Using virtual reality field demonstrations to increase farmer engagement

The Ohio State University Digital Agriculture Team piloted a virtual field demonstration approach during the virtual Farm Science Review (FSR) held in September 2020. The goal was to develop educational content that offered participants an immersive field demonstration experience that imparts information about precision agriculture technologies that practitioners would find useful for decision making. The virtual field demonstrations included tillage, harvest, aerial application and scouting field operations. Twenty-five videos featuring various views and data were created and shared via the FSR virtual platform and the Digital Ag website, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Across all platforms, the virtual reality videos exhibited a 43% increase in viewership and engagement compared to traditional (2D) video types.