I’ve got questions. So do 70 million others.

Posts Tagged ‘Advocacy’

I’ve got questions. So do 70 million others.

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

Generation Y has left quite the mark on our society – haven’t we?

For those of you who just clicked on the link above- yes, I just cited Wikipedia. And yes, I can do that because I am Generation Y. I’m independent. I make my own rules. Sometimes I follow the rules of those that I respect highly. Furthermore, I’m both “high-performance and high-maintenance,” as this USA Today article put it.

If you aren’t one of us, we’re easy to spot. Harry Potter was our Peter Pan. Eminem is our comeback kid and the names Blink-182, Britney Spears and Creed all have a special place in our hearts.

But that’s all in the past now. What does a Gen Yer like me do now that Britney’s back at the gym and Harry Potter has come to an end? I do just what everyone else does. I juggle a career in agriculture, a husband, a house, time at the gym, volunteering, spending time online and whatever else I need to do.

While I don’t spend every second online like some of our youngest Gen Yers, it’s a part of my life I couldn’t live without and it has hugely impacted my “agvocacy”, advocating for agriculture. Aside from agvocacy, it’s my direct link to answering questions, a lip-smacking recipe for dinner and a community of people who care about me. I explore topics that interest me on blogs, Google, Facebook and Twitter. I’m always looking for new ways, like Pinterest or Google+, to organize my overload of information. But to be honest, I don’t have the time to get to know technology or every topic as good as I should.

So what do I do? I rely on an online network of people I’ve built to provide me with trustworthy information. I seek out blogs that I trust, people on Twitter I’ve had meaningful conversations with, and webpages or Facebook pages that give me a glimpse into things I don’t understand.

Most recently, I became involved with a group of Rockin’ Rural Women that are on both Twitter and Facebook. There are about 800 of us nationwide. We come together to celebrate all things are rural- our livelihoods, our dreams, our values. Simply put, you don’t need to be a cowgirl but do you need to love dirt under your fingernails. Last week we had a chat on Facebook and Twitter about holiday stress and how we (as women) de-stress. It’s always a great time. Such good people. Such good prizes.

So what does this mean to you? To me? To agvocacy?

We need to consider taking time to break out of our everyday routines and to be a part of online relationships- not just conversations. The relationships need to be honest, transparent and meaningful, just like offline relationships are.

Twitter is a great place to do this type of online relationship building. While there millions of more people still on MySpace compared to those of us on Twitter, I have found Twitter to be a highly influential and engaged place to build relationships. Pick a TV show, hobby or interest you enjoy and follow the Twitter hashtag. Connect with a few new people every week and grow those relationships. This will allow you to go “beyond the choir” that you engage with daily or weekly and truly reach people outside of agriculture circle you already know well.

Do you blog? Find a new blog or two that shares a common interest or hobby and comment on those blogs. Establish a relationship with the blogger and invite them to read your blog. It’s amazing how these connections can go so deep.

I tend to find, when a non-agriculture person I have built a relationship with online has a question about food or farming, they often will think of me as a resource to go to with their question. It’s just one way my agvocacy impacts the online relationships I have built.

Take it from a Gen Yer, I understand it’s easy to get caught in our own world and our own circles- days are long, time is short, and even the lowest maintenance, “high-maintenance Gen Yer” has too many things to do. But there are 70 million of us Gen Yers out there and we all have questions about everything from fashion to food. Do you want to help answer?

Jodi Oleen is a thirty-something Floridian-turned-Kansan. She is recently married and works for a farmer led organization in The Little Apple. She has a undergraduate degree in Animal Science with an Equine Option and a Master’s degree in Food and Resource Economics, both from University of Florida. Find her on Twitter or Facebook, or check out mycousinisvegan.wordpress.com.

Tags: Advocacy, Agriculture, agvocacy, Facebook, Food, Generation Y, Social Media, Twitter
Posted in Advocacy, Agriculture, Social Media, Technology | 2 Comments »

Popcorn is golden to Chicago kids on a combine

Monday, October 31st, 2011

~guest post by Brian Scott

“I started this site to promote the virtues of modern agriculture and feature the daily operations of our farm. Please read, discuss, and enjoy!” This is the last line of my blog’s About page. As a farmer, I know I have the responsibility to talk about my farm.

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of doing both those things up close and personal with a great group of home school kids who came all the way down from the northern suburbs of Chicago. The kids are participating in the FIRST LEGO League Food Factor Challenge, and they have chosen to study microwave popcorn. The goal is for them to find a problem in the food production chain and find a way to solve that problem. I had not heard of this program until the group brought it to my attention via a comment on this site.

