St. Louis, Missouri
May 27, 2009
America's Heartland,
a television program shown on many PBS stations around the
country, is improving the attitudes of the general public toward
the industry that provides feed, food, fiber and fuel. According
to research conducted by Trac Media Services, the program, now
in its fifth season, is having a "definite" impact on its
viewers in its effort to educate them about farming.
The National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA) supports the program.
"The impact is most evident among skeptics of U.S. agriculture,"
said Craig Reed, of Trac Media Services. "We saw the most
dramatic improvement of attitudes among those who disagreed with
statements asking if the agricultural industry provided quality
products; offered healthy products; gave a good buy for the
dollar; grew crops properly; and raised livestock properly."
Specifically, the sponsors and promotional partners of America's
Heartland, including NCGA and the U.S. Grains Council, wanted to
see if the program was improving perceptions of U.S. agriculture
and those who work the land by objectively telling true stories.
Last month, telephone and online surveys were conducted where
participants' perceptions were measured prior to seeing the
television program. They were then sent an America's Heartland
DVD and were re-interviewed.
The percentage of participants rating their favorability toward
agriculture as an eight or higher on a one-to-ten scale went
from 48 percent before watching an episode to 63 percent after
watching the program. In the online test, the favorability
increased from 42 percent to 69 percent. The two surveys
collectively included more than 1,100 participants.
"These improvements in attitudes toward agriculture held up
across all demographic categories," Reed said. The survey
results were released at a recent America's Heartland Advisory
Board meeting.
Click HERE for
more information on the program. |
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