So God Made a Farmer

The Super Bowl has come and gone, the trophy has been awarded, the records updated, but in the world of agricultural communication no one is talking about the game. 

All eyes are on the blogs, campaign and discussion brewing amongst agriculture professionals and enthusiasts about the integrity of Paul Harvey as an advocate for agriculture as viewed in the So God Made A Farmer video that aired last night during the fourth quarter of the game.

I am an advocate for agriculture or an “agvocate” as commonly known in the industry. I have a passion for promoting agriculture of all kinds and believe in my heart that there is a reason and place for all types of production. There are people who stand against us and disown modern production practices on all fronts. 

As an agvocate I promote the idea of finding common ground with the non-farm public who are looking for information about where and how their food is produced. Finding common ground between what I do and what they believe can be very difficult, and last night during the Ram Trucks commercial, millions of people were emotionally drawn to the idea of what a farmer does and gives to serve others.

When you begin to look at the strategic communication plan that agvocates like me use to build common ground, you give Dodge Ram a huge applause for their work and commitment to this advertisement. I have had multiple conversations today that were instantly started on common ground thanks to Dodge. 

Agriculture has to come together on the idea of common ground if we want to be successful in telling our story to others. This commercial is a great way to do that and Dodge has a great campaign celebrating the Year of the Farmer. 

Dodge Ram is using the emotional pull of the American farmer to help people realize that their trucks are just as dependable, hardworking and committed to providing the best product for others benefit. This is the key, it is the common ground that we all have with each other. I’m very curious how many of my non-farm friends felt connected to both Dodge and the American farmer just by watching that commercial.

I hope as agricultural communicators we can find a way to pull together and rally behind the connection that Dodge has given us tot eh hearts of millions of people. My good friend Andy Vance tells more of the story on his blog, Andy’s Angle and I hope that others will share their opinions on this issue. 

So, good job to Dodge Ram for stealing the lights (literally) from the big game and putting it on the American Farmer. I give thanks to both Dodge Ram and all the farmers in America who support thousands of people every day by providing safe, affordable food for us.