Peer-to-Peer Learning Accessing Innovation through Demonstration blogs

Demonstration in Northern Europe

claire.hardy — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 10:09:33 +0000

Demonstration in Northern Europe

One of my first tasks on joining the PLAID team was to synthesise the findings of eleven country reports from across Northern Europe, which were based on observations by PLAID and AgriDemo consortium members and subcontractors during the initial process of enrolling farmers and organisations into the demonstration inventory database. Together with findings from a Northern ‘supra-regional’ workshop held in Leuven in March 2018 (attended by consortium members, sub-contractors, representatives from the PLAID International Advisory Board and National Stakeholder Consultative Groups), these reports presented me with an interesting picture of the history and practice of on-farm demonstration from Scandinavia in the north, the British Isles in the west, Germany to the east, and France to the south. What a great introduction to the project!

History of demonstration farming in the region

The reports gave some fascinating insights into the evolution of demonstration, dating back at least 250 years to pioneering work by Hans Jakob Gujer (known as the ‘Philosophical Farmer’) who held meetings and discussion groups to demonstrate successful methods on his model farm in Zurich. The influence of this farmer was significant and far-reaching on agricultural spheres across the region and reportedly caused a stir throughout Europe. In other countries, the roots of demonstration also be traced back at least to the 19^th Century – model farms began to be established across Europe, professional exchange became established through agricultural organisations, farmers could attend open days and demonstrations at agricultural fairs, and agricultural colleges began to bridge the gap between farmers and growing scientific knowledge on agricultural issues. Interestingly, reports from Scandinavia suggested that demonstration began to emerge a little later, where demonstration was more tightly bound with teaching.

Across Northern Europe, modern understanding and practice of demonstration evolved throughout the 20^th Century. Differences in terms of actors, implementation and focus were evident, but all represent development of networks and structures to support exchange between farmers and other industry stakeholders.

Common topics and purposes of demonstration

Today, the most common reason to hold an on-farm demonstration in Northern Europe is to improve some aspect of agricultural production, including crop and livestock-related topics, how to improve efficiencies, machinery, and technology-focused topics. Soil fertility was also particularly high on the agenda. Environmental topics appear to be a relatively common focus of demonstration events in some countries, including measures relating to climate change, biodiversity, and nature management. In the context of explicitly sustainability-related demonstrations, greater emphasis appears to be on environmental sustainability over economic or social aspects – however, the economic benefits of environmental actions are usually still identified. Topics with an explicitly social focus (e.g. farm succession) didn’t appear to be a common focus, but social impacts were acknowledged in relation to the networking opportunity that demonstration events present.

Who are the ‘major’ providers and organisers?

A wide range of actors are involved in demonstration across the Northern European region. An important pattern seen across the region appears to be a partnership between agricultural extension and advisory services and individual farmers acting as demonstration hosts. Discussions in Leuven extended this suggestion, that demonstration provision across the region generally reflects the type of ‘AKIS’ (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems) arrangements in each country. In many cases, public and private sector organisations seem to work together with farmers to demonstrate.

Age and gender

Overall, farm demonstrations in the region are dominated by male participants, which was suggested to represent gender balance in the industry more generally. The only country that reports relatively even gender distribution overall is Norway. In France and Germany women appear to be represented in greater numbers about half of the time. In some cases, topic appears to have an impact on attendance – for example, beef was believed to attract more men and organic events, more women. Succession effects are slowing influencing gender balance over time, but childcare-related issues also place a persistent barrier to attendance in some contexts. Little or no information was available relating to participants’ positions in farming businesses.

In terms of age, there is a mix of representation across the region, however there is a general inclination towards the older age ranges, over 40-years old. Norway and Wales are the exceptions to this, where younger generations appear to be more dominant. It is also interesting to note that in some countries many attendees older than 40 are still described as ‘young’, as in ‘younger-than-average’ in relation to the farming population as a whole. It was agreed at the supra-regional meeting that demonstration events are attended by a younger demographic than there is in practice.

