Virtual Agronomy Down Under
I think virtual agronomy is a great idea and term for using the internet for a virtual field day. That’s what the BCG (Birchip Cropping Group and Wimmera Farming Systems) is doing in Australia.
Virtual Agronomy allows the BCG to provide a more detailed, current and interactive service to its members without replacing any existing extension tools. It is user-friendly for members and allows for slow dial-up connections. Administration users (ie. BCG staff) can easily and rapidly enter trial details from any computer with internet access. This is a cost-effective way of instantly providing BCG members with information.
Virtual Agronomy has allowed BCG members to:
* follow the progress of current trials from sowing through to harvest,
* learn more about “Hot Topics” as they arise during the season (eg. disease outbreak) with text, images, and video or audio recordings from invited experts
* search through a database of historical BCG trial results from 1993 to the present
* contribute to different discussion forums or post a question to BCG staff or technical consultants,
* receive the full application on CD-Rom at the end of alternate years.
Read a summary here. Thanks to Jim Evans at the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center for the information.
Laura McNamara interviewed Aggie-Lance creator and founder, Mark Jewell.
