Growing Educated Opinions in FFA Leaders

Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

Growing Educated Opinions in FFA Leaders

Friday, February 25th, 2011

If someone had told me – oh, two years ago, let’s say – that social media would play a huge role in my professional career, I probably would have had a good chuckle. You see, I’m going to school to become a teacher. And not just any teacher, of course.

An agriculture education teacher.

Who would think that an ag teacher would use Facebook, Twitter, Skype and YouTube to help their students learn? I mean, come on, ag teachers help kids learn about tractors and soil and plants and animals, right? Not the Internet.

Well, sorry to break it to you, but this future ag teacher is going to shake thing up a bit!

Over the past two years, using social media has reminded me how much I can learn from others inside and outside of the agriculture industry. I never knew organic dairy farmers from Minnesota before social media. I’d never met any type of rancher prior to Twitter. I didn’t know the impact you could have through YouTube. Simply put, I’ve learned that social media is an unbelievably valuable part of the necessary relationships surrounding our food – from the farm to the plate.

So why shouldn’t our students learn about it and learn from it?

As we celebrate National FFA Week, it’s a great time to reflect on the experiences we had as FFA members, how our lives have been impacted by an FFA member or how we can continue to help current FFA members “develop their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success”. Social media fits in perfectly with that mission. I want my students to be able to become leaders who have an educated opinion and voice in online conversations about our food system. I want them to grow in their beliefs and opinions by interacting with others from across the country. I also want them to advance professionally because of the strong connections they were able to make with others through social media.

Those are all opportunities that these technologies have afforded me, and I can only hope that social media will enrich the lives of my students as well – exactly as the FFA mission says.

There’s still a bit of time until I have my own class, though, so for now I’ll continue to work hard to encourage FFA members, alumni and supporters from all over to ‘agvocate’ through social media and hope that you will too. Consider conducting a social media workshop with your local FFA chapter officers or maybe help an advisor get their FFA chapter Facebook page up and running. For many agriculture programs, they’d love to be involved in social media, but are just looking for some assistance. Can you be the one to bring social media to an agriculture program and FFA chapter in your area?

Amanda Sollman is a student at Michigan State University, majoring in Agriscience with concentrations in Education and Communication. Amanda is a former member of the Sanilac FFA Chapter and currently co-moderates #AgEduChat, a bi-weekly Twitter chat focused on agricultural education. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and at her blog!

MPK sidenote: As a product of the Michigan FFA program, it gives me great pride to have a Spartan student here who once wore the same FFA jacket I did as as state officer. And, before I forget – Go Green! Go White!

Tags: Advocacy, Ag teacher, Agriculture, Facebook, FFA, National FFA Week, Social Media, Twitter
Posted in Advocacy, Agriculture, Farming, Social Media, Technology | 2 Comments »

Agvocating from a FFA Advisor’s Perspective

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

When I first joined Facebook and Twitter it was because it was the “cool” thing to do. I really had no idea what I was getting into. Twitter at first seemed to just be like Facebook’s status updates. I signed up and then went 5-6 months without really using or checking it at all, but then I saw that one of my fraternity brothers was involved with this #AgChat thing and decided to give it another try. In those first couple #AgChats that I participated in, I was amazed. Since that time, I have been hooked.

I’m proud to say that many people in the #AgChat community my friends. I think we all feel this way – especially when it comes to agvocating. We are all there for one another as we try to relay the voice of true agriculture to others,. I know this gives me more confidence to speak out and share my story without worrying about interactions with people who challenge what I do or telling me how agriculture is wrong. When any one of us is getting “attacked” by someone, the #AgChat community will come and help you stand your ground. This is what makes our community stronger every day.

Drew Bender is a second year Agricultural Education instructor in Zanesville, OH. He also helps out on the family farm in Marion, Ohio with crop (soybeans, corn, and wheat) and livestock (market hogs and poultry) enterprises.

