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Blueberry producers in many southeastern states are increasing production at a rapid rate. This has been driven by increasing consumer demand for blueberries due to their anti-oxidant, anti-aging properties and superior nutritional quality. <P>Our Community of Interest (CoI) is broadly defined as producers (commercial and backyard), distributors, and consumers of blueberries (youth and adult). Extension support is needed to guide growers in methods to maximize productivity and decrease production costs. There is also a need to connect blueberry producers with local markets. <P>The long-term goal of our project is to develop an eXtension Community of Practice called "All about Blueberries". This CoP will use novel, diverse educational methods to help our CoI increase blueberry production efficiency and correspondingly increase consumption of blueberries in the southeastern United States. <P>Over time this CoP will be expanded to include grower support materials for blueberry growers throughout the U.S. Consumer needs do not vary regionally, so consumer content will be applicable nationwide. <P>Our outreach plan includes advertising our CoP in CoI venues including: grower meetings (both local county/regional meetings, and large conventions); local farmers' markets; parish/county extension offices; posting our CoP on blueberry industry/grower association webpages; webinar sessions about programs; and other online video and chat-room enabled opportunities. <P>We will develop a complementary Facebook page and Twitter account to help draw individuals into the CoP. <P>The Blueberry COP will develop marketing and educational materials (an educational exhibit banner, information push cards, fact sheets, magnets, bags and advertising in trade magazines) to promote and inform clientele about the Blueberry CoP at eXtension. Blueberry producers will benefit from improved production efficiency and marketing of their product. <P>Consumers will benefit from being able to locate local markets to purchase blueberries, gather and exchange information at the CoP webpage and complementary Facebook page. Society will benefit by engaging youth in educational programs (4-H, young master gardeners).<P> The environment will benefit in two primary ways: 1) decreased fuel consumption in the process of marketing and consuming blueberries by linking consumers with local producers, and increasing local consumption of blueberries; and 2) improved accuracy of pest identification and thereby decreased improper application of pesticides at the home and farm. <P>Stakeholder Engagement. In the process of developing this proposal, we communicated with blueberry growers, Master Gardener Coordinators, and farmers' market coordinators for their guidance. An advisory committee has been established that will include blueberry producers, farmers' market representatives, county agents, Extension specialists, Scientists (USDA & University), and Master Gardeners.
Non-Technical Summary: Blueberry producers in many southeastern states are increasing production at a rapid rate. This has been driven by increasing consumer demand for blueberries due to their anti-oxidant, anti-aging properties and superior nutritional quality. Our Community of Interest (CoI) is broadly defined as producers (commercial and backyard), distributors, and consumers of blueberries (youth and adult). Extension support is needed to guide growers in methods to maximize productivity and decrease production costs. There is also a need to connect blueberry producers with local markets. The long-term goal of our project is to develop an eXtension Community of Practice called ?All about Blueberries?. This CoP will use novel, diverse educational methods to help our CoI increase blueberry production efficiency and correspondingly increase consumption of blueberries in the southeastern United States. Over time this CoP will be expanded to include grower support materials for blueberry growers throughout the U.S. Consumer needs do not vary regionally, so consumer content will be applicable nationwide. <P> Approach: Our CoP "All about Blueberries" will be developed by a team of Experts with knowledge of blueberry production and management, horticulture, pest management, disease management, human nutrition, economics, marketing, extension program evaluation, computer design, communications, and graphic design. As a team we will develop novel educational content including YouTube-type video content, audio and video podcasts, interactive maps, Moodle courses, online interactive diagrams, in addition to traditional text and photo webpages. These materials will be developed to increase the knowledge level of our CoI. Our CoI is broadly defined as producers (commercial and backyard), distributors, and consumers of blueberries (youth and adult). In addition to our CoP eXtension webpage, we will develop a complementary Facebook page and Twitter account. These social networking tools will allow us to engage our CoI in a discussion about blueberry production and consumption. Through Facebook, our CoI will be able to post unique content. This will create an interactive relationship between the CoP Experts and the CoI and also between different members of our CoI. We will develop material in four topic areas that will be the focus of the Community of Practice "All about Blueberries". 1) The Blueberry - information about varieties, growing zones, plant anatomy and pollination. 2) Growers - guidance for both backyard and commercial, conventional and organic producers. 3) Consumers - nutritional benefits, where to buy locally, and how to prepare blueberries. 4) 4-H/youth - interactive/educational materials about blueberries that will be attractive to youth and could be utilized in 4-H &/or young master gardener programs. Community of Practice - Leadership Plan . The overall project leader is PD Hummel. A leader has been assigned to each topic area. Within each of the four topic areas, a sub-committee (Topic contributors) has been developed that will assist the topic leader in developing material. The topic leaders will communicate with the project leader (PD Hummel) who will direct and supervise the work of the Project Coordinator. An Extension Associate will be hired as Project Coordinator to direct the development of educational materials and administer both the eXtension CoP and the complementary Facebook page. Support personnel (Graphic Designer, Programmer, Web Content Coordinator, Video Specialist, Broadcast Specialist, and Graphic Design Specialist) will assist the CoP content Experts in the design and development of video and audio content, and specific web-enabled tools (e.g. interactive diagrams and graphics for Moodle courses). In addition to leading the 4-H/Youth topic area, PD Machtmes will also assist in developing evaluation tools for all topic areas within the proposal. Leadership will meet via webconference once a month.