In the world of communications, it is understood that if you don’t tell your own story, someone else will tell it for you. Being as what this other person says may not be accurate or fair, it is generally accepted that telling your story first in a clear, concise manner is crucial.
Over the past decade, social media has revolutionized communications. Now, anyone on Facebook, Twitter or even newer platforms like Google+ acts as a communications professional every day as they share their lives, stories and opinions with an ever-growing audience. In establishing a personal connection, social media allows for authentic interaction and relationship building in a way that was previously unimaginable.
Many of the problems facing modern agriculture stem from a lack of communication. By helping the people outside of agriculture, 98.5 of the U.S. population currently, see how safely and effectively family farmers grow a quality product year-after-year, many of the anxieties and concerns surrounding our food supply will dissipate.
Farmers have always embraced new technology and change. From more advanced equipment to improved seed varieties, they innately understand the importance of adopting the best possible tools. This year, why not view social media as an investment also. Just a few minutes a day spent telling the story of your farm on a YouTube video, through Facebook or just tweeting from the combine can help form relationships and shape opinions.
Every citizen has a voice. Make sure that yours is heard before it is too late.
From Main Street to MTV, everyone is talking about food. Unfortunately, this conversation does not often include the people who grow it. CommonGround Conversations creates a space for America’s farm families, and the people who support them, to share the story. Here, we have a meeting ground that will let you discover the values and hard work that underlie our nation’s abundant, safe harvest. Help us share our story! By submitting photos of yourself, family and friends waving at the camera, join your voice with like-minded people to open a national dialogue saying, “Hi! I support farmers. Let’s talk about how we grow our food.”
Now’s your chance to join in on the CommonGround movement and let your voice be heard.
Right now, the movement is growing. Help us find the CommonGround between the people who grow food and those who buy it. Start today on CommonGround’s Facebook fan page. Here’s how to join the conversation:
People don’t trust traditional media the way that they did a decade ago. Studies have reported time and time again that today people want to speak directly with the source. CommonGround, a joint program between the National Corn Growers Association and the United Soybean Board, gives them just that opportunity.
By empowering farm women to tell their own stories of agriculture, CommonGround helps the connect the people who grow food with urban and suburban consumers interested in knowing more about what they feed their families. Fostering open, honest communication, CommonGround shines a spotlight on the stories behind food production in America.
Winners of the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) 2011 Golden ARC Awards Contest were announced at the association’s annual awards banquet in Ft. Myers on Friday night. A total of 24 Golden ARC winners and 19 Merit winners were recognized as the elite in agricultural public relations. The number of entries this year was twice what it was last year.
The competition was judged by members of the North Florida chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, according to contest manager Amy Keith McDonald of McDonald Marketing Communications. “The judges focused on a number of objectives including audience analysis, creativity, execution and campaign results,” she said. “They then provided constructive feedback to allow entrants to grow professionally from the opportunity.”
Originated in 1990, the Golden ARC Awards Contest recognizes the best and brightest in agricultural public relations, and is open to both ARC and non-ARC members. The 38 categories reflect the broad scope of contemporary public relations activities.
If you have watched any of the World Cup soccer tournament, you no doubt heard that incessant sound make by blowing the noisemakers known as “vuvuzelas” that were popularized by South African soccer fans. The plastic blowing horns produce a loud, distinctive monotone note that some people say sounds like the constant droning of a huge swarm of bees.
Critics of corn – whether it be ethanol, sweetener, or just farming in general – can sometimes sound like the constant droning of vuvuzelas, churning out the same old tired arguments in a loud, distinctive monotone. Looking through my Google alerts for ethanol over the holiday weekend I found a number of articles and blog postings that use those vuvuzela-type arguments. When the stories offer a place for comments, I always look to see what is being said and may offer some comment of my own to try and break through that monotony.
About a dozen corn grower states recently got some social media training by AgChat expert Michele Payn-Knoper. While much of that training focuses on how you can use social media tools like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to tell the positive story of agriculture to the general public, it also involves taking the initiative to set the record straight when you see agriculture being attacked in on-line stories. It has never been any easier to provide your own editorial comments than it is today with stories found on-line. No printing or stamps involved, no letters to mail, no gatekeeper (in most cases) to edit or silence your point of view. There may be moderation for some comments (which is highly encouraged, if you have or want to start your own blog) but usually comments are approved. The moderation is mainly to prevent spam comments from getting through.