Being an Agricultural Education Instructor, I feel like I have to constantly be an advocate for my teaching profession. I not only need to be an advocate for agriculture but also for education and the need to teach kids about agriculture. When I tell my story and let my voice truly be heard, it is not only through the use of social media but mainly in my classroom through our daily lessons.

Unfortunately, Agricultural Education programs seem to be challenged every year. There’s on ongoing question of need and review of effectiveness of the programs in schools. Many programs are discontinued because of schools are no longer able to fund the programs. Other programs are discontinued because they lose the local community support. Many people who have not been in an Agricultural Education program do not understand how teachers put our heart and soul into our programs.

Our school day very often goes beyond the closing bell. We also incorporate an amazing student organization called the National FFA Organization, which provides many different opportunities for our students to get involved. From school trips to Indianapolis, IN for the National FFA Convention or to Washington D.C. for Washington Leadership Conference to competition opportunities for Agriscience Fair and Career Development Events, such as parliamentary procedure. There is a chance to involve for every student.

Teachers are in charge of students during these opportunities and encourage them to excel. One way I have advocated for the Agricultural Education profession is joining with teachers from all over Ohio for our blog called The Wise Owls – Tales from an Ag Ed classroom. This blog gives our side of the story about our profession and offer tips for teachers.

Other than blogging, Twitter has been my main social media tool of choice. By participating in #AgChat, #EdChat, and #AgEduChat, I have built a great Professional Learning Network (PLN) of farmers, agribusiness people, scientists, other educators and many others. While monitoring my Twitter feeds, I am able to take real-world examples and resources to use in my classroom. I have encouraged many of my students to use social media, using agvocacy as an example for a reason why.

Using the social media tools has changed my life and my teaching dramatically and it can do the same for yours too. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and join a chat community. They will welcome you with open arms.

Drew has served as a volunteer on the AgChat Foundation training committee and was a key part of the logistics for the inaugural AgChat Foundation Training Conference. He has since founded #AgEduChat along with Amanda Sollman for discussions about Agricultural Education/FFA Programs. Anyone is welcome to join the discussions on Sunday nights 7-8:30 p.m. EST. You can find Drew on Twitter and Facebook.

Tags: Advocacy, ag education, Agriculture, agvocate, Facebook, farm, National FFA Organization, Social Media, students, teachers, Twitter
Posted in Advocacy, Agriculture, Motivation, Social Media | No Comments »

Can Social Media Protect Your Farm’s License to Operate?

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

~ guest post by DeEtta Bohling

It’s no surprise we live in a changing world. Farmers are up to speed on the latest technology when it comes to tools such as GPS; but what about jumping on the social media bandwagon?

When I began working for Kansas Corn and Grain Sorghum a little over a year ago, my knowledge in agriculture was somewhat limited. I didn’t grow up on a farm or ranch and I don’t have a degree in Ag Communications. A great deal of what I have learned about corn, sorghum, ethanol, and livestock has come from the farmers and ranchers I interact with in person, on Twitter and on Facebook.

DeEtta Bohling is the Communications Specialist for the Kansas Corn Growers Association, Kansas Corn Commission and the Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association

I am not the only one who is forming opinions about agriculture through of social media. Youth and adults, alike, are absorbing the information they receive from social media sites. Studies show that four out of five online Americans are active in some form of social content at least once a month. The question is, are they getting their information from sources like PETA and HSUS or are they being educated by experts in their field, the farmers and ranchers? Today’s social media conversations are direct and concise. Agriculture loses when farmers don’t engage in those conversations.

In January, I had the opportunity to listen to speaker, Gary Maskus, Vice President of No Till on the Plains, Inc. One of the things he said was that agriculture was not a soap opera. Maskus went on to explain that you can’t tune in every three years and expect to be caught up. The same applies to improvements in technology and social media. Do you know what kinds of conversations are taking place regarding your industry?

I have heard all the excuses. “I don’t get it. I’m too old. I don’t have time.” Whatever your excuse, toss it out the window. Social media is changing the way people distribute and receive information. Whether you like it or not, social media will continue to change the way we communicate. Agriculture is missing an opportunity to be proactive if you don’t take the time to learn at least one of the many social media tools. There are all kinds of resources to help you get started in social media. Check out an endless list of resources at: http://www.causematters.com/.

