 Step-By-Step Guide
Resources
Step-By-Step Guide
How to write the “Background” section of a Response Plan
The Executive Director of the Lawrence County Farming Agency has asked you to write the Background section of a Response Plan so readers can understand the findings and recommendations in the report.
The step by step will guide you through the process of writing the Background section of a Response Plan and address the questions outlined in the email. There are other sections to the Response Plan but you are not responsible for them in this assignment. You will work on those sections in the next task.
- Prepare to do your work
- Read the email from Colleen Peterson and make sure you understand what you are being asked to do in this task.
- Download the Response Plan template attached to the email. The template is what the Lawrence County Farming Agency uses to document and address an agricultural threat. When such a threat occurs, the template can easily be modified to address that specific threat. For now, just familiarize yourself with the sections of the template.
- Meet with your group and come up with a plan of attack. Now that you’ve read the email and familiarized yourself with the template, decide which elements of this task will be conducted independently and which will be conducted as a team.
- If you have questions about the objectives of the task discuss them with your mentor or a member of your team.
- Gather the information to write the task.
- It may be helpful to review the links on the Resources page to see what information can help you complete the Response Plan.
- As you review the available resources, it may be helpful to take notes. Review the Taking Research Notes Skill Tutorial for advice on effective note taking.
- Download the Note-taking Template located on the Resources page. This will help you capture and organize your notes as you go about your research. The template is structured with three organizational headings: data source, topic/question, and notes from source.
 Tip: As you gather your information, you may notice that plant information tends to be location specific, so what happens to crops in Ohio may vary slightly from what happens to crops in Indiana. The resources provided in this rotation cover a range of geography, so you may see some minor variations in the specific information provided. For example, if one resource mentions powdery mildew grows at 35 degrees Celsius and another states it grows at 30 degrees Celsius, it may help to qualify this information in the Response Plan by stating, “There are reports that powdery mildew grows anywhere in a range of 30-35 degrees Celsius, depending on the location.”
- Write your report. There are several sections to the Response Plan Template. For this task you should focus on:
- Background
- Socio-Economic Impact Analysis
- Management Options
You will respond to other sections of the report in an upcoming task.
Section 1: Background
This section of your report should give your reader an overall picture of the issue. Specifically you should consider the following points.
- Because powdery mildew is a fungus, this section should begin by explaining:
- What a fungus is.
- How a fungus works.
- Describe the powdery mildew affecting the farmer’s wheat. In your response consider question like:
- Does it have a scientific name?
- Does it have a nonscientific name?
- What does it look like?
- How does it appear on the plant? (Consider attributes like color, texture, and shape.)
- How did the Lawrence County Farming Agency learn about the threat?
- Describe the effects and behavior of the fungus. Specifically consider:
- How does it affect the plant?
- How does it spread?
- Both environmental and human factors help spread powdery mildew, be sure to address both. Structure your paper so that each is covered in a separate well-organized paragraph.
Tip: Paragraph organization is very important when you have layers of information. Breaking out information into paragraphs helps with reader comprehension by chunking information into categories. For more information on organizing paragraphs, refer to the Writing section of the General Skills Resources.
- Describe anything unusual about this situation and the supporting science to explain it. Specifically, you’ll need to consider:
- Why is a powdery mildew, which is usually found on peppers, tomatoes, etc., now appearing on wheat?
Section 2: Socio-Economic Impact Analysis
In this section you should address the impact of the threat for the farmers.
- Is the threat localized to this farmer’s field(s) or will it affect the entire community?
- What are the potential financial implications for the farmer, for the community and for the consumer? Think about both short term and long term effects. Look at the information provided in your Resources about the Socio-Economic impact on the supply and demand of a food crop to help you think about the following question.
- How might some of the consumer and industrial markets that rely on wheat production be affected by the threat?
Section 3. Management Options
This section asks you to discuss available options for managing this problem. Keep in mind that you are not being asked to consider whether or not one option is preferable above others in this situation. You’ll be weighing alternatives in a later task. Here you are simply reporting how cases involving powdery mildew are typically handled. You should consider:
- What treatment options exist for Leveillula (powdery mildew commonly found on peppers, tomatoes, etc)?
- What treatment options exist for Blumeria (powdery mildew typically found on wheat)?
- What strategies have farmers used in the past to prevent the spread of powdery mildew?
- What have agencies like the Lawrence County Farming Agency done to support farmers in crisis?
Once you have completed the first three sections of the template you should stop working on the template. You will complete the remaining sections in the next task.
- Review Your Work
- Ensure that your report represents the work of your entire team, but is cohesive and reads as though it has one author.
- Proofread your work. Check your spelling, punctuation and grammar.
- Submit Your Work. Review the checklist found in the Submit Your Work section of this task and submit the assignment to your mentor.
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