A Father's Advice Goes A Long Way

I have a confession to make. When I wrote out my list of goals for the new year, I made sure to give myself some easy ones to check off to get the ball rolling. This weekend, I'll be in Indianapolis for the  #Agchat Foundation's Collegiate Congress with a couple dozen up and coming advocates for the agriculture industry.

You see, I had a goal of making new friends and growing my network, both personally and professionally. And I know from past experience early on in my blogging career that the #Agchat conference is a great place to make new friends.

Whenever I prepare for a meeting or a conference, I try to apply a lesson I learned from my father which is simply to ask yourself, "What is the one piece of information, advice or guidance you couldn't gain if you didn't attend, meet new people or ask?"

For me, at this point in time, there's two responses....

1. How do I advocate while off the farm? I used to speak about how consumers are at least one generation removed from the farm, but now I wake up and find myself removed from the farm as well. That's turned out to be both a physical and mental change for me. I've done alright with the change, and I know it's a journey that is worth taking, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't have it's ups and downs. So hopefully I can make new friends and get some friendly pointers.
2. I work for a very small company, and I have an opportunity to help build an online brand and presence for our company. This opportunity presents itself with many unknowns and challenges, but also allows for an unprecedented amount of opportunity for creativity, design and promoting the brand. Hopefully I can glean some insights from my peers as to how they've built their own brands and kept their creativity rocking.

Perhaps the best part about this conference will be getting an opportunity to revisit my old workplace at Fair Oaks Farms and see what kind of exciting changes and improvements have come their way!

Because I know my father is such wise man, and his advice has been helpful in the past, I think I can look at this conference as a great opportunity to expand my networks, views and skills. So hopefully Indy rocks as much as they say it does!

The First Christmas: Part Two

S'mores for a Christmas Eve treat!

As previously noted, Abby and I had our First Christmas together and although we aren't married yet, we had a wonderful time resting, relaxing, gifting, serving and making memories that could possibly tun in to our own new traditions.

Since Thanksgiving, I've learned just how much Abby enjoys Christmas movies on tv. So on Christmas eve, we lit the fire, roasted up some s'mores and settled in for an evening of Christmas classics.

We were able to have time with our family Christmas day via Skype and FaceTime (no thanks to our internet speed) as well as relax and enjoy doing our own things and reflecting on the year we've had.

As I write this blog and continue to reflect on the year, it's worth noting that this is my 100th blog post! It has been a fun adventure to this point, and I have met many great people and learned many unique things because of my involvement in advocating for agriculture through social media and blogging.

I am so blessed to have the freedom to write what I experience, and to share my thoughts and opinions with whoever may be interested in reading them! Social media has given me a way to share my passion for agriculture with others, bring them into our family farm and now as I transition into "adulthood" and the new life that I will have with Abby, provides fun new ways of communicating with family and friends and as I share the adventures!

Besides Christmas wishes, you hear a lot about this time of year is New Years resolutions. I intend to have some new goals and resolutions for myself both personally and professionally in the new year (coming soon to my blog). Christmas was wonderful, returning to work is also very satisfying to me as I get a chance to get back in the swing of things with work, and I look forward to future adventures to share on my blog. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, has a happy new year, and may the next 100 blog posts be as fun and meaningful as the first 100 was to me!

Farmers Need to Shine, Don't Fight the Shadow

According to the United States Census Bureau, there are roughly 300 million people living in the United States. Of those, only 15 percent live in what the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) describes as non-metro areas or counties. And when you look at the change and trend in the numbers indicates on a broad level that people are continuing to leave the non-metro areas in the long run. Growth may come and go, but the distance between the rural and metro consumers of our country are growing.

Graph from USDA website: http://1.usa.gov/1bbRmnB

There is a lot of rhetoric in agriculture about the growing disconnect between gate and plate, farm and food, and the understanding of common farm practices. In part to my internship this summer (which can be read about in previous blog posts), I have realized a few things about how farmers react to the proactive approach that the industry has began to take in order to reconnect consumers with the farms of modern day agriculture. 