Social media isn’t the end-all, be-all. Reach out to your schools, community organizations and your neighbors. Don’t ever assume that the folks in your rural community understand agriculture. Offer to give presentations, write letters to the editor, and offer to be interviewed by news organizations.

Farmers and ranchers, I challenge you to share your passion and your livelihood with the world. Don’t let your license to operate be taken away, simply because animal activists and environmental groups don’t understand what you do. There’s a great deal of business value in connecting with your consumers. Take the opportunity to share with them.

You can find DeEtta on Twitter at @ksgrains. Originally from a small rural community in southwest Iowa. DeEtta has her degree from Wartburg College in Communication Arts with an emphasis in Public Relations and minors in Leadership and Business. In her free time, Bohling enjoys volunteering with Habitat for Humanity of Franklin County and the 4-H program. She reached a personal goal of completing her first 5K in November, 2009 and is now training for a half marathon. A few of her favorite things include photography, Chinese food, traveling with friends and the Iowa State Fair.

Tags: Advocacy, Agriculture, agvocacy, Facebook, Farmer, Farming, HSUS, PETA, Social Media, Technology, Twitter
Posted in Advocacy, Agriculture, Motivation, Social Media | 2 Comments »

A Farmer’s Perspective: Why I Facebook, Tweet and Blog

Monday, February 14th, 2011

~ guest post by Ryan Weeks

Why did I get involved with social media? Was it a dream of mine to get banned from the HSUS twitter account since I was a little kid? Nope, I found the misinformation being spread about farming and ranching on sites such as YouTube as a problem that needed to have a counter argument. Of course, I first signed on to Facebook to connect with friends, but it quickly moved to agvocacy when I saw non-factual information being taken as fact regarding our production methods in agriculture, and specifically, agriculture was being blamed for a lot of problems (diabetes, obesity, etc) in our society that I felt are about consumption, not production.

Ryan L. Weeks is a fifth generation farmer from Juniata, Nebraska. Their operation prides itself on quick adaptation of technology, being stewards of the land they farm and being involved in the community in which they live.

I had seen for quite a while what you would get when you searched “factory farming” on YouTube, and saw the smokestacks in the background of a cornfield in the movie “Food Inc.”. This really hit me as I have a passion for what we do in agriculture. I have seen third world countries in person where food choice is not an option. You eat what you have, if you have anything. So, to label our food production system as broken when we are feeding our own, exporting, and raising more product on less inputs, I felt like I should start speaking up. I have always done the local speaking about economic impacts of ag, and specifically animal ag, but the conversation nationally has nothing to do with economics. It has everything to do with emotion. Science, no matter how factual, has a hard time trumping emotion. The heartfelt feelings always win. I felt there needed to be a voice of the producer themselves in conversations about agriculture.

My social media journey started with Facebook, graduated to Twitter, created a Facebook Farm Page, and now have started using Linked-In (use sporadically), Buzz (able to use more than 140 characters) and YouTube. It seems like quite a lot, but with apps like TweetDeck, it becomes manageable. It has afforded me the opportunity to travel to Chicago for the AgChat Foundation conference (a phenomenal grassroots organization) and be around a tremendous group of family farmers to improve our skills in social media. But best thing that’s happened in this journey is a chance to converse with consumers about the advantages and disadvantages of certain aspects of our food system in an environment that usually contains mutual respect. There are antagonists, and misunderstandings, but the beauty of most social media products is that you have the ability to hit block, ignore, or have a community of aggies support you. We all are working together to support each other. This is something that doesn’t always happen in agriculture.

Recently we have entered the world of blogging and I have found that to write, you need inspiration, which for me usually means that I have to be driven by something. I have tried to start jotting down ideas on my phone when they come to me (thanks Jeff Fowle), and then approaching them later, but the most effective seems to be writing in the heat of the moment.

