San Luis Obispo, California – Research from the Center for Public Issues Education was well represented this past week in San Luis Obispo, California at the American Association for Agricultural Education national conference.
Faculty, graduate students and staff members who conduct research with the PIE Center presented papers and posters at the annual conference dedicated to promoting education in agriculture.
Research topics covered a wide-range of issues including civic engagement, opinion leadership, citrus labels, opinions of genetic modification across generations and teaching agricultural issues.
Food and resource economics undergraduate student Brandon McKee presented a paper discussing possibilities for Extension to build trust with farmers that could encourage more water conservation practices.
“Water is a vital issue, especially in Florida, and agriculturalists are facing pressure to become better conservationists,” McKee said.
McKee has worked in the PIE Center for the past year as a research assistant.
“I am so thankful the PIE Center has afforded me the opportunity to be a part of research that is applicable to today’s agricultural industry and what I am studying in the classroom,” McKee said.
Several agricultural education and communication graduate students also presented research on behalf of the PIE Center.
Graduate students presented eight posters, all summarizing research conducted with the PIE Center.
In addition to PIE Center research being presented at the AAAE national conference, PIE Center associate director Alexa Lamm was awarded the Outstanding Early Career Member Award.
Lamm is an assistant professor of agricultural education and communication and led several research projects that were presented at AAAE.
To views more pictures and videos from AAAE, please visit the UF IFAS Center for Public Issues Facebook page.