Regional differences

Demonstrations appear to be less common in areas that are more remote or have issues relating to access (e.g. islands), whereas there are more options available in more central areas – including cross-border visits. Concentration of events tends to reflect concentration of agricultural activity and more-specialist producers appear more likely to travel further to attend events. Interestingly, livestock events tend to be fewer – which was seen to reflect the relative number of other opportunities (e.g. markets and shows) for learning and interaction available.

There are some differences between countries in the region, and regional variations within country boundaries, which seem to reflect agriculture type and population distribution. The location of key organisation, institutions and extension services also appear to have had a significant influence. Other contributing factors discussed in Leuven include: the historical context of farming in different countries and regions; the number, power and credibility of farming organisations, advisors and researchers; levels and sources of funding available; the means of demonstration; and geography and logistics.

There are a wide range of on-farm demonstrations occurring across the Northern European supra-region, which bring together a range of industry stakeholders in the context of collaborative relationships and opportunities for interaction and exchange on a range of topics. Though context is important, founding principles and practices appear to be relatively consistent across the region.

Sharon Flanigan, The James Hutton Institute

An Experimental Farm taken over by a Shepherd : a perfect place for a demo day

claire.hardy — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 16:13:14 +0000

Demonstration Farm in France

In France, Yoan Thomas, a young shepherd, took over the experimental farm of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), where he worked as an employee. He has increased grazing 470 organically farmed ewes.

Since 2014, Yoan Thomas has established himself as a breeder in Auvergne, France. A breeder like no other, since he took over the experimental farm in Romagnat in the Puy-de-Dôme to create his own farm. After two years with 2 jobs, in 2016 he decided to dedicate all his time farming his ewes organically.
On permanent grassland (106Ha), its farm is located on the heights of Clermont Ferrand. A peri-urban situation where land pressure is felt everywhere, Yoan considers himself lucky.

Maximized grassland

The ewes are grazed on permanent meadows all year round and return to the sheepfold for only twenty days around the lambing. Yoan' main objective for his flock is to produce meat lambs along the year, he carries out two different periods of lambing: one in autumn (October) with the half of ewes, and the other one in spring (April). 12 rams (7 Limousine, 3 Suffolk and 2 Rava) are used alternatively to ensure the renewal of the herd and lamb production. Good grassland and plot management tend towards autonomy, concentrates are used for sheep lamb production.

Valued production ?

Yoan sells his organic lambs to the local cooperative. After 3 years of operating, the production unit releases the equivalent of two minimum wages and Yoan believe the farm can operate as a company with his companion. But with the halt of organic maintenance premiums within two years, and the end of five years of subsidy commitment in 2019, they are currently uncertainwhether this is still viable. If the project is successful, they will consider marketing their lambs for direct sale.

Herding Dogs

Yoan works daily with two dogs: a Beauceron and a Border collie. Why work with two dogs? To be sure of always being accompanied by a dog in case of a problem. Indeed, working with a single dog is restictive, often two dogs can work better to move sheep, some are more skilled at certain tasks and if one can no longer work, the shepherd has the second. With these two companions, he is always well supported!

A network and demonstration activities

Yoan Thomas is part of the Inosys livestock network. While working for INRA, he was already in touch with the network. It is therefore natural that he continued to be involved with the network when he took over the farm. He organizes events on his farm when asked. For him, making himself available for organized activities on his farm is essential: "I was lucky to be able to settle on this farm, I want to help". Although he does not perceive any financial advantage, it is the highlight of his work on the farm and his desire to share his job that motivates him.

Author: Marina Cholton

The power of film to demonstrate innovation and learnings on farm

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 11:52:53 +0000

LEAF’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Simon Bull talks about the importance of farm demonstration to help drive forward knowledge generation and exchange within the farming industry, in particular demonstration harnessing the power of film.

It has long been established that farmers enthusiastically engage with knowledge transfer through demonstration activities, in particular farmer to farmer demonstration events and this engagement between farmers can help the up-take of new farming technologies or practices. Demonstration activities also contribute to network building in agricultural communities, leading to longer term sustainability and economic development in rural areas.

