Objective(s):
Horticulture has had remarkable success with advocacy for research and extension programs over the past 5 to 10 years. An important contributor to that success was consistent messaging between a well-organized industry-stakeholder group and the research community who would do the work. This interactive workshop will have a panel of experts to review what was effective about the advocacy to date so that we can coordinate effectively within our state and nationally.

ASHS members will be able to apply lessons from this workshop in working with state and regional grower organizations to carry their advocacy to university, state, or national policymakers, in order to make sure horticultural research and extension get the attention they need and deserve. The panel will help analyze ideas or efforts from the audience to help devise more effective strategies. What have been successful ways to agree upon a unified message when there are many disparate narrow priorities among the allied groups? What are ways to make long-term investments high-priority with growers who tend to focus on immediate issues like labor in their legislative advocacy? How is advocacy different nationally versus within individual states?

The panelists have expertise in coordinating with other groups, each from their own perspective. They will provide overall insights in an introductory statement, and then help analyze specific situations that audience members bring to help make current efforts more effective.

Image: Duane Ingram (U Kentucky), Congressman Jim Costa, Karen Ross (Calif. Secty of Food & Ag), Rob Mikkelsen (IPNI) find common purpose in specialty-crop research funding.

•