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The Social Side of Ag: Connecting Consumers, Producers, and Community · Conservation Stories

• 0:00
  Speaker A: Foreign. And welcome back to another episode of Conservation Stories. Conservation Stories is a podcast, as you know, brought to you by the Sand Hill Area Research association, or SARAH as we like to call it. And we have a new friend here today. Jason Hedricks and I have met one time on the Terry County Farm tour.
• 0:23
  Speaker B: And it was a great meeting.
• 0:25
  Speaker A: It was, it was unbelievable. It was like we've known each other forever.
• 0:30
  Speaker B: That's right. That's right. It's good to be with you today.
• 0:32
  Speaker A: That's great. So tell us how you got to Texas Tech. Give some background.
• 0:37
  Speaker B: Yeah. So. Well, again, thanks for having me. I'm originally from Kentucky. I'm grew up on a tobacco and timber farm in Kentucky and was real involved in 4H and that led me to the University of Kentucky and yeah, worked there in student affairs in the College of Agriculture at the time and started asking big questions about leadership and motivation and ended up at the University of Nebraska. And because of that I got my PhD there in leadership studies and graduated in 2019. And there was a job opening here at Texas Tech in the agricultural leadership discipline. And not many of those jobs exist out there in that form. And so here I am and so applied and I believe I was the all, the first all online hire during COVID for faculty for Tech. So they were learning a lot of lessons as we were going through that process. But yeah, but so been here since 2020 and, and that's what led me to West Texas.
• 1:52
  Speaker A: So Kentucky. I have a friend that's a tobacco farmer in Kentucky and it is beautiful. He is not very nice. Sometimes he sends me pictures and I'm just like, this is not fair. His cows will be standing in grass that's over their bellies. You can't even hardly see the calf. And it's just, it's gorgeous. And, but I've wanted to go when he's harvesting tobacco sometime because that's always.
• 2:24
  Speaker B: So interesting, such a labor intensive crop. And I think it gets a bad rap because of health and history and things like that. But yeah, growing up on a tobacco and a timber farm like that definitely impacted me and shaped me and my great grandfather bought a farm over in right outside of Causey, New Mexico, so not too far from here in the 1920s. And so I will say that we've always got this.
• 2:58
  Speaker A: My goodness. That is very opposite of Kentucky.
• 3:00
  Speaker B: Yes, very opposite. And so yeah, so for me to end up here has been kind of interesting and I feel like the roads were, were leading me this way.
• 3:12
  Speaker A: That's so interesting. So Tobacco and timber. I think I just, I mean, I can't even imagine like I know a little bit about timber farming, but it's more of like a long term thing.
• 3:28
  Speaker B: Like it's, it definitely is a long.
• 3:30
  Speaker A: It's a decades game.
• 3:31
  Speaker B: Yeah. And you know, I remember, I mean growing up just walking outside, walking around the, in the woods and the trees and, and we would, people would come in and cut them and, and so but you just have these, you know, open area then. And I would say, dad, what, what do we do now? And so, you know, we started I think with some management type things then of planting and just being a little smarter about the way that we thought about the, the long term of it. So.
• 4:12
  Speaker A: Yeah, that's really interesting. So my friend, that's Brian Furnish is his name, that's in Kentucky. Do you know Brian?
• 4:22
  Speaker B: I do, yeah.
• 4:22
  Speaker A: I kind of wondered about.
• 4:23
  Speaker B: I know the Furnish family.
• 4:24
  Speaker A: Yes, I do. Well, he and I got to be friends over the disastrous hemp crop.
• 4:33
  Speaker B: Okay.
• 4:34
  Speaker A: And so. Which has been another whole nother thing this year in the recent two weeks. So, so anyway, but he's of course, you know, just very influential health helping with that tobacco buyout program. And we'll have to have a conversation about that someday so people can understand about. Because we have a similar, that, that, that type of program, that quota type of program we had in peanuts. And so that was, that thing kind of was dismantled when we were growing peanuts in this area. So it's an interesting thing.
• 5:09
  Speaker B: I think that, I think that what happened to tobacco set the, set the groundwork for a lot of other agricultural commodities and, and what eventually might come of them.
• 5:21
  Speaker A: Yeah, well, but you know, honestly, when I think about the quota program and we might probably not go into this too detail because people will have no clue we're talking about. But basically it's a way of, of preventing, I guess the simple terms preventing overproduction. And I could see how in there are the. When commodity crops are growing, when you're trying to get and develop a new crop and ensure that you have a stable market for farmers. It's actually not a bad idea. But I know that, you know, there's good and bad to both of them.
