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Farmers are people, too

February 7, 2013 / SethTeter / 10 comments

Seth Teter

It seems it’s becoming more fashionable to eschew the slew of slogans that heap praise onto farmers. The thinking goes something like this: slapping a “Thank a Farmer” sticker on your truck bumper condescends to nonfarmers, does little to improve agriculture’s image, and it’s kinda like a lead singer that wears his own band’s t-shirt - it’s just not rock n’ roll.

But my beef with this and similar image campaigns is that they treat “the American farmer” as something, not someones. And farmers are much more interesting as individuals than as an institution. Like 2 million times more.

So, would the real farmers please stand up? All you ordinary people scattered among the rest of us Americans in our individual pursuits of happiness.

I don’t mean that as a slight. Rather, I see it as Mr. Chesterton did:

“We should always endeavor to wonder at the permanent thing, not at the mere exception. We should be startled by the sun, and not by the eclipse. We should wonder less at the earthquake, and wonder more at the earth.”

That is to say the mythical Marlboro Man is decidedly less wonderful than a real story of a rancher named Jeff and his son who likes to talk about dinosaurs and other important things.

And while we respond to a hungry world with the triumphant call of progress, we see that agriculture’s endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth has always been miraculous in its monotony. To get caught up in the heroics of feeding the masses is to forget that each sprouted seed offers a sufficient marvel.

How much more wonderful to think that this intimate involvement in the process of life is not reserved for a special class of God’s chosen caretakers, but is work chosen by mere human beings.

And then to see a that a farmer’s stewardship of land mirrors a teacher’s stewardship of knowledge or a musician’s stewardship of culture or a nurse’s’ stewardship of health is to see we share something in our humanity.

So in all this clamoring over the right image, I’ve come to learn that any particular farm is simply an extension of its particular farmer. If you hope to understand anything about agriculture, you’ll first need to know something about its people. Particular people – with names, and faces, and passions and perspectives.

You know, people like you and me.

Seth Teter is an agricultural communicator at the Ohio Farm Bureau working to facilitate conversations at the intersection of food, agriculture and community.

GPS Navigation for Starting The Conversation

January 24, 2013 / mikedavelaar / 5 comments

I’ve talked to a lot of kids. A lot of kids. They are the reason that I first got on Facebook. They are a real inspiration to me. But being a kid these days is a tough deal. Much more difficult than it was when I was young. Any parent who say otherwise is not seeing the whole picture. But that’s not the reason for this blog.

A good friend of mine, Ray Prock, noticed several of my Facebook status and commented that a lot of the similarities exist between what I do with young people and what we do while engaging the public about farming. It turns out he’s very right. (It pained me to write that down)

So after some though, I’ve narrowed it down to a few points to help start a conversation.

The best opportunities take time.

Rarely do you sit down and have a heart to heart of the first conversation. No one trusts you completely the first time they talk with you. To gain a certain level of trust is something that takes time, it’s something you earn. Relationships are that way, they take time. But you need to really care about the other person, beyond just the conversation.

The best conversations came from a connection that wasn’t forced.

Most of the time we just talk, share some laughs, talk about what is important to them. The very first agricultural conversation I had with a young person was based on some youth ministry stuff that I volunteer for. Really nice young lady who I knew nothing about. For a year all I knew was her first name. She was, might still be, a supporter of PETA. We had some great conversations. It was an easy give and take that lasted for a year.

If they want to talk, and you can make it work, you need to make it work.

Timeliness is important, sometimes immediacy is really important, but when they want to talk, talk. A lost opportunity may be exactly that, lost. Now the things that we discuss with customers of Ag products might not be as urgent as someone struggling with cutting, depression, or suicide, but everyone wants someone to listen. If you can be that, the rewards are amazing.

Never, I repeat, NEVER, lose it.

When a young person is having a really bad day, possibly because of a bad decision, the last thing they want to hear is someone telling them they are an idiot. They are hoping to hear the voice of reason. Our consumers are wanting the same from us. The comments they make might be made to get a reaction, be careful what that reaction is.

Practice helps.

The more conversations I have, the harder it is to surprise me. It can happen, but repeated conversations lets you anticipate some of what is coming. Knowing what questions to ask and having an informal game plan in place, all make the interaction less stressful for both parties.

Sometimes it won’t be a conversation.

