Poultry researchers need to communicate about bioinformatics and other novel scientific techniques clearly and efficiently to get buy-in from small poultry producers.
“Small poultry farmers wear many hats, so they’re required to be jack-of-all-trades. We need to keep this in mind when communicating with them,” said Michael Rothrock, a research microbiologist at the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-U.S. National Poultry Research Center.
“Researchers need to tailor the information they share so that it is easy-to-understand and easy-to-integrate.”
Rothrock shared tips for getting buy-in on bioinformatics research projects from small poultry producers on July 20 during the 2020 Poultry Science Association Virtual Annual Meeting. Bioinformatics is a new tool that combines computational and statistical approaches in order to analyze biological data.
“There is a disconnect between researchers and small poultry farmers because the perception is that most scientists focus on commercial farms. But, when you start working with them, they are very open and interested in learning more,” he said. “The take home points will be the same between commercial and small poultry producers, but it’s all about how you present the data.”
Elevator pitch
Rothrock recommends that researchers develop an elevator pitch that quickly and succinctly explains what you are studying.
“An elevator pitch is more focused on the results than the science,” he explained. “You want to describe the who, what, why, when and where of your research. What is the data saying? How does the data address their concerns? Why should they care? If they don’t feel a personal stake in what you’re studying, they’re not going to be invested in the research.”
Ultimately, small poultry producers can become valuable partners for researchers.
“Small poultry producers are interested, informed, passionate and educated. They want to have data to support their management decisions. They want to work with researchers to improve the health of their flock, their customers and their land,” Rothrock concluded.
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