• 5:59
  Speaker B: Right, Absolutely.
• 6:01
  Speaker A: But okay, so now here you are from beautiful Kentucky to beautiful sunsets, beautiful sunrise, Lubbock.
• 6:11
  Speaker B: Love the sunsets here. Yeah. So faculty member at Texas Tech University in the department of Agricultural Education and Communications.
• 6:21
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 6:21
  Speaker B: And that's in the, the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Yeah. So teach courses on for undergrads and graduate students in the leadership discipline. Most of them want to go into some sort of agriculture, some of them want to go policy, some of them want to go to law school. We have a lot of our students who want to go and work in sales or they want to manage their family operation better. We, we have some students who've gone human resources with our degree. And so for me it's all about helping set the tone that leadership can be accessible to anyone and that it's not controlled and guarded, which is kind of a common misconception about leadership. But the students who are in our program are strong. They have some big ideas and I love the big ideas.
• 7:24
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 7:25
  Speaker B: And that's what keeps us going. But and then on top of that, getting to do some research in rural places kind of, I feel like giving back to the place that formed me, getting to give back there. But civic leadership is my other kind of research focus. How we get involved in the community, how we make change and impact in the community as well.
• 7:54
  Speaker A: I think that's, that is something that's really interesting to me as well. Just the understanding and culture and how can you make good change happen, you know, and we live in a great place, but every place can bring needs, change. Every place has need for growth and change. And so I think it's interesting that you mentioned so many different jobs because I think there's an assumption that in agriculture, you know, you're going to sell chemicals or you're going to tell people if they have bugs or you're going to farm.
• 8:33
  Speaker B: And we absolutely need those people. But there's also, we always say we're the social sciences of agriculture. We are the support system for those who are doing maybe the more agrarian based research in animal science or plant and soil science or forestry or natural resources, what have you. But no matter who owns the animal or who owns the plant, that's a person owns that. And so that's where the social sciences come in. We're the people side of the ag industry. And I just think it's important that, that you understand, you know, how people make decisions, how people, what influences them to, to choose your product over, over another, especially with, with seeds and things like that, when you have that option. But I don't know, I think that, that, that is, we're often asked why would I major in that? And why would you not? I think that's my, that's my kind of initial response. I've always been a social scientist. I appreciate math, but I'm not that great at it. And so I think for me, this has been a way for myself to give back to the side of agriculture that I've always enjoyed and that I know that there's a workforce for. And, you know, in our department, I was an undergrad in agricultural communications. It doesn't mean I'm talking to. To cows. That's not what that is. And that's the common misconception about it. But I can talk about cows all day.
• 10:23
  Speaker A: Yeah. And.
• 10:25
  Speaker B: And I can talk to you about. About the science. And it's that science connection that I think is the most important in terms of being a. Being someone who can leverage understanding and connection points between your average citizen, your everyday consumer.
• 10:50
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 10:50
  Speaker B: And people who are doing the science and who are doing that side.
• 10:54
  Speaker A: You're bridging. You're kind of trying to work and be that bridge between the consumer and the farmer.
• 11:01
  Speaker B: Yeah. You're the connector and you're helping build.
• 11:05
  Speaker A: Those bridges, and we sure do need that. I wish you're doing in that Even Lubbock. I mean, I've noticed just how disconnected we get more and more all the time from the system that's just around us, you know, and I know you and I talked about this a little bit when we met about we need to have a. We need to have a farm tour. I mean, why does Lubbock not have a farm tour? You know, there's so many people in this community that I think would be interested to know, I mean, how much of the clothes that you wear, the cotton in them, is coming from here and how important it is to source when you're choosing your clothes, to choose natural fibers and what it does for our local economy. But also, like the smaller crops that are being grown around here, like, man, we have some really great watermelons and wonderful pumpkins coming off right now. And, you know, so there's some real great diversity of crops and opportunities for people to. To know about. People may not know that all of Best Maids Pickles are grown right outside of Plainview.
• 12:05
  Speaker B: And I love those pickles. So, yeah, that's, you know, and. But it's. It's one of those things that I think that consumers, they do. They want to know more. They want to know where their food comes from. I think we often tell ourselves a story that consumers don't care. They do care. I think often they don't know where to access that information.
• 12:27
  Speaker A: Right.