There are times when I just need to shut up. I’m a salesman. It’s my job to get people to talk. But sometimes they don’t want, or don’t know how to express what they are feeling. That’s a reality of life. Not that an attempt shouldn’t be made, but I try not get upset or frustrated if they don’t respond by baring their souls. Ag conversations are the same way. We think we know the answers, or are willing to be a listening ear, but that may not be what is needed at that moment. It’s a reality.Well, that’s all the wisdom I could extract. I hope it makes sense come morning…..

Mike Davelaar has been selling molasses for cattle feed and advocating for agriculture in South Dakota for more 20 years. For the last decade, he’s been mentoring young people offering them someone to talk to and often a shoulder to cry on.

Avoiding The Conversational Wreck

Avoiding The Conversational Wreck

January 10, 2013 / Ray Prock / 6 comments

Two-Way Street Sign (credit: z6p6tist6)

Similar to a two way street two way communication may have traffic coming from the opposite direction which can possibly lead to collisions. Much like we do on the road if we stay in our own lanes and effectively communicate conversation can flow smoothly to new destinations. Be warned that if oncoming traffic can’t see you or you forget to signal or communicate effectively it is a wreck waiting to happen.

Conversations are more interactive and exciting as dialogues rather than as monologues.

Avid Advocate for Ag

May 8, 2012 / Caryl / One comment

Just for a little background, I have been a journalist with an agricultural weekly newspaper for the Mid-Atlantic Region for 32 years, and have also been involved with purebred beef cattle, the state cattlemen’s association and beef council, 4-H, and a 3,000 head beef feedlot 40 miles outside of Washington, D.C.

I cover all aspects of agriculture for the paper and have become increasingly aware of the disconnect between producers and consumers. I am in a very large agricultural county that is fast becoming urbanized. Agriculture still remains the largest money producing industry in the area, and also in our state, but most people are unaware of this.

The farmer population is aging and young people have little or no encouragement to continue in agriculture as restrictive regulations increase, especially in this area which is in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Because of their efficiency, farmers are fewer and fewer, and have less and less of a voice in the matters that concern their future viability. I will say though, that the Buy Local movement has been much encouraged here and is gaining momentum.
What I have learned the past several years, is that children are not being taught enough about nutrition and what agriculture means/does for their lives. Nor are they being told about all the interesting and necessary jobs, hi-tech, and otherwise, that are available in agriculture, that don’t require owning a farm or actually farming.

I am frustrated because I am basically ‘preaching to the choir’ in my job, and also, that information about agriculture is not readily available to the general public, or, more importantly, it is not publicized much about what agriculture means to all of us and why we need farmers. We need to do a much better job of public relations and make people understand they can’t live without the food farmers provide.

If there is no future in agriculture, there is no future.

I’m proud to say I’m a AAA Avid Ag Advocate!

Just a Farmers Daughter (justfarmers.biz)

Caryl Velisek has raised Angus with her husband for 50 years and was Exec. Sec’y of Maryland Angus Association. She is an author and journalist with an ag weekly newspaper for 32 years. Caryl’s hobbies include singing and playing guitar with a folk group.

Agvocate or Agtivist?

February 28, 2012 / Mike Haley / 44 comments

Three years ago during a brainstorming session between Ray Prock, Darin Grimm and I we came up with a word to describe agricultural advocates that has grown to become a common word used within the agricultural community. The terms “agvocacy” and “agvocate” combined with other efforts in the agricultural community became the basis why the three of us worked with other leaders in the agricultural social media community to build the AgChat Foundation in an effort to encourage other agvocates to embrace the tools of social media and proactively share information about their knowledge of agriculture.

The goal of getting more agricultural individuals to speak up has for the most part been a success. Several recent events involving agriculture have proved that when a story involving farming or ranching occurs there are literally thousands of farmers, ranchers, and agricultural professionals that are willing and able to speak their mind and share their viewpoints about the situation. As stated on the AgChat Foundation’s website agvocacy is:

Agvocacy is a combination of agriculture and advocacy. The inherent active nature of the word has led many farmers and others in ag to make it a favorite for many in the #AgChat community and spread it to other channels and personal conversations. Agvocacy is not about targeting any selected group, such as media or elected officials – it’s representative of ag proactively telling our story.

When agvocating, it’s important to be proactive and listen to others concerns. It involves connecting with those outside of agriculture that are curious about today’s farmers and ranchers. Finding common ground on things and building from there provides opportunities to grow the conversation. It is through relationship development and discussion that understanding moves the image of agriculture forward. That said, agvocating is one way to get information about agriculture to the people who are interested. » Read more..

Tag Archive for agvocating

Farmers are people, too