Jessica Connor (1,2), Dr Margaret Hay (2), Prof Grahame Coleman (2)

Preferred presentation format: Poster

Affiliations: (1) Department of Primary Industries, Victoria

(2) Monash University, Department of Psychology

Title: Ms Jessica Connor Position: Small Farms Development Officer Organisation: Department of Primary Industries, Victoria Contact e-mail: jessica.connor@dpi.vic.gov.au Contact phone: 03 9296 4664

Keywords: Communication, education, small farms, families, animal welfare

Extension personnel have identified landholders including “hobby farmers, small farms and lifestylers” as a difficult to reach target audience. The methods often utilised to communicate with traditional farmers have been less effective in engaging this demographic. This study investigated an innovative means of communicating with these groups.

Information delivered to children in the classroom is often discussed in the family home. Although much anecdotal evidence is available to support the notion that children take home information they learn at school there is little research available on the extent of this information transfer. Road safety campaigns, toy marketing etc. often focus the program content towards children, assuming that children then deliver the information to family members.

This study involved the delivery of a 2-hour animal welfare program at two primary schools in rural Victoria. The deliverers, from the Department of Primary Industries, encouraged the children to discuss the program with their parents. The parents/guardians were then surveyed over the phone to investigate whether they learnt useful animal management information from their child as a result of the school-based presentation.

Key learning points:

Final analysis of the data collected will address the following questions:

What types of information were transferred? (eg water/feed needs of farm animals, space

requirements).

Was there any relationship between knowledge transfer and any landholder characteristics? (Landholder characteristics: Farm size, type, labour structure, location- based on information from the Department of Primary Industries).

Will the parent change animal management practices as a result of the information they gained from their child’s involvement in the program?