• 12:27
  Speaker B: And so we have to be willing to share our story a little bit more in order to. To show them you know what, here's where this product comes from. And even how can they educate themselves to either, you know, become a consumer of it, to buy it, or, or to look for a different alternative? And so, yeah, it's just about empowering others to be able to make their decisions.
• 12:53
  Speaker A: Yeah. And I think on the ag side sometimes, you know, we get, we, we hear people say things that aren't true, aren't accurate, you know, and about agriculture and, and then, you know, it, then that builds another, you know, brick in this wall between us. When I think that's, that's our customer, you know, and so if you think of ag as a business, you have to think that what does my customer want? You know, what, what can I do to reach my customer? And, and make sure that we're as much as possible correcting any of that, you know, false information that's going on.
• 13:28
  Speaker B: I mean, misinformation is, we hear it every day.
• 13:31
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 13:32
  Speaker B: And it's in our social media. It in. Can maybe in the form of news that you're, that you're consuming. And so I think it's important to understand how to, to pick that out. We talk about that in my classes. How to, how to look for good information, how know when to challenge the information that is getting important. And, but it's, that's a hard lesson, I think, because I think we're, you know, I can think. Growing up, I was always, you know, the news is the news and now the news isn't the news.
• 14:07
  Speaker A: The news is commentary.
• 14:08
  Speaker B: Yeah. It can be commentary and it may not be the most factual presentation as it comes out. And so I think that often you just have to learn how to, how to be a consumer of news, but how to, how to pick the. What's trust, what you can trust and what you can't. And trust. As a leadership professor, trust is important. And you have to be able to trust others to know that they have your best interest in mind. But when that trust is cut, then that, that can be detrimental to any relationship.
• 14:47
  Speaker A: Yeah. You know, one thing I think this makes me think of is the confirmation bias and how often like we decide what we feel comfortable with a certain belief system and then, then we listen to things that confirm that what we're believing is true. Because when you get something from the opposite side, it's, it feels uncomfortable. And then you don't know. You did your belief system, maybe everybody on that side, anything that's coming is wrong, you know, and I think it's really, definitely has been a tool that's been utilized in our society for bad. And. And a lot of us are. You know, I mean, I'm. I still find myself making, like when I'm going through Facebook and all those things, recognizing that it's wanting to push me in a direction and that I have to control because. Or it will be controlling.
• 15:48
  Speaker B: Absolutely. You have to put those guardrails up for yourself. You know, one of the things that we talk about conflict in my leadership classes, and conflict doesn't mean that, you know, you're. Everywhere you look, people are in fistfights and things like that. We could get there, but. But I don't think that's the best, best case scenario for people. So, you know, how do we deal with conflict? And I think conflicting messages are one way that we kind of have to. We have to understand that conflict happens, but we can deal with it. And I think, you know, overall, when we look at conflict and. And I use this in my classes, I'm like, okay, you're. You're a beef farmer. You're a cattle farmer. You have someone who says, I won't eat your product because I'm. I'm vegetarian. I said, how does that make you feel? And they're like, well, they're the opposite of me, you know, and they don't understand agriculture. They don't understand. And I'm like, well, let me pause you. There aren't vegetables the other side of the ag industry. And it. And a lot of students have never stopped.
• 17:03
  Speaker A: No, I never made that connection.
• 17:06
  Speaker B: So when we talk about that, they're like, wow, we just have different priorities. And I think often when we look at misinformation and we look at these things, you have different priorities. And that's why you identify one side of the story, and I may identify with the other. And so we have to be willing to meet in the middle and to be able to have those conversations because, you know, out of civility, out of discourse can come civility, but it takes some work. And I think that's the scary part is the work.
• 17:40
  Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And work. It's. You know, we're so. Everything is coming at us so fast that it's hard to know, you know, which thing to engage in, which thing not to engage in. But I think we're never gonna change anybody's mind on Facebook or social media.
• 17:55
  Speaker B: You're not just.
• 17:56
  Speaker A: You can present some good information and then. But conversations are the most important, and relationship is the way to make this. But that means you have to be in relationship with people that might not totally agree with you, you know, and sometimes it's hard to find, especially in rural areas. It. Sometimes it feels like everybody's, you know, on the same. We're just all like trains, all going in the same direction, you know, and so because of that, we're all. It's easy to stay in relationship with those kind of people because you're all kind of in the same area. You see each other.
• 18:34
  Speaker B: Yeah. And I think what we're finding. And this is. I can kind of segue into some of our work that we're doing with. We have a project called We Love West Texas.