Through PLAID, LEAF alongside the James Hutton Institute, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture and the National Agricultural Advisory Service are trialling a Virtual Demonstration Platform as a way to demonstrate innovative on-farm practises online. The aim for this platform is to further facilitate farmer to farmer learning through demonstration whilst removing the geographical barriers associated with traditional on-farm demonstration events.

A number of commercial farms in England, Scotland, Bulgaria and Switzerland are taking part in the Virtual Demonstration Platform and as part of their activities within the network have been given video training over the last few months to provide them with the skills and confidence needed to independently produce video content on farm.

Over two days in February, LEAF hosted video training for 4 English virtual Demonstration Farmers at the Madingley Hall, Cambridge. This training taught them how to produce videos and other online content to promote and demonstrate the innovations and new technologies being used on farm to the wider farming industry, with particular focus to other farmers across Europe and beyond.

The training began by introducing the power of film highlighting the amazing opportunities film can provide to tell your story to a vast number of people across the globe in an engaging and informative way, and show why it has become the most popular form of online communication.

The breadth of equipment and kit that can be used to capture and enhance footage was introduced, showing the best that money can buy but highlighting that all equipment needed to produce a great video can be found using your smart phone. It’s all about knowing how best to use what you have available!

Farmers were then equipped with some equipment essentials to take home with them from a lapel microphone for the perfect sound to a smart phone tripod for the perfect video pan and phone holder to enable a steadier shot.

As well as using our smart phones, the group was also able to test other camera types such as action cameras and time lapse cameras, illustrating the footage we can get whilst on the move, or in our case driving up around the Madingley Hall Site.

This led in perfectly to our first activity which meant pairing up to shoot our very first footage on the course. Handy advice on the composition we should be looking for and the 'rule of thirds' for leading the viewer's eye around the shot came in very useful and the first efforts showed some great promise, imagination and artistic flare within the group.

Next, we looked at how important it is to storyboard videos before filming to help us tell our story with maximum impact. When filming it’s key to know who your audience is, what your three take home messages are and what is it visually what you want to film.

Our final activity of the day was getting to grips with editing using ShotCut Pro and iMovie. Within 2 hours everyone was able to crop, slice, add photos and music to footage.

We then headed over to dinner and heard from speaker Anna Jones, producer on the extremely popular Sunday Evening show Countryfile who talked about her Nuffield Scholarship looking at the importance of farmers getting their stories out to the public and the importance in being heard within the media. Our Virtual Demonstration Platform hopes to get the great and innovative approaches happening on farm out there to farmers and others alike.

The big test on day two began with each farmer storyboarding a video in pairs on a particular area of Integrated Farm Management they find important on their farms. They then went out and shot the footage they needed around Madingley hall and edited this to produce their first video. All in 3 hours! It was then movie time where everyone presented their videos to the group. One of videos produced by the brilliant Johnny Renner and Ralph Grindling can be seen below, where they highlight the importance of water management on their farm.

<<Embed video https://youtu.be/THdhGhj1FEc >>

All 4 farmers did fantastically well with one farmer noting “It was the shot of inspiration needed to explore and use film. We have always loved communicating about what we do on farm and now feel empowered to do so via videos as well as visits!”. Another said they “Thoroughly enjoyed the training and I can’t wait to use the skills learnt on-farm to produce our first videos for the platform”

We are very much looking forward to them producing their first videos for the Virtual Demonstration Platform throughout April and May. Watch this space!

For more information on the Virtual Demonstration Platform please visit the PLAID website.

Or get in touch with Laura Tippin

What makes a successful demonstration?

claire.hardy — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 12:29:39 +0000

It seems to be common knowledge that agricultural demonstrations represent an inherently good support tool for farmers in improving their farming practices. But the question remains on what kind of improvements are these, and what makes one demonstration more successful than others? What unites the two questions is the fact that the impact of a given demonstration largely depends on the way it is being initiated, designed, communicated and implemented, and the other way round – the set-up of a demonstration activity largely depends on the changes it is expected to bring about.