In my opinion, farmers are all to often "afraid of their shadow" when trying to talk with consumers who don't have an agriculture background. Occasionally some retired pig farmers will come through the Pig Adventure and they always have memories of the "old days" and "how it used to be". Many offer encouraging words about what we are doing, but some will raise their concerns with transparency. 

Some farmers (all different ages) that I talk with, seem to think that their is a limit to transparency. That we need to "tread lightly" or else we are going to get sunk in hole we can't dig out of. This is where I believe that they are "hiding in their shadow" and not willing to be honest about the practices on the farm. I believe that this is because as an industry, we have underestimated human nature and the one's ability to listen to farmers without jumping down their throats. 

It seems to me that if you have a product (pig farm, crops, dairy, beef, poultry etc) that you are proud of, invested in, and willing to talk to openly about; then 99 percent of the people you talk to are interested and willing to listen to you before forming an opinion about your product and processes. Sometimes people have an negative idea of what you do on the farm because of some propaganda they saw that was sourced by someone opposing agriculture. But even then, people tend to be amazed at the processes of farming and are able to connect with the simplicity that we still have on the farm. Even though we are using technology to find that simplicity.

I'm giving a tour of our breeding operation to a group of friends. Bio security measures require them to wear the disposable suit when in the barns.

My boss asked me the other day, "if a farmer could have a five minute conversation about agriculture and show them an aspect of what they do, could we (agriculture) change the opinion of many people who unknowingly follow the propaganda and form negative feelings towards agriculture?"

I believe that the answer is yes! While I know I it can't be done alone, I believe that their is a special way for agriculture to have these friendly conversations that can mean a world of change for our industry. I want to offer a few reminders for those who want to have these conversations:

1. Don't be afraid of your shadow - Shadows are only present because their is light shining on us, the time for us to step into that light is now. Bigger shadows mean more light on you! Take advantage of the opportunity present.
2. Talk about what you do - People want to talk to people. They want to know that you're a farmer and that you care about them. The more personable you can make your conversation, the more they will listen to what you have to say.
3. Be comfortable with the uncomfortable - many times we begin to talk about what we do, then when a negative term or question arises, we quickly run back into the shadow. No wonder people are afraid of agriculture, if we aren't willing to talk about it ourselves!
4. Enjoy yourself!! - People want to see you happy and excited to talk about what you do. The light has never shined brighter on agriculture than it does now. I'm proud of what I do and I want to show others why! That is the thought that makes the whole idea of talking to others a bit more comfortable to me. 

Hopefully these words encourage some to begin taking those steps out of the shadows. If you are worried about the response you're going to get, just wait until you see people's faces light up when you show them the farm. I encourage all farmers I talk to, to find a way to have these conversations, through trainings, social media, tours, presentations, and casual conversations around the coffee table. There is no end to what we can achieve when we work together and step out of the shadow.

A New View

For those who have read or follow my blog, I welcome you back! For those who are reading this for class, I welcome you!

 You may notice my blog has changed in appearance a little bit. I wanted to try something new, so I changed up the colors and template a little...I hope you like it! I'm excited to say that my writing will also change a little bit in the next few months as I take a different approach to blogging.

 I have always blogged about my passion for agriculture, but this semester I am taking a course that is designed to help me understand strategic message design, branding yourself or your business, and creating a presence in social media.

So for the next few months I will be blogging about things we discuss in class as well as some interesting topics and campaigns that I find interested with my new knowledge and understanding of strategic message design.

But don't worry, I'll still be talking about my experiences in agriculture, some of the exciting things I am involved with on campus at Ohio State and most importantly reflecting on life as a country boy in the city.

I am excited to start writing about these things and show you a glimpse of what I am learning and how it can be beneficial to all of us. I hope you enjoy the following posts and give me your opinions and ideas as I write.

I hope everyone is having a great new year, and like always be sure to THANK A FARMER!