I hope many more in agriculture would start having the conversations about our farms and ranches in any of these mediums. We all need you! If you think for one minute you can’t make a difference or that your voice isn’t needed, search “factory farming” on YouTube and see what you come up wit, then tell me we don’t need you. Whose voice is countering the misinformation? If not you, then who?

Why did I get involved? Because no one else is going to tell my story! Who is telling your farm story? Take the time to learn these new tools the same way you’ve adapted to technology in your equipment.

Ryan and his wife Kristi raise yellow corn, popcorn, soybeans, alfalfa and prairie hay on the family farm settled by his family in the late 1800’s. Both are active in civic and volunteer organizations at the state and local level. You can find their farm on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WeeksFarms and their blog at www.cornhuskerfarmer.wordpress.com

Hungry for more? Related posts:
Agvocating in the World of Social Media
Defense: Agriculture’s No-Win Strategy
Why Farmers Should NOT Speak Up

Tags: Advocacy, Agriculture, agvocacy, Facebook, farm, Farmer, Farming, Food, HSUS, LinkedIn, Social Media, Technology, Twitter, YouTube
Posted in Advocacy, Agriculture, Consumer Trust, Farmer, Farming, Food, Social Media | 2 Comments »

Agvocating in the World of Social Media

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

~ guest post by Celeste Settrini

This past year has definitely been one of exciting opportunity for me. Why? The world of social media blossomed into my friend. Many might say that at 43 I am a late bloomer when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, and blogs but in 2010 I decided I would tackle this new adventure and what tremendous fun I have found. There is a whole new world at my fingertips. A strike of the computer keyboard brings me new friends involved in all who share in the same passion and visions as I have.

I love to talk and I love to talk about agriculture – not only my own family beef cattle operation but all agriculture in general. I get excited to meet new friends, share stories and figure out ways to better “tell the story” to those that may not be as familiar as we are with where their food comes from. So for me social media is a new world of everything wonderful.

This past year I took Facebook by storm. I posted photos, connected with fellow agvocates, educated those friends not in agriculture and focused on creating a spot where my Facebook friends could come for “up to the minute” agriculture news, events and “celestial” thoughts on all of it. I then ventured out and learned to write a blog- 2011 will be the year I actually create my own(Time is a tickin’, I better get on that) . And then there is Twitter! Twitter always scared me but with encouragement from fellow agvocates I decided to give it a try and though I have not yet completely mastered Twitter, I am tweetin’ with the best of you.

Social media gives me an avenue to express my thoughts. It also helps me try to understand the rationale behind some perspectives. I have learned to “ask why” and then “tell me more” to differing views. I then do my best to try to educate with experiences and facts. One fellow agvocate told me “you are an expert in your own experiences,” at that moment I knew I could do it. I have lived it and I know it, now it is my responsibility to all farmers and ranchers to share my journey for those that will take the time to listen. I have even created my own tagline on my email and business cards , it reads “”I am investing in the future of agriculture with a desire to share my journeys ~ by doing this I hope that I can empower farmers and ranchers to share their stories and do the same! We are all in this together as the voice of American agriculture.”

I hope that by demonstrating my pride it will give others the push they need to share their experiences. It is hard to take time out of our busy lives each day to educate, to tell the story, to promote our industry but anymore I make social media a part of my day like brushing my teeth, it’s just something I need to do.

I am blessed by a large range of agvocates who have given me the push to get where I needed to be. Your life’s journey is becoming more of who you are, everything you have done prepares you for all that you can do and be. This is where I need to be and this is what I must do.

My new world is exciting, it helps me talk about my journeys, it gives everyone a snippet of who I am and it helps me to be a part of the bigger picture. Where’s your journey taking you?

Celeste is a 5th generation cattle rancher working on her family ranch located in the foothills of the Salinas Valley, on the Central Coast of California. As a youth, she had an extensive career showing livestock and went on to attend California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, where she earned a B.A. in Agribusiness Marketing. Today she works in the commodities market as a broker for Fresh Network, maintains her duties on the family cattle ranch and promotes and advocates for farmers and ranchers nationwide.