisions about food markets during COVID-19. Source credibility was the guiding framework to achieve the research objectives of 1) Describe resources available related to impacts of COVID-19 on the food supply chain, 2) Determine the credibility of available resources. A quantitative content and textual analyses were employed. Results revealed 401 terms used to describe resources (n = 779). Eleven of the top 36 terms were used over 100 times. These were: farmer, resources, farm, market, business, local, health, safe, supply, agriculture, and chain. The majority of resources (66%, f = 514) were mid-level credible sources (industry/business organization, online/print news source, nonprofit), and 32.2% (f = 251) were of the highest credibility (university scientists, USDA scientist, Extension). Implications of this work show an opportunity for university and Extension systems to publish resources and serve as credible sources related to this particular crisis.

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-April 2020), opinion leaders in agriculture and natural resources (ANR) were asked to participate in a survey about the impacts of the crisis on the ANR industry specifically about their concerns related to communication, economics, level of preparedness, and health during this crisis. Of the 225 ANR leaders who participated, the majority were concerned that members of the public were sharing inaccurate information about COVID-19; others they come into contact with were not taking appropriate measures to avoid contracting COVID-19; about the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. economy, their state’s economy, and the global economy; and other countries’ level of preparedness to deal with COVID-19. ANR leaders were consistently the most concerned about items that were outside of their direct sphere of influence. Implications from this work are that ANR leadership programs should incorporate programing to help ANR leaders understand how to be influential during a crisis at a national and international level. For statewide ANR leadership programs, it is recommended to include programming sessions related to identifying and sharing credible information and enabling and inspiring those in their circle of influence to do the same.

In 2018, Hurricane Michael caused extensive damage in the Florida panhandle as a Category 4 hurricane. Cooperative Extension has a disaster preparedness and information dissemination role in hurricane response (Medford-Davis & Kapur, 2014; Washburn, 2006). Personal resilience focuses on reducing stress and increasing coping abilities in stressful situations. A basic qualitative research design explored UF/IFAS Extension agents’ hurricane experiences. Results suggested participants experienced some inability to balance personal and professional demands and were mentally and emotionally stressed. Participants felt fatigued and results suggested they experienced high levels of mental and emotional stress. There is scope to improve Extension agents’ personal resilience by: (1) strengthening individual levels of hardy attitudes and hardy strategies; and (2) reducing barriers such as mental and physical stress and performance deficits.

Zoonotic disease epidemics are on the rise with emerging diseases being identified that affect humans and animals alike. An understanding about communication networks of those involved in managing a zoonotic disease outbreak is necessary to develop a strong communication response in the event of a zoonotic disease outbreak. The purpose of this study was to explore the communication networks of livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers related to zoonotic disease. In-depth interviews were conducted with 41 people within key areas of one state in an effort to understand how communication networks may be activated during a crisis. This study revealed a wide range of information sources that livestock producers, medical professionals, veterinarians, and emergency managers seek information from. The results from this study also highlight the communication gaps, such as veterinarians not communicating with livestock producers, emergency managers not communicating with medical professionals and livestock producers, and a lack of communication between medical professionals and livestock producers. It is recommended that professionals who play a key role in zoonotic disease outbreaks, such as livestock producers, veterinarians, human health professionals, and emergency managers, cultivate and maintain relationships outside their usual professional group beyond times of disease outbreaks.

The Prevent & Protect publication series focuses on the creation of different material formats to resonate with various audiences and ways to maximize efficacy in communicating about mosquito-related risks and mosquito control topics to the public. This new 3-page publication of the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication provides a background of public opinion on various aspects of mosquito control covered in the Prevent & Protect campaign. Written by Shelli Rampold, Ricky Telg, Alena Poulin, Sandra Anderson, Angela B. Lindsey, Ashley McLeod-Morin, and Phillip Stokes.

Zoonotic diseases are a significant threat to human and animal health with the effects of a widespread epidemic impacting agricultural producers and consumers alike. Online information sources have the opportunity to widely distribute information, but, with a topic as complex as zoonotic disease, information sharing should be managed carefully. Risk communication and prepared responses for zoonotic disease can help communicate messages effectively. This study looked at how two federal websites, CDC and USDA, were communicating about zoonotic disease. The quantitative content analysis methodology was guided by the research objectives of 1) determine availability of information related to zoonotic disease, 2) describe the zoonotic diseases, impacts, and messages 3) determine the use of prepared responses in articles related to zoonotic disease, and 4) determine connectivity with other online resources on zoonotic disease. Results indicate information is difficult to find on both websites, and there is a lack of connectivity with other online resources. Prepared responses were used to varying degrees. Implications and recommendations from this work are that agricultural communicators and those with influence over federal communication on zoonotic disease should actively integrate prepared responses in communication and seek opportunities to connect to a larger network of those working in zoonotic disease.