What is the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS)?
SAAS was established in 1899 as an annual meeting of the agricultural scientists in the South. SAAS is divided into several special interest groups, based on agricultural disciplines. These range from Ag Education to Animal Science and from Ag Communications to Plant Science. SAAS attendees are welcome to visit other disciplines’ presentations, which helps to promote “cross-pollination” of ideas. For more information on SAAS, please check the SAAS Web site at http://www.saasinc.org.  

What is the Agricultural Communications Section?
The Agricultural Communications section is made up of university instructors and professional (primarily land-grant) agricultural communicators. The group meets to present and hear research focused on issues related to Ag Communications. These topics have ranged from identifying different audiences to media relations training and evaluation to distance education technologies and to information dissemination methods. 

What do I do to submit a paper for possible presentation?
Each year, the Ag Communications Section issues a “call for proposals” for the paper presentations. This usually happens by mid-year. (The annual conference takes place in early to mid-February.) Please check with your agricultural communication department chair if you have not received the call for proposal by then. Also, you may contact the vice president to get a copy of the call for proposals. The VP handles the paper submission process. You can find out who is the Ag Communications Section’s VP by checking here. An example call for proposal can be downloaded here (.pdf file). Again, please check with the VP for information on this year’s call for proposal.

What kind of papers are presented?
Because the Ag Communications Section is made up of academicians and professionals, the papers presented reflect this mix. Professional, “how-to” papers are presented alongside “traditional” agricultural communication research.

Who can submit a paper and/or attend?
Although we’re the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists, the Ag Communications Section has opened the call for papers to everyone, those in and outside the geographic region. We believe this offers everyone the opportunity to see some of the best research and professional agricultural communications presentations.

When and where is the conference?
Usually in early to mid-February at a location that rotates among three Southern geographic regions: West, Central, and East. 

How much is the conference?
Registration for the Ag Communications Section traditionally has been around $65 for professionals/academicians and $25 for graduate students. This covers refreshment breaks and facilities. You usually have to cover your meals. Hotels for the SAAS meetings are usually $100-120 per night.

Can I see the papers that have been presented in past years?
Yes! To see all of the papers presented in recent years, go to this Web site: http://agnews.tamu.edu/saas/. The papers were saved either as Web pages or as .pdf documents.

Comments about this page? Contact Kathleen Phillips