The just-released results of an International Federation of Agricultural Journalists member survey should be of interest to members of all ag communications organizations. You can find a pdf of the full results here. I think you might find questions and responses about social media of special interest. The survey, completed by 127 members, was designed to offer guidance to the federation going forward. Professional development was of high interest for members.

Its four sections included questions related to current activities, future activities, current communication tools and an open-ended section asking how IFAJ can become more relevant to executives and their guilds.

The responses show 46 per cent of respondents agreed that current professional development activities are valuable. Twenty-six per cent agreed somewhat. Respondents added that current IFAJ professional development activities are valuable as they bring worldwide colleagues together, including the international congress that provides international learning opportunities.

Related to future activities, 86 per cent said they would value regional press tours and exchange visits to learn and write about agriculture in another country. Respondents provided feedback that some possible future activities might include a membership database, a debate about the role of the journalists and communicators in IFAJ, more exchange meetings, focus on major issues including climate change, education, new technologies, solar power, or scholarship support for young journalists to study in other countries.