When speaking of the results of a demonstration activity, these can be quite varied depending on their timing and coverage. One pretty straightforward result could be the very fact that a definite number of farmers have been acquainted with some novel equipment or method during the demonstration. Yet, after the event it is up to them whether, how, and when they apply the newly gained knowledge on their own farms. And even further along the road, the given demonstration can lead to a wider spread of a given practice and, for instance, an increased annual productivity levels of local farms. Just to give you an example – a small group of fruit-growers in Latvia learn of new electric pruning shears during a demonstration event. Some of them may decide to purchase and use ones for pruning apple trees on their farms. They may find this new technology to save quite a lot of their time and effort earlier spent on pruning, and, based on their positive practical experience, can advise this further to their other peers.

But, of course, improved productivity is just one, and probably even not the most important, thing that agricultural demonstrations can intentionally or unintentionally contribute to. Along with increased efficiency of production and higher profitability, there are other important possible effects of these demonstrations. For instance, they can enhance farmer’s self-reliance and his/her capacity to adapt to different changes faced by the farm by mastering new skills and gaining access to varied sources of knowledge to tap into when needed. Demonstrations can also help in boosting farmer’s overall quality of life due to applied novel solutions that among other things might allow for improvements in the working conditions on the farm. These innovations can, for instance, lighten farm chores, reduce health risks, and provide some free time for recreation.

You might have seen demonstrations where participants are chatting more among themselves than listening to the demonstrator, or ones where all eyes and ears are directed towards a charismatic leader with no communication among attendants. The first guess might be that the former is a failure, while the latter is a success. But it might as well not necessarily be the case if considering different expected impacts of these encounters. Namely, participation in demonstrations can serve to facilitate communication and learning among peers and thereby strengthen the local community and both formal and informal cooperation.

These are certainly only some of the major impacts demonstrations can bear, with more to be identified and explored through the in-depth studies of a wide range of demonstrations taking place all over Europe. Research to be carried out in the PLAID project will also help to better understand and assess the good practices of demonstration activities. So far, the limited number of available studies on selected agricultural demonstrations have shown that success of a demonstration depends on more than one factor. It is not only about choosing the right topic of key interest to farmers, but also selecting the most appropriate demonstration site for it. Along with properly reaching out to and incentivising both the host and attendants, it is of utmost importance to select the right person to facilitate the demonstration. This said, there is also no way to overestimate the role of the very demonstration process and the learning methods used, be it verbal communication or hands-on activities. The PLAID project has the ambition to enhance and deepen our knowledge of these and other success factors of demonstrations to allow for taking even fuller advantage of this mode of instruction in the future.

Authors: Anda Adamsone-Fiskovica, Talis Tisenkopfs, Mikelis Grivins; Baltic Studies Centre, Latvia

History of Demonstration Farming

claire.hardy — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 08:27:27 +0000

Although it is sometimes easy to imagine agricultural demonstration activity as simply the promotion of new products and technologies, its history illustrates that demonstration farming is far more than that. In particular, from the industrialisation era onwards, the demonstration of new innovations in agriculture has played a critical role in the development of Western civilisation.

Formal demonstration farming in Europe emerged from the middle of the 1700s from the need to provide sufficient food for a rapidly urbanising population combined with an increased need for food security at a time when there were multiple wars between nation states. At the same time, new trade routes opened up new opportunities and new markets for agricultural produce. However, there was a problem. Many of the farms at the time were managed as subsistence farms producing for themselves and/or for local markets. Consequently, in some regions the (generally privately owned) road system was so bad that moving produce further to the rapidly growing cities was difficult. To improve the roads and infrastructure required investment. For those farmers that wished to progress, demonstration to neighbouring farmers (or tenants) was one way of increasing the wealth of a region and thus enabling the required investments to be made.