• 18:44
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 18:45
  Speaker B: And that project, we're in 41 counties across the Panhandle and South Plains. And we've been going into those communities and we've been asking questions about what are. What are the strengths? We don't talk about real strengths. We talk about real challenges all the time.
• 19:03
  Speaker A: All the time.
• 19:04
  Speaker B: And so we're really trying to position this research to look at what are the good things.
• 19:10
  Speaker A: I love that in these communities. Yes.
• 19:13
  Speaker B: We need to know the challenges, too. We're still asking that.
• 19:16
  Speaker A: But, you know, I have a friend who says, for every weakness, there's a coordinating strength, and you impact one, you impact the other. And so I always think about that, about how. What is. What are the good strengths that we can really push into.
• 19:28
  Speaker B: Yeah. And so when we think about those strengths, you know, we also. We. We want to know more. This. All this whole research study and kind of research project came out of having discussions about mental health in rural areas and how as a result of COVID there was a larger awareness about mental health. And unfortunately, in the ag, natural resources industry, we have such a high rate of. Of suicide and of mental health that has never presented itself before in. In the ways that it is now. And there's some great resources out there.
• 20:09
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 20:09
  Speaker B: But we started asking questions about where is this. How can we find out more about mental health access, mental health in general in rural areas? And so it led to this. Larger questions and larger questions and larger questions. And so where we are now is we're looking at the strengths, we're looking at the challenges, but we're also looking at access to health care, the economy, education. We've got a study that we're doing just to find out the state of agriculture in this part of the world.
• 20:48
  Speaker A: I'm like, this makes me so happy.
• 20:50
  Speaker B: And so it's been interesting. It's slow to get people to take surveys. The one that I'm really interested in is about community kind of vitality and leadership. And so how do we impact and foster and create opportunities to build leaders in rural areas, particularly if they're new to the area? Some of the, you know, we're still collecting data on this, but, but I can tell you that the, the biggest thing that we're finding is also, you'll hear in a minute why, why it's interesting, but cost of living is the number one thing going for it for rural areas here in West Texas. And so when we ask the strength that is right now, the number one response is cost of living. Do you know what the largest challenge is?
• 21:54
  Speaker A: Finding a job.
• 21:56
  Speaker B: So, so workforce, Workforce is there. Cost of living is also the biggest challenge. And it's almost a 50, 50 split over how people are answering this. So it's really interesting. And so we expected to get all of these answers from this. And as we ran some prelim data, we were up at, it's called the Rural Renewal Symposium that Oklahoma State University actually does. And so we were up sharing some of this data and we ran some prelim and we were so excited. Cost of living, great. Wait. Cost of living is also the biggest challenge. And what does that mean? I just, I think that it means that even though you said earlier it feels like we're on the same train in rural areas, that actually our trains are going different directions, that we have some who can easily get on the train and we have some who haven't even made it to the platform.
• 22:54
  Speaker A: Okay, so this reminds me of a story I was, I was visiting, you know, well, I was driving through a rural community and here in, in our region, and I was in a McDonald's and there was a young man working in there. And I thought, I, like this guy should be managed in this place. Like, he was hustling. And I said something to him like, you know, it's really impressive the way you're working. And he said, well, you know, I, I have this job and then I'm trying to find another job because I can't, I can't get enough hours. And he said, I can't even, like we're having to live with my parents because I can't even make enough money. And, and it, you're not going to find anything cheaper to rent in Lubbock, that's for sure. You know what I mean? And so that reminds me of that, that it's true. It's like, it's, it's cheap there to live, but it's also your. You're getting paid still not Enough.
• 23:57
  Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And so, you know, we have to think and really consider how that factors into other problems and challenges. You know, access to health care is obviously, you know, for family medicine that could be localized, not in every community, but in most that we're finding. But when you get into specialty care, even veterinarian care for, for people, they're driving 45 minutes plus to get to that care. And so it just means that we have some challenges and we have some things that we need to think about and I think some hurdles to get over in terms of misinformation. Here we go again with that. But, you know, telehealth can be wonderful for some individuals, but I think that, that the newness of that can be scary for people who have. Who are used to going to traditional doctors offices and things like that. And so, you know, I think that what we're finding, though, is that there are challenges, but that people want to. They want to figure out, how do we. How do we fix some of this? How do we change. Change some of this? And again, that gets back into empowering people who haven't been in power before, who, who maybe have never taken on formal leadership positions. But what does that look like? You know, one of the things we find is that people who, when you ask who makes the decisions in rural areas, the response we're getting right now is that the same people have made those decisions for decades, and there's not a lot of opportunity for, yes. New voices to come in. And so, you know, that's. That's one of the things I'm really focused on, is those new voices, because those could be the things that could really make an impact. And when I look at you said Plainview earlier, and I feel like Plainview, Main street, if you've not been in business, it's awesome. It's amazing. And so they've really put a lot of time and effort into the work that's being done there. And so it's really interesting to. When you empower others in the community and give them the voice, what, what the outcome can be.