Part of that comment reads: This year’s challenge is called Food Factor, and our team has chosen to study microwave popcorn in the pre-packaged bags. We are just beginning our research and were hoping to learn all we can about popcorn. This is where you come in. Would you consider allowing our team, with adult supervision, to visit your farm?

The question asked most frequently by ag people like me on social media is “How can I reach beyond the choir?” One of our biggest concerns is that we spend too much time talking to people already in the industry and not including the consumer in that dialogue. With that in mind, it’s hard not to jump at the opportunity to bring these young people out so they can see a real farm in operation.

Since the group consisted completely of home schoolers, their schedule was flexible and they were able to come out to the farm on a day when we were actually harvesting popcorn. That is easier said than done because the company we grow for needs the grain delivered at a certain moisture content, leaving a small window of opportunity for a group to come out and see the entire process.

The timing worked out great and the weather could not have been better the day they came out to the farm. The kids arrived just before noon, and to show their appreciation they brought us lunch at the farm. After lunch we started on their project – this wasn’t just a farm tour. We spent quite a bit of time in the office answering questions. These kids were very well prepared and had lots of great questions for us.

Next we took a trip through the shop and equipment shed before going out into the field to look at the popcorn. This is probably the part I was most excited about because these kids got to see popcorn still on the ear, standing in the field. What better proof that food doesn’t come from the grocery store? While in the field there were more questions to be answered, and we even found a couple of ears with insect damage which would be relevant to the objective of their project. One thing to watch for with popcorn is damage to the outer part of the kernel either by insect or mechanical functions. If popcorn is damaged, it won’t pop!

After inspecting the field we walked over to the combine and covered the basics of how it removes the grain from the plant and distributes the residue in the field. And, as a kind of grand finale, we gave all of the kids and adults a ride in the combine so they could see that whole process in action.

I had a hunch they would enjoy the combine, but I had no idea how excited they would actually be. When you do this kind of thing everyday, although it is fun and I love doing it, being around it your whole life makes the workings of a farm a pretty normal thing. Not so for these kids. In case you don’t know a combine has a window in the back of the cab that allows you to see what it going on in the grain tank as it fills with grain. Everyone who got their first combine ride that day was at first fixated with the front of the machine pulling in the stalks and knocking the ears off. They didn’t even realize that window was back there unless they turned around or I pointed it out to them.

The term I’ve been using to describe the reaction of all the kids when they saw entire plants in front of them seconds later somehow turned into clean grain in a window right behind them was that “their brains exploded.” There were lots of shouts of words like cool and awesome, but the quote of they day had to be one kid who looked at the flowing grain and exclaimed, “It’s so golden!” They had been learning eagerly for a couple of hours about how the seeds get in the ground and how long the growing season is, and then in a matter of seconds that plant becomes a form of food they are familiar with. Overall it’s still a pretty neat process for me to see too, but seeing it for the first time was quite a sight for this great group.

Not only did they see popcorn in the field being harvested, on the way back to Chicago they had a tour of the Family Time popcorn facility in Valparaiso, Indiana. In one day, these kids experience popcorn on the stalk in a field be harvested, trucked away, and then packaged. What a great experience for them!

Brian is a 31 year old husband, father and 4th generation farmer from Northwest Indiana operating 2300 acres of corn, soybeans, popcorn, and wheat with his father and grandfather. He has a degree in Soil and Crop Management from Purdue University and worked off the farm before returning home. In addition to family and farm, Brian is an automotive enthusiast and classic rock/metal fan. Find him on Twitter or Facebook, or check out The Farmer’s Life Blog.

Tags: Advocacy, Agriculture, Corn, education, farm, Farmer, Farming, food production, harvest, homeschool, popcorn
Posted in Advocacy, Agriculture, Farming, Food | 2 Comments »

Leveraging the spirit of agvocacy; it’s bigger than you!

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

How many voices in the conversation?

The last month has been spent on leveraging efforts to connect farm and food through the AgChat Foundation’s Agvocacy 2.0 Conference. 115 farmers, ranchers and ag professionals from the U.S. and Canada were invited to take part in ACFC11 at the end of August. Not a huge number. But I figure they each are capable of reaching at least 1,000 people with their own story. Which means the reach will likely be at least 115,000 – far more than any singular voice (unless you sing or dance, which I don’t).

One such case – a small producer and processor in Kentucky. We asked Amy Sipes to be a part of ACFC11 panel on how to reach beyond agriculture. She expressed a great deal of concern about having to speak in front of people – many can relate to this fear. But she really wanted to help other agvocates, so she took the risk (with a few promises on my part). I was so proud of her as a very well-spoken, intelligent woman stood on stage. She brought wonderful authenticity and communicated so effectively from both a processor’s and producer’s viewpoint. I didn’t ask her, but am certain that her presentation would never had happened without the confidence social media has given her. That’s the power of the community in action. Watch her and see what you think…I KNOW she touched a lot of hearts that day in Nashville (and you might be surprised at what she has to say).