To encourage this development “county societies” began to spring up across Europe in the 1700s, such that by the 1770s there were reportedly over 30 such organisations in France alone, several in Switzerland, and others in Leipzig, Württemberg, Hannover, Zurich, Heidelberg, Stockholm, England, and numerous other locations. The primary objective of these societies was to improve the general condition of agriculture of the region through learning and then teaching neighbours by example.

Formal demonstration farms (at that time termed “model” or “pattern” farms) emerged in the last decade of the 18th Century. These were predominantly private farms established by wealthy individuals or organisations (funded by subscription and occasionally with grants of land from the government) with the intent of improving agriculture and the economy within the country. An advertisement for a model farm at Whitfield near Thornbury in the United Kingdom (1842) illustrates how the approach to farm demonstration shows many similarities with today’s. It notes:

“… the farm is open to the visits of any one; every operation performed on it is open to the inspection of all; and reports of its condition, and of the various steps in its progress towards an improved state of cultivation, are to be put forth at intervals.”

A similar pattern farm at Hofwyl in Switzerland (1818) was claimed to be exceptionally effective, i.e.,

“They saw also, in the pattern farm, the most perfect agriculture; and they spread throughout the country a knowledge and a taste for it.”

In America demonstration farming developed in earnest in the beginning of the 1900s with the work of Dr. Seaman Knapp. Knapp initially used the term “demonstration farm” to designate that part of the farm that was being managed according to the instructions of agents working for the Bureau of Plant Industry – with the “demonstration farm” being visited by agents once a month to ensure instructions were followed and provide any additional advice required. It was only at a later point that the term “demonstration farm” was used to refer to farms entirely managed under instruction. The object of a demonstration farm was:

“to place a practical object lesson before the farm masses, illustrating the best and most profitable methods of producing the standard farm crops”

Knapp’s approach to demonstration farms was thus to seed the landscape with farm fields that were being managed under efficient agronomic principles. He notes that demonstration farms had to be managed over an extended period because “the farmer is a natural doubter” and therefore evidence of improved yield may not be initially attributed to improved farming practices. However, by the third year of demonstration neighbours will “have commenced to inquire and follow his example”. Knapp details how this process then leads to change:

“His neighbours ask him how he produced it. He is invited to address public assemblies. He has become a man of note and a leader of the people and cannot return to his old ways. Soon there is a body of such men; a township, a county and finally a state is transformed.”

This is important because it illustrates how early demonstration farms in America were not only centres for education, but also for cultural change – embedding the new improved ways of production within the culture of good farming such that the farmer “cannot return to his old ways”.

Todays demonstration activities perhaps reflect times where commercial objectives and sustainable production have taken over from concerns for food security, cultural change and regional development. Nevertheless, demonstration farming continues to play an important social role. It is PLAIDs ambition to prepare European agriculture for the next hundred years by increasing our understanding of demonstration farming and peer-to-peer learning in and era where climate, communication methods, agricultural technologies, and market and trading systems are rapidly and radically changing.

Author: Rob Burton, Centre for Rural Research, Trondheim, Norway

PLAID – it’s a family thing

claire.hardy — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 08:58:39 +0000

On-farm demonstration is literally something I grew up with. Some of my clearest childhood memories are of the day my Dad – a full-time farmer who supplemented the family income by selling PAG seed corn (maize, in British English) – organised a demonstration event at our farm in Canada. The plots of different seedcorn varieties were clearly labelled along our lane, but the big draw was Bobby Hull – a famous National Hockey League ice hockey player – who my parents had hired to come and speak to the participants. I can’t remember what Bobby Hull said – I expect it had more to do with his hockey memories than the merits of particular corn varieties – but I do remember how excited everyone was to see him. Our yard and equipment shed (cleaned out specially for the event) was full – it seemed like half the kids on the school bus got off at our stop that day, and their parents soon joined them.