• 26:28
  Speaker A: Yeah. And, you know, I, I think a lot about, you know, my background, which has been. We've discussed on different podcasts and stuff that I grew up in a. A very, you know, patriarchal cult, basically. But my, you know, wasn't encouraged to do anything outside of what would be a traditional role for a girl or a woman. No, you know, pursuing of education or anything like that. And I think about the. The people in my life that have made way for Me, you know, that gave me a platform, and most of them have been just different men that just saw value in me and how important that is, that the people that do have the voice and are the ones that are making those decisions now, if we can encourage them to look around them and identify, and maybe it's somebody that you wouldn't have ever thought, or it's newcomers to the community. I know in my hometown in Brownfield that the Mennonite families have moved in and their businesses are booming again. And like, you know, there's. They've. They are taking over and. And running businesses that would not be there, you know, and there's. There's houses being built and people being in the community, and, you know, it's just unexpected. But it's a good thing, you know, to have people coming in the community and buying up and paying more property taxes and, you know, bringing. Bringing money into the community is a good thing.
• 28:13
  Speaker B: Right. And. And we can look at that as new culture, right?
• 28:19
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 28:19
  Speaker B: When we. When we celebrate culture in a community, it doesn't mean that we're celebrating one culture, we're celebrating all. And we're able to. To let them feel comfortable enough to. You know, a lot of people talk about, well, I don't feel comfortable in my community. And you start questioning, well, why? And chances are they don't feel like they can celebrate their own culture. And so we find this a lot, especially here in our part of Texas. We have. Some of these Communities are over 50% Hispanic. But when you look across city leadership and community leadership, they're not represented in that. And so I think that there are. There's some great, I think, programs kind of out there right now that are looking to empower people who have never ran for political office, who've never joined a festival committee, just to showcase and to get involved in those small ways. Leadership in these communities doesn't mean that you have to be the mayor.
• 29:33
  Speaker A: Right.
• 29:34
  Speaker B: You can have a voice and do that in ways that maybe aren't. Maybe that. That feels really challenging to you to think about that.
• 29:44
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 29:45
  Speaker B: But there are small things that you can do to. To get involved and to make sure that your voice and others are heard.
• 29:50
  Speaker A: Right.
• 29:50
  Speaker B: And I think that just trying to get that, especially in rural areas, just trying to make sure that everyone feels like they're a part of that community is so important. And the communities that do that, well, I think that's. Those are the ones that you see thrive.
• 30:07
  Speaker A: That is really interesting. I think that a lot of times people don't I mean, I've lived in Lubbock now 13 years, I think, and I'm just now understanding that there are. City of Lubbock has committees that I can volunteer for. I did not know this, you know, until like the last year or two, you know, so. And I'm sure it's not because they haven't said, it's just because I for some reason have never heard, you know. And so I think about that, about other people who don't maybe know that hey, you know, the festival that the city has every year or your town has, there's probably organizing committees that you could serve on.
• 30:47
  Speaker B: And I could almost guarantee that they would love to have someone.
• 30:50
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 30:51
  Speaker B: Else jump in and.
• 30:52
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 30:52
  Speaker B: And to help plan that. And I think this is a good opportunity for younger generations. You know, if we look most in rural communities, who's, who's making the, the decisions about festivals and things like that. And I know growing up it was people, older generations who were making those decisions. And it never felt accessible or never felt. I didn't know anyone under the age of 35 who was involved in any way in my hometown. And now I can tell you that the people, like, it's still, some things are still that way. But there's a group of young women in my town that some of them I went to high school with and younger, that they've started a once a month community festival where every month has a theme. It brings business into the downtown district, it gets people going out to eat again on Friday and Saturday nights. And it's just become this expected thing that's happening. And that also means that new businesses have opened and it's really been an economic driver in my hometown of Tompkinsville, Kentucky to, to show that I don't have to wait. I can, I. I can take action now and how, where I want to live and what I want to do.
