2019 ASHS Annual Conference

As the horticulture industry prepares for an oncoming generational shift, understanding the challenges, barriers and needs identified by young industry professionals, defined as those under 40 years old, will be crucial for universities in developing relevant, valuable resources. The objective of this research was to understand young industry professionals’ perceptions of challenges, barriers and needs of the horticulture industry. A commonly used qualitative research methodology, focus groups allow researchers to develop a greater depth of understanding, especially when trying to understand participant perceptions. Participants were asked to identify and elaborate on potential challenges and barriers they are facing in the industry as well as any needs they may have. After audio recordings of the focus groups were transcribed, results were analyzed using the constant comparative method with MAXQDA2018. One of the largest challenges or barriers faced by participants was working with university extension systems, as participants discussed long call back times from extension agents “if they are called back at all” and a lack of comprehensive resources, especially related to food systems. Developing comprehensive food system resources, especially those for urban audiences, should be a priority of Extension program development moving forward. Participants also discussed a seeming disconnect in communication between what was happening in the field and what was happening within universities. Universities should work to have more input from stakeholders when developing strategic plans, programming and in applying for funding. Finally, participants discussed the need for information provided by universities to be straight forward, brief, and most importantly, easy to access from a mobile device. Participants discussed the struggles of utilizing university resources, especially when accessing them from a cell phone or on-the-go. Future university materials should be made with the end user in mind and optimized for mobile reading.