Risk and emergency communications: How to be heard when the message counts most

Abstract

To cope with disasters and emergencies, agricultural producers need specific information addressing livestock care, disease containment, secure storage of volatile chemicals, and other unique concerns. Effective risk and emergency communications result from a time- and resource-intensive process that begins well before emergencies occur. To influence our agricultural clients to engage in risk-mitigation and emergencypreparedness behaviors, Extension agents must build trust with the community, provide information through a variety of channels, and convey an image of professional emergency response competency.