• 32:26
  Speaker A: So I think a good example of this in my hometown is farmhouse.
• 32:33
  Speaker B: Absolutely.
• 32:34
  Speaker A: Tracy Ferguson, Katie Jane Seaton have, have not only. I mean they, I love how they, you know, they highlight, they showcase, they celebrate the people that they work with and the value that they bring. And then they had the foresight to think, what else can we do? You know, what, what's here around us, how can we take advantage of it? You know, and then the will to push some of those things forward that it takes. Because sometimes it does take. You know, it is hard to make changes sometimes in places where there seems like there's a guard around the way things have been you know, but I do think we are at. We are at a crossroads, you know, where my parents, generation, they're retiring. They are, you know, stepping back from things. So that means that my generation, it's time for us to step up and do those things, you know, and so there is, I think, some opportunities that's going to. They're going to be empty spots that might not be filled if. If we don't find a way to make sure everyone knows that there's room at the table for everybody.
• 33:54
  Speaker B: Yeah. And. Well, you know, I've since moved into Texas. I've learned a lot about Texas, obviously, but I've heard about communities that no one did step up and that have really just, you know, diminished down to maybe a gas station or. And that's it. And that's all that's left in that community. And even that can be hanging on by a thread. And so I think that what I. What I tell my students is that you don't have to. You don't have to go in and change everything. But it can be if you decide to go back to your hometown, and that's a whole other episode. But if you decide to go back to your hometown, there are ways to get involved and you can impact the community and make it the place that you want to live. But it takes. It takes some work, and it takes finding your voice and being empowered to. To take on some of those bigger challenges that they're not just. You know, if we look at urban areas and rural areas, they have a lot in common. Most people wouldn't tell you that they have a different viewpoint on a lot of issues and things. But what's going on in urban areas is going on in rural areas as well. And so we just have to think about how we contextually, how we think about coming up with the solutions for those challenges.
• 35:27
  Speaker A: That's amazing. So I'll. Anett, go back to something that you mentioned about surveys. And it is difficult. And I now, I have tried in the, like, after. After trying to get folks to do surveys. I am now more conscious about, like, when I get a survey or if I see somebody on Facebook that's like, would you please help me with this survey? Like, because I do know how important it is. And what are you doing to help encourage people? I mean, what avenues are you going through? Who are. How are you getting that, those surveys into the hands of those people?
• 36:04
  Speaker B: Great question. One thing that we've tried to do is to. Like I said, we've gone into these communities and we've given people the opportunity.
• 36:14
  Speaker A: So you take your students.
• 36:16
  Speaker B: I have had students that had that go. Right now we're actually in a reforming period of, of getting some new students to go. But we have had undergrad students who, and graduate students who are interested in rural communities who want to go and they've been across majors, but they've gone with us to different festivals. Most recently we were set up at Pumpkin Days in Florida. We were up in Canadian and doing some things there. And so, so we're trying to really to get out. And I think for me, I think that that's been a way to show we're interested. We're not just sending this to you in an email. We're not putting an ad in your newspaper that says scan this QR code. But QR codes have been actually something that people have requested from us, so they are useful. But I think that we've tried not to do email campaigns. We've tried not to do those things because I think that you can become pretty numb to those. And so I was just in a meeting a few weeks ago with other social scientists at the university and we were talking about survey response rates and they're so down right now. And I think we need to do some work about how to, how do we get people engaged and be curious enough to help with research that's going on like that. But also what can we do to make surveys? You know, survey fatigue is a thing and.
• 37:57
  Speaker A: Right.
• 37:58
  Speaker B: And my survey probably is a little long, but there's a lot of questions that we have. And so we've been, we've been, when we go to these communities, we take T shirts and hats and things like that just to say thank you you. But those have been a huge hit. And so, but when we think about, I think survey approaches, you know, getting the information and getting that data is so important. One of the things we're doing with our project just to kind of get local leaders to back our survey as well. You know, we're going to share county specific data with, with people because, you know, they need that data for grants and for other projects that they're doing. And so we want to, we want to, you know, help out as much as we can.
• 38:50
  Speaker A: Well, to help people understand that it's helping their community. Do you think that part of what is happening is, is the fear around data? Even if it's like there just seems like a sense of everything, that everything that you even think is an open book to your phone, you know, and so is there, do you Think there's some fear around. If I fill this out, then it's going to get connected to something that I, you know, and I, because I see, excuse me, I see some of that with, you know, the data that we're asking for and you know, like, hey, it's going to be. So nobody's going to point to you directly. But assuring people that it's safe to do and especially, you know, maybe older people who do hear things on the news and don't know which, what's true and what's not true, you know, that kind of stuff, it's impacts.