If you want more, you can follow Amy on Twitter – and get some humor in the mix. Another person who always brings levity to any conversation is the CNN-famous Steve Tucker from the middle-of-nowhere Nebraska. After hundreds of conversations, I finally met Tykerman1 (and hugged him instead of shaking his hand). A few months ago, I noticed he was in NYC and wondered what a farmer was doing there and tweeting about Central Park when he should have been in the field. As you can see in this clip, he apparently was the comedian of the New York 140 Conference - and did an incredible job of bringing agriculture top-of-mind in a very personable way.

There were many highlights from ACFC11 – from having a refreshing few minutes sitting with a newer agvocate to teach him Twitter (shout out to @SDgriller) to laughing with friends while listening to nails-on-the-chalkboard music in the evening hours. One highlight was the panel of mom bloggers we brought in; these ladies really cemented the necessity of the conversation – and the difficulty agriculture has in hearing “outside” perspectives without getting defensive. Another – and the most meaningful time I spent at the conference – was a small group discussion on how to lead people to social media. We went well beyond the allotted time, simply talking and exchanging ideas about the challenges of getting the hard-headed ag community to understand this “new” tool. It was a great reminder of the spirit of agvocacy and the diverse interests we have in agriculture – and the power of us coming together!

Thanks to Amanda Sollman, Kathy Swift, John Blue, Drew Bender, Jeff Fowle, Ryan Weeks, Mace Thornton, Dan Toland & Chris Raines (not pictured) for serving on the Training Committee.

Hundreds of volunteer hours made that happen…a training committee that planned the entire conference virtually. You can see we like to have a bit of fun – but I hope those involved will take a moment to thank them for all of the time and talent they invested. Over 25 speakers and moderators volunteered their time and talent to deliver best-in-the business content and many others contributed so graciously.

In the last decade, my role in agricultural advocacy has changed from being in front of the pack to trying to “herd” agricultural advocates in the same general direction. This conference was a good reminder of that; empowering people with the right tools and engaging a community is so much bigger than any one individual.

It’s exciting to see agvocates come into their own, step out of their comfort zone, find a place they can really make an impact – and then help others do the same. That leads to more people talking about food and farm – and everything in between – which is a far larger conversation than I could have accomplished. How are you leveraging your efforts?

Tags: ACFC11, Advocacy, AgChat Foundation, agricutlure, Agvocacy 2.0 Conference, agvocate, farm, Food
Posted in Agriculture, Farmer, Food, Moms, Motivation, Social Media, Technology | 4 Comments »

Captivating our already captive food audience

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

~ guest blog post by Laura Nelson (first of two)

When you’re passionate about being an agvocate, it’s easy to get bogged down in negative news about our industry. We monitor vegan ballot initiatives, watch atrocious caught-in-the-act videos and respond to soapbox-preaching food bloggers.

All noble causes, but also ones that can leave us feeling like it’s “us” versus “them;” ag versus consumers.

I got a great reminder of how untrue that is last month. I traveled to the Big Apple to work at The James Beard Foundation LTD pop-up store, sampling Certified Angus Beef ® steak to New Yorkers. I was prepared for some really tough consumer questions: hormones, CAFOs, animal welfare, beef nutrition, antibiotics, etc. (photo)

Instead of reciting sound bite after sound bite in defense of the beef industry, I re-discovered how much people love great steak and a simple story. People would casually grab a sample as they walked by; stop dead in their tracks to oooooh and ahhhhhh, then walk back to our booth and say, “That was the best steak I’ve ever had!”

A quality product attracts a captive audience. But a captive audience doesn’t mean an open door for a sales pitch. Rather, a good opportunity to visit with that person about a common interest – great steak, in my case!

Taking ag to NYC!

I learned that New Yorkers don’t typically have yards, so it’s frivolous to share grilling tips. Some folks weren’t familiar with the “tenderloin” cut. New Yorkers eat out a lot and restaurant menus call it Filet Mignon. Being in New York doesn’t mean you’re a New Yorker… the city attracts a lot of tourists (duh!) from many places, backgrounds and culinary tastes.

Learning these things changed the course of my conversations, allowing me to better connect with our audience. I could share my message: Certified Angus Beef ® is some of the best beef you can buy, raised by caring, dedicated Angus ranchers across America. The product quality is all about its marbling; look for our logo to make sure you’re consistently getting the best.

That was my story, but each time I told it in a different way that met the needs and expectations of that individual.

Of course, I heard several “No thanks, I’m not a big meat eater…” Not a good time to get defensive, regardless of the sinking feeling that brought on.

