Computer Generated Presentation with Script

Anderson, E.*¹, , DeDecker, James², , Wilke, B.³,
¹ Extension Educator, Michigan State University Extension, Centreville, MI, 49032
² Director of the Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center, Michigan State University, Chatham, MI, 49816
³ Farm Manager at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI, 49060

Industrial hemp was legalized at the federal level by the 2018 Farm Bill which was signed in December, 2018.  In Michigan, 2019 was the first year that growers were able to plant this crop in several decades.  As in many other states across the country, interest was high in growing hemp, and questions came flooding into Extension offices.  A group of specialists and educators at Michigan State University worked together to create a bulletin to serve as a primer for new hemp growers.  This bulletin was further developed into a PowerPoint presentation by three members of the work group: Eric Anderson (Michigan, St. Joseph County), James DeDecker (Michigan, Alger County), and Brook Wilke (Michigan, Kalamazoo County).  I created approximately 1/3 of the slides originally, and I then modified the presentation as needed according to time constraints and audience needs.

The presentation was originally created in PowerPoint and delivered orally at over a dozen venues in 2019 to over 1000 people in face-to-face meetings and online in various forms.  I delivered it during a webinar and subsequently recorded, edited, captioned, and archived it on the MSU Extension Hemp Production website so I could direct interested parties to view it to answer basic questions.  I also printed handouts for attendees at field days when computer projection was not available.  The presentation was designed to be a “Hemp 101” presentation that would give curious community members and potential growers much of the information they would need to know to get started as beginning hemp growers. As the sole field-based Extension educator among the original hemp work group, I was the primary point of contact for hemp questions and for requests for a speaker.