The More They Get, The More They Want: The Insatiable Demand for Agronomy e-Updates.

With any new communication effort in Extension, it’s often easier to start something than to maintain it on a regular basis. It’s even more difficult when the product is delivered weekly. If the effort gets started and then stalls out and virtually stops over time, it makes the Extension specialists involved look bad. But if the effort can be maintained at a high level of quality and usefulness for the audience, the results can be extremely rewarding. The latter situation has been the case with the weekly Agronomy e-Updates, an electronic newsletter delivered by email to a wide variety of Extension personnel, other on- and off-campus faculty, and many in the agricultural industry within the state. Typically, each issue of the e-Update includes from two to four articles from agronomy specialists and research faculty, often also involving plant pathology and entomology faculty. The articles present timely information and crop updates; an update on research projects; or recommendations and advice. The response has been extremely positive.