• 39:48
  Speaker B: Well for us. We, we, you know, it's, we don't identify the data. It's actually better if I, there's no.
• 39:56
  Speaker A: Name attached to it.
• 39:57
  Speaker B: No name attached to it. It's better if I don't know who said it because there's all of these protections that we have in place from the university, the university is not even going to let me do that research if they know that I can go back and pinpoint it to one person. And so in cases like that, I understand the hesitation, but I also think that as a researcher I can do a better job of opening up and being more transparent to let people know, hey, this is, this is what we're doing this for. We can't trace it back to you. But that's been, that's a question that we get.
• 40:38
  Speaker A: So one, one idea I've wondered about is with AI and everything now and you know, speech to text and all that stuff is I wondered if, is there, if there's a way to do a survey like where you're saying, where it's a long survey where someone can convey something without having to type it out or to write it out. They can just, you know, hey, here's a survey, you can either type it or you can record it.
• 41:04
  Speaker B: So I do know some, some researchers that have, have done the video response route and I think for them that's a, they're just wanting kind of some deeper.
• 41:18
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 41:19
  Speaker B: Conversation based responses. But you know, I think, I think it depends on your project. What, what works for you? For us, like I said, we just want, we just want the voices and your voice can be through the survey and we take our own laptops with us and so you don't have to use your phone or anything like that.
• 41:42
  Speaker A: So you really are completely an automatic.
• 41:46
  Speaker B: And so we just want to know the county you live in. And other than that.
• 41:51
  Speaker A: Yeah, and it really truly, I mean working doing grants and stuff, I can See exactly how this, the things that you're asking for are super impactful to the future. What, what could come into, into someone's community. And so almost like, think of it as like a civic service that you're doing without even, you know, having to really do much.
• 42:12
  Speaker B: Absolutely. I mean, you know, we tell people, we tell people to vote and, and being someone who studies civic leadership, like I said, voting is important, but that's not the only way to be engaged. Doing surveys is important, showing up at events is important. And just getting out there to, to see what are the things going on in my community. I think that, that the. One of the biggest things, you know, a lot of my students say, well, I don't, I don't want to go to that because I don't know anyone or I don't, I don't know. People might look at me weird for going to that. And I'm like, that's. I tell them that's part of the college experience, but I think that I'll go deeper than that. That's part of the community experience. If you're going to live there, be engaged, know what's up, know what's going on, try to go to when a new business opens, go and support them. You never know it's new. You don't know what they have. And so what they. And so I think that in rural towns we do see people show up for people like that and you know, just using that mentality of supporting local. And I think that, that, that can go a long way.
• 43:38
  Speaker A: So do you see a lot of difference in the generations? In what each generation, how involved does it change generation to generation?
• 43:50
  Speaker B: Yes, the students I've got right now in college, some of them, they, you know, when I think about when they were born, these are post 911 students that I have right now. And so I made reference to 911 one day in class and students were like, I've seen pictures and I've seen videos, but I don't know what you're talking about. And so like, wake up call. For me, that's been, that's been like, I've had to shift and the examples that I give and some things there. And so what I find is that students right now, they want to make an impact, but they have no idea how. And so a lot of it's just teaching them and empowering them how you can make the impact. I always encourage them to assess, not assume the situation. Don't assume that you know what's going on. When we do projects Here in Lubbock, I'll say, you know, identify a non profit and work with them and don't assume that you know what's going on when you walk in the door. You need to do some assessment.
• 45:03
  Speaker A: So do you think that is something that like my generation has failed to do? Like to see, like are we not setting, had we not set an example of the type of involvement that my grandparents, I mean that's who, that's the generation that I saw that was so involved in things, you know, I mean, my goodness, my. And I guess in every generation there's different people that do different things, you know what I mean? But it seems like that generation was very active in community events. And then part of it has to do with the cultural shift as moms were able to go to work and then families became busier and so there's just not the time, you know, to commit to those kind of things.