I asked my dad recently why he put on that event. He said that he’d been to field days before, where the farmer had set up acres of demonstration plots and “only five guys with pick-up trucks turned up. It was embarrassing – all that work”. So my Dad – never one to do things in a small way – decided to make his demonstration a major event. He set up the demonstration plots of corn, but he also got the local machinery dealers to bring some equipment, and the local Dodge dealer too. He said “We didn’t want just the men, we wanted the wives and kids”, so they invited families and he had it catered – a group from my Mom’s church fed a couple of hundred people in our equipment shed. Cargill, the parent company of PAG at the time, paid for the catering, and Mom and Dad the cover charge for Bobby Hull. It was a big risk, but Dad said it paid off in seed corn sales – he more than made the money back. Those customers stayed customers for years.

Demonstration on commercial farms is the central focus of PLAID – we’re looking at why farmers demonstrate and what works. For my Dad, it was a commercial prospect (and I suspect, an opportunity to meet one of his heroes). He wasn’t a trained agricultural educator – I don’t think he received any training at all - but he always said he knew intuitively how to sell. He involved whole families, something that is pretty important to me in PLAID – that the demonstration isn’t just about reaching the ‘primary farmer’ but everyone who works on farms, giving them the opportunity to learn new things and meet new people. And he made it memorable – when I see people in our local community again, decades later, they still talk about that day.

Author: Lee-Ann Sutherland, The James Hutton Institute, Scotland

Why PLAID?

claire.hardy — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 13:20:51 +0000

PLAID: Peer to Peer Learning: Accessing Innovation through Demonstration

In Scotland, a PLAID is a piece of cloth (usually wool) that is interwoven with differently coloured threads to form patterns (think of vibrant kilts and family tartans). It wasn’t until after we’d decided on the acronym for the project that I learned that in most of the rest of Europe, ‘plaid’ means ‘blanket’! In my mind I had this vision of different colours representing all the different people and organisations that are involved in demonstrating farming innovations, and the symbolism of the way they are woven together, working together to improve the economic, environmental and social sustainability of farming. So please keep that image firmly in mind, while I tell you about PLAID.

PLAID is about increasing innovation in European agriculture, through on-farm demonstration – in essence, identifying what and how and why on-farm demonstrations occur. The European Commission sought out proposals specifically to undertake an inventory of demonstration farms, and to assess best practice. The inventory will cover the EU 28, Norway, Switzerland and Serbia, enabling farmers and organisers of on-farm demonstrations to find out what is happening elsewhere, and to make direct contact. A follow-on project ‘NEFERTITI’ (maybe in a different blog they’ll tell us how they came up with that acronym!) will use the inventory to develop new European networks of demonstration farms.

We’re also assessing how demonstrations happen and why they work – or don’t. The first thing most researchers do when they start into new research is to see what’s already been written - it really surprised me that there is actually very little formal ‘academic’ literature on demonstration farms (at least in English). We know that physically demonstrating new practices to farmers has been occurring for centuries, and that lots of organisations are sure that it works, and are good at putting on these activities and events - but no one appears to have done actual research why or how. That’s pretty exciting for a scientist to discover.

PLAID is also embedded in the practical. As part of PLAID we’re identifying ‘good practice’ and developing tools to help demonstration organisers – thinking about who to invite, what types of activities to include, that sort of thing. Different people have different learning styles, and most learn better by physically interacting rather than listening to someone talk. In PLAID we’re developing decision-support tools from our research, to help farmers and agricultural industry members plan out their demonstration activities using good practice.

Something new we brought to the original European call was the focus on access. We think it is really important that everyone involved in farming – no matter where they are located, or what role they play on the farm (e.g. including spouses, successors and employees) – should be able to access demonstration activities. We’re therefore asking questions about access in our research, and working with commercial farmers to develop ‘virtual demonstration’ i.e. enabling farmers to make videos of their innovations and put them on-line. I’m really excited to see what the farmers come up with.

So that’s PLAID – lots of different strands of activities, and people – farmers, advisors and researchers from across Europe, working together to increase and improve the opportunities for farmers to learn from their peers.

Author: Lee-Ann Sutherland, The James Hutton Institute, Scotland