In Part II of this post, I’ll share some of the objections and questions I got to discuss with my not-so-captive audience and how we can all avoid being put on the defense. Hopefully these examples resonate with everyone in agriculture as a way you can agvocate with a quality story.*

Laura a Cornhusker by birth; Wyomingite at heart; Ohian by career choice. She’s a writer, farm girl, amateur photographer, agvocate, cook, red-dirt and classic rock music junkie and meatitarian (it’s a personal choice). As a Certified Angus Beef LLC industry information specialist, she travels, writes, spends time interviewing cattlemen and planning events and marketing materials, all with the goal of building supply for the world’s largest branded beef company. The CAB team blogs about our travels and observations in and around the cattle industry at www.blackinkwithcab.com and has a Facebook page.

*Note from MPK: After getting to know Certified Angus Beef through social media and reading about their market position in a recent Meatingplace article, I invited them to write how they’re connecting with consumers. While the brand represents only a part of the beef business, they offer lessons to learn from when trying to reach beyond the choir – regardless of your sector of agriculture.

Tags: Advocacy, Agriculture, animal agriculture, beef, consumer, Farmer, Food, steak
Posted in Advocacy, Agriculture, Animal Rights, Farming, Food | 1 Comment »

Agvocating: Quick, Short & to the Point

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

~ guest blog post by Wayne Black

Just over a year ago my wife (@JenniLeeBlack) convinced me I should be involved with social media. Not being a fan of Facebook, I was skeptical. For me it had to be quick, short and to the point. Then I read about Twitter. A limit of 140 characters it suited my style.

I spent about two weeks reading up on Twitter before starting. I would encourage everyone to do the same thing. Since then I have found many websites that have it summed up on one page or in one picture. A great example of this is one developed by Ogilvy’s 360 Degree Digital Influence group: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27132029@N06/3022781883/

Wayne is an avid agvocate for agriculture through both social media and with his involvement with various agriculture groups.

I have learned a lot from being on Twitter. The first is that we, as farmers, have to be involved with social media. It doesn’t really matter whether it is Facebook, YouTube, Twitter or whatever the platform of the day is. There is a conversation going on. We must be involved.

The second thing I’ve learned is no matter what you do, each message is more effective if you “market” that message to the right people. I do that by using hashtags or #.

Hashtags are a sales pitch for each tweet I send and the most effective for getting noticed. People search out tweets of interest by searching hashtags. One that got me involved with a lot of new followers and finding new people to follow was #agchat. Since then I have discovered other hashtags that interest me such as #food, #moo, #corn and other #agriculture identifiers. Locally we have developed #HuronCty (for our Huron County), #Ontag (Ontario Agriculture) and #GGA (a part of Huron County termed Greater Goderich Area). There are no limits to hashtags; they can be whatever you’d like and can help you find the conversations you need to be involved with.

And finally, the biggest reason to be on Twitter or any type of Social Media is for advocating (or in my case, agvocating). Twitter has offered me an excellent venue for agvocating for Ontario Agriculture. It has generated a lot of discussion with politicos, foodies, urbanites and also fellow farmers. My personal use has generated media articles that promote the positive aspects of agriculture and farming in Rural Ontario. People who read my tweets can place a name to a person which adds value to the message.

The joy of Twitter is that it gives the opportunity to get engaged in a conversation if an issue comes up. You have the opportunity to learn why they have created the negative or positive thought about agriculture. You can walk through a process with the person on the other side to get them engaged in conversation, rather than preaching or appearing to sell the idea. A lot of times people just want to hear from a farmer. They want to hear what my farm practices are. Understanding why I do what I do gives them further depth to knowing and the ability to question the negative aspects.

Social media allows me as a farmer to become engaged with non-farmers and politicos. We need to become engaged in conversation to get our story out, make it believable and to be truthful. Twitter allows me to do that from where ever I am, in the field, in the barn, in the Boardroom or in my home. People are engaged on the go, even in Rural Ontario.

You may think social media is not for you, but I encourage you to look around. Most likely you’ll find a conversation going on that you’ll want to weigh in on. Pick a platform and speak up. Let your voice be heard.

Who is @waynekblack?

Wayne is a cash crop farmer with a passion for agriculture. He also works with his father on the original farm that has been in the family since before 1867. He is on the Board of Directors for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and Agricultural Adaptation Council. Locally he is engaged with various Committees working on Economic Development opportunities and sustainability efforts. In his spare time, he enjoys life with his wonderful wife & 3 amazing children (http://abearaladybugandapeanut.wordpress.com).

Tags: Advocacy, Agriculture, agvocacy, Facebook, Farmer, Social Media, Technology, Twitter
Posted in Advocacy, Agriculture, Social Media, Technology | 1 Comment »