• 45:48
  Speaker B: Yeah. And I think that older generations, you know, and those older generations are still the ones that hold those leadership positions and go to those organizations, those civic organizations and keep those going. But when you look at really Those younger than 55, there's, there's a 35 to 55 window that we find people are just not involved because it was not, it was never expected of them. And so when people in that 35 to 55 age bracket want to get involved, that's, it's a little bit, it's self motivated is where that comes from. They want to make an impact, they want to make a change, but they often don't know how to do that either because they maybe it wasn't expected of them or it wasn't, it wasn't, they didn't see it. And so when we don't have examples of that in our life, we can sometimes not know how to move forward with things.
• 46:53
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 46:56
  Speaker B: 20 to 35 right now I'm seeing that there's a lot of I want to make an impact, I want to do things and I'm just going to go try and. Which I love. It's kind of an entrepreneurial spirit of around leadership and social constructs. And so I think that it's really important to encourage people to do that. And then age 20 and I mean I'm going to say 10 to 20. One of the things I get to work with high school students sometimes and it's a fear of being rejected, their ideas being rejected. That's what keeps that age group. So every age group has limitations. But I think that when we, when we put all of those generations together, what a great, what a great opportunity to, for some, for some knowledge and some energy and impact and all the things to be really on showcase.
• 47:59
  Speaker A: And that's, I think that's the thing that's the neat thing about community based projects is that you do have that multi generational aspect that can really be beneficial. And for you know, parents that have young kids to be able to see and let them interact when maybe their grandparents, they are not living in the same community, but they can actually interact with older generations.
• 48:21
  Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. I mean it's about the exposure for everyone, not just for younger, on, on older generations, but for older generations to take a step back and let younger generations step into those leadership roles and grow and develop but learn more about, about them.
• 48:41
  Speaker A: Yeah, well, you know, I think it's hard too to like, you know, back to the whole issue of time. I mean that things have changed so much. Like in rural communities, you know, your. It was always church and school were the two, you know. And I think less people are involved in church because there's more and more things on the school side, more opportunities and things for kids to participate in. And churches, church is more, I think at one time it was more integrated into the life of the school than it is now, you know. And so it was just kind of all together, you know. And so I do wonder sometime if that, that's part of the struggle too is like there's, there's so many things I have to prioritize what thing we're gonna do, you know, and then if, if everybody's, you know, if you have two kids and they're all in four different things, that's eight things. You know, it's just, it is difficult. Our culture has changed a lot.
• 49:39
  Speaker B: Yeah, I mean I grew up in 4H, very involved in 4H. Growing up and I think that's nationwide is a big kind of rural organization that students can be in, but also played sports. Anna took piano and gave up piano for my very lucrative baseball career that ended mid high school. And so when I think about those things though, yeah, you do have families have to prioritize what's important to them. And I feel like now sports, the way that we do sports in rural areas is a lot of traveling teams. And so they're on the road not, not weeks, months on weekends and things like that. And so that takes an impact on, on these rural communities and getting youth involved in some of these, the opportunities that they might have for them.
• 50:36
  Speaker A: That's true. And thought about that wow. Okay. We're gonna. We're gonna have to do this again.
• 50:41
  Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
• 50:42
  Speaker A: Because I do want to talk about kids wanting to go home, people wanting to go home and move back home. I'd like to talk about that and. And other stuff.
• 50:52
  Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Sounds good.
• 50:54
  Speaker A: I think we're just starting.
• 50:55
  Speaker B: Sounds like a plan.
• 50:56
  Speaker A: Well, thanks, friends. I hope you've enjoyed this, and we look forward to Jason coming back. And I'm, you know, when we put this up, we'll put always. We put the notes about where people can contact you, and we can put a link to the survey, if you have that and that kind of stuff. But I think it, you know, if you have comments, especially if you're watching on YouTube or wherever you're watching, we'd love to engage. If you've got some questions for Jason, too, that you want. Want answered, or how can you know when they're coming to your community or have you come to their community? Because sounds like 41 counties is a lot of counties.
• 51:28
  Speaker B: It is. And if you've got an event going on, we would love to be there.
• 51:32
  Speaker A: Awesome.
• 51:32
  Speaker B: We don't often know about those, though.
• 51:34
  Speaker A: Yeah, that'd be great. Yeah. You know, I think, too, about places, you know, as you're talking, I think, oh, my gosh, good places to go right now would be cotton gins, you know, where people are coming in and, you know, leaving those. Those surveys out or being there just to visit with people. I mean, there's some good places in those communities to get to catch folks. So if you have any ideas, put them in the comments.
• 51:55
  Speaker B: That's right.
• 51:56
  Speaker A: As. As usual, thanks for joining us, and we look forward to the next episode with you. Conservation Stories Sat.