The COVID-19 pandemic, while tragic, has created an opportunity for agents to reach new audiences by utilizing new methods of communication. During the pandemic, remote workstations were used by agents and in-person programs were cancelled in order to minimize the spread of the virus. 

Throughout her career, Marshall County Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent, Nikki Bell, has hypothesized the quantity and quality of responses a recorded video program posted on social media could attract. The pandemic gave her the opportunity to prioritize testing her hypothesis.

An average post on the Marshall County Agriculture and Natural Resources facebook page reaches under 50 people and has 3 or less engagements. The first video programming attempt was on the topic of growing potatoes using the "straw method." The video was published on facebook and in two months the video had a 2.4K person reach and 435 engagements. Her second attempt was a video for starting peppers seeds, which had a 1.5K person reach and 121 engagements on facebook in two months. The third video was a Master Gardener Spotlight that was posted on youtube and shared through facebook. This video had 121 views on youtube, a reach of 542 people and had 74 post engagements on facebook in three months.

Overall, the video's outreach was remarkable. The agent plans to continue to make video programs and post them on social media after the pandemic.