Life On The Farm Aint Never Laid Back!

The last few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster ride across the Midwest. Lately Ohio has been stuck on the backseat of that rollercoaster ride that never seems to end.

I enjoyed the recent three day holiday weekend by helping my dad plow snow and then power washing a finishing barn (thank God for enclosed barns and hot water washers).

I enjoy power washing because it gives me time to really think about what’s going on in my life and collect my thoughts for things like this blog. While power washing today, the song “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” by John Denver came into my mind. I know that sounds cliché because of my profession and heritage, but there was something about that song that seem to connect to another thought I’ve had lately.

Lately I’ve been looking at the progression agriculture has taken in the past two decades thanks to some advanced technology coming along. As an advocate for the pork industry, I spend a fair amount of time discussing how technology has created a new version of pig farming, what we know as “modern day farming” or “commercial farming” or even “factory farming”.

When I hear that famous song by John Denver, I can’t help but think what it would sound like if written for today’s farming industry. In this blog post I’m going to aim to point out the changes from when it was recorded to now and my next blog will be my version of the song for 2014(I may need to wash another barn and gather my lyrics!).

First, I’ll point out that the song assumes that if you live in the country, than you are a farmer. According to the USDA’s website, “Fewer than 2 percent of Americans farm for a living today, and only 17 percent of Americans now live in rural areas”. Which means that if you are reading this, and you are farming for a living, I want to thank you for your effort. To me, it’s a no brainer that consumers are becoming distant from the source of their food and I don’t believe that it is 100% agriculture’s fault for having a lack of transparency.

Next let’s talk about the “laid back farm life”. It takes months of preparation to raise a crop, provide superior care for livestock and handle the office work that goes along with being a self-employed farmer.

Being a farmer is a year round job that is never taken lightly. And I’m here to tell you that life on the farm is rarely “early to rise and early to the sack”. Usually it’s early to rise, and late to bed. That’s because we believe in a job well done and American farmers are committed to providing the best product they can for market, which means spending long hours caring for it.

As you go down through the lyrics you can see that some things remain true, no farmer would ever trade his farm or his job for “diamonds or jewels” and farmers are not often “money hungry fools”.  It takes years of hard work and Modest living to be able to create profits off the farm. Many times, farming is not the only occupation.

The song finishes by talking about the connection between father and son, and the heritage of the fiddle. This is so very true in my life today on the farm, dad has given me the things I need in order to be successful, or at least have a good start in life and it’s all because of the farm. Heritage plays a very big role in the farm life. Many times father and child will work together on the farm for years. I remember when I was young, I spent nearly every free minute I had on the farm or helping dad with livestock.

So today, as the weather begins to show snow across Ohio, I am grateful that I have been born and raised on the farm. The opportunity to be a farmer is one that I cherish and I hope that I can fit the role. I’m also glad that technology has created changes in agriculture, so that the farm life has become more management than hard labor, not because I’m lazy, but because it has created safeguards for the crops and livestock against disease, drought and other things that impact its yield. But most of all, I still thank God I’m a country boy!

Public Relations as Risk Management

Risk management was one of the founding theologies behind public relations. But in the era of web2.0 we have moved into a much more proactive practice of handling risk management as well as marketing, brand campaigns and promotions for many companies.

Risk management practices change over time, but always come back to the original idea of identifying the problem and promoting a positive solution to the problem. Recently Carnival Cruises has had to face this issue. The stories continue to spread about the conditions of being on the dream-liner Triumph while it was stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for five days. 

While the company has addressed many issues the ship had, they have another issue to face in how they handle the coverage of the event, the responses people have to the event, and how they will promote their company following the event. 

Carnival's first response in managing the situation was to appeal to the passengers, which should always be the first step. They offered full refunds, reimbursement of money spent (except gift shops and casinos) and a voucher for another cruise booking valued at the same price as their ticket on Triumph. 

But the company has to go beyond that to recover from the bad press coverage they have received. The use of social media can be a great tool for them now. Social Media could help them boost morale and rebuild confidence in their company and the industry as a whole. I wouldn't be surprised if we see youtube videos, tweets and facebook campaigns come from them to help rebuild the confidence and interest in their products in the coming months once the coverage dies down a little bit. 

Bad things can happen to anyone, anywhere, at anytime. The important thing to remember when handling risk management is that once the issue has been addressed, all the following steps are positive and help boost the companies image. I use positive promotion points whenever I am talking to consumers about the pork industry, because no matter what the media says; I am the one providing the truth to the consumers and addressing the concerns. 

Public relations is a powerful tool for a company of any size. Risk management plans are great, when they are in place and ready to address any problem that may arise. Our job as public relations professionals is to keep a positive image of the company we represent.