field trip essay
FARM FIELD TRIP
Follow the instructions on the assignment description. This worksheet is provided to trigger ideas about how to conduct your fieldwork.
You will have to interview or communicate with participants to collect the information needed, but be considerate of their time. Many are working. Plan ahead with questions you would like to ask or follow up with later.
Preparation
Spend some time online conducting some secondary research about the event you will be attending. Decide if your experience was true to what you have read. Have you read literature that describes the event you attend and how does your personal experience compare?
Pack notetaking equipment including a camera, but always ask permission to take photographs and quote interviewees in your writing.
Organization
Who is “in charge”?
If this is a community event, what are rules that vendors are required to abide by?
Are there rules for participants? Written, verbal, or even unspoken because they exist within the culture? Explore the reasons why.
PROMPTS FOR EVENTS LIKE A FARMERS’ MARKET OR COUNTY FAIR
Product
How many of the booths are purely farm-related?
How many of the products are purely farm-related? Is the number the same as the
booths? Why or Why not?
(Value-added products…)
How many booths are plant-related?
How many booths are animal-related?
How many booths are not farm-related at all?
If not fresh produce, how many steps have the products been through to bring to market?
Do you see any claims by growers to be “organic?” What do they claim that means?
Is there a difference in price between the organic and non-organic produce?
Marketing
What are farm themes reflected in names of booths
What do banners, logos, or others advertisement communicate about their products?
In booths that offer purely farm-related products, are any handing out brochures?
What is advertised in the brochures?
What are they verbally saying to attract customers?
People
What percentage of the individuals manning the booths are the actual farmer or the
farmer’s immediate family members?
What are the ages of the people manning the booth?
How knowledgeable are they about the produce/products
What are the demographics of the attendees?
Do you perceive any friendships between attendees and booth workers?
How are children (if any) included in the social interaction at the market?
Ambiance
Where is the market held?
Describe the environment.
Is there music? What genre (s)
Visual Rhetoric of booths:
Names of products
PROMPTS FOR WORKING EVENTS LIKE ROUNDUPS OR PLANTING
Equipment
What tools are participants using? Are they specific to a task?
Describe the equipment used. Is it mass produced or handmade?
How often during the year are these tools used?
What power drives the equipment, include animals.
Do you need special clothing to participate?
Knowledge
How much knowledge does one need to actively participate in the work?
Is the knowledge traditional (passed down by word of mouth) or academic (learned from a book)?
How was the knowledge acquired?
Do you hear unique terms used during the work? Ask participant to define the terms for you.
People
What is the demographic of the people participating (young/old, male/female, race, etc…)
Are they related? Describe those relationships
Are they employed by the event organizer? How were they hired? Are they employed by the farmer or rancher full time? If not full time, where else are they employed? Are they contracted to multiple farmers or ranchers?
Did you feel like an outsider or were you included as an insider?
Location
Describe the location in detail. Include a map if necessary
What is the environment like?
If they are working outside, what is the temperature?
If they are moving from place to place (long or short distance), why?
Is the location owned or leased?
Work
Describe in detail the work that is being performed
How often during the year is the work performed?
Is it cyclical in nature - performed a specific time of year?
How has it changed over time?