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The Bermudagrass Hay Summit is an in-state Extension workshop that began in 2017. The objective of this workshop has been to provide recent updates and advanced information to bermudagrass hay producers in Northern Alabama. Topics have included insect pests, weed control, soil nutrients, and hay storage techniques. In 2021, organizers of the meeting were left with the conundrum of canceling the event or converting the event into a virtual-only platform as current Alabama Cooperative Extension guidelines would not allow an in-person meeting. As a result of deciding to convert the meeting to a virtual format, the organizers broaden the promotion of the event. The meeting was a 6-hour workshop with multiple speakers. The videoconferencing software Zoom (Zoom Video Communications, Inc., San Jose, CA) was used to register and deliver the workshop. The workshop was advertised on social media, through an Extension communications press release, email blasts, and word of mouth. All presentations were delivered remotely from different locations across Alabama. To ensure technology problems could be resolved quickly, an Extension information technology specialist participated in the videoconference, as well as a graduate student to communicate any chat questions/discussions from participants and assist individual participants as necessary. There were 129 people registered for the meeting, a 1,075% increase over the average from the four previous years (12 participants). Of those registered, 26% were out of state and 1 participant was out of the US. Even though the platform was virtual, the overall satisfaction of the meeting did not change in 2021 (4.7 on a 5-point scale) compared with 2020 (4.8 on a 5-point scale). While it is important to continue in-person and one-on-one interactions in Extension, the ability to provide virtual or hybrid events will allow Extension agents to be relevant to a broader audience, as well as inform potential clients of Extension’s mission. |