My point is – make some of your own noise! The articles I saw had NO opposing viewpoints from corn growers or their advocates. Take some time once a week to browse through on-line articles that are critical of farming or ethanol or corn products and make your voice heard. Sign up for Google alerts for corn, farming or ethanol so you know what is being said and respond. The forum is there, we need to utilize it.
There must be a lot of these 120 foot planters out in the fields – or farmers were just working their tails off last week in the perfect weather – because planting made phenomenal progress all over the corn belt. According to USDA, 19 percent of the crop was in the ground as of Sunday, twice the normal for this time of year, and 14 percent ahead of last year.
Of the 18 states top corn producing states, only two are behind normal now for this time of year – and most are WAY ahead of average. Illinois has 34 percent planted, compared to 12 percent for the five year average and just one percent this time last year. Indiana has more than four times the average in the ground at 17 percent – nothing was planted a year ago. Minnesota has 13 percent of the crop planted where the average is just one percent.
There are some very happy farmers out there right now, like Kelly Robertson of Benton, Ill., who shot this video last week in a multi-tasking mode – planting, talking on the cell phone and shooting video, all at the same time! This video was shot on April 13 and Kelly reports on his blog – “Ground worked like a dream and the corn planted like one also. This is the earliest I have ever planted corn. 10 days earlier than the “old record”.” This is so great to see farmers being creative and using social media like this. You go, plow boy!
As a general rule guns and alcohol don’t mix well. But when it comes to the colorful and often entertaining world wide web simplicity and entertainment value can help you hit the bullseye, especially with the rapidly expanding audience for social media like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
A perfect example of this approach and the power of Social Media for agriculture is the wild backlash experienced by Australian winemaker Yellow Tail after they made a donation of $100,000 to the Human Society of the United States. HSUS says they are saving puppies and kitties, while their tax return shows they are really spending millions on lobbying for animal rights and legislation that tells farmers how to do their business. Less than 5% of their budget goes to animal shelters.
After being bombarded with emails, twitter messages and Facebook page posts from farmers and ranchers pointing out HSUS’s disingenuous fund raising practices Yellow Tail did the virtual equivalent of saying “Uncle.”
They apologized on Facebook and then took down their Facebook page to minimize the damage. In a statement to ABC News this week, John Casella, the managing director of Casella Wines which owns Yellow Tail, says the company will look to non-political groups in the future.
“Yellow Tail is committed to the plight of animals in need and as a result, we can confirm that through any future activity, we will be looking to other non-profit organizations without lobbying interests that best deliver on our intended outcome of saving animals,” their statement said.
There are several valuable lessons to be learned from this on-line firestorm. 1. Scattered independent farmers can join their voices for a cause and magnify their influence via Social Media. 2. Others outside of agriculture now recognize HSUS as a political entity, not a charitable organizations (IRS are you paying attention). 3. Hard working farmers have a sense of humor and that humor can be used to good effect to educate businesses and the public online.
Examples abound to document point 3. A rancher from South Dakota has posted an online video of himself pouring the wine onto the snow in front of his cattle and urging others to do the same. And a Nebraska video showing a person (ok, it’s a Corn Grower) using Yellow Tail wine for target practice got picked up by the popular magazine Field and Stream.
In response, the HSUS says the partnership with Yellow Tail is about celebrating animals and the money will support the organization’s rescue team, which saves animals from natural disasters or cruelty. The evidence shows this will happen when pigs fly.
Many agriculture advocates are taking part in tweeting the hashtag #thankafarmer today from 10 am through 12 pm CST. Twitter users are also expressing their gratitude with a #thankafarmer twibbon.
The twitter efforts are just a small way to recognize and thank farmers for the abundant food they provide that is both safe and affordable. They are also completely committed to the land on which they farm and care very deeply about their communities, environment, land and animals, something that is often overlooked.
If you are a Twitter user and unable to tweet because of previous commitments, please sign yourself into Twuffer, a twitter service where you can time your tweets. This document contains links to different websites that are advocating for US Farmers and some tweets to get you started.
Iowa ag secretary and former National Corn Growers Association president Bill Northey is providing harvest updates on Twitter and Facebook.
Friday he wrote on his Facebook page, “Slowest sb harvest in Iowa since 1985 & 1960. Slowest corn harvest since 1967. Farming chged a lot in 40 yrs. Still can’t harvest in rain.” In a later comment to the same post he added, “Corn I combined Wedn was 35%. It was 102 day corn planted April 24. Had plenty of time, just not enough heat. 48.5# test weight, though that will come up when it gets down to 15% – after lots of LP gas and electricity.”
Just interesting that here is a VERY busy man – state government official and farmer – who takes time to update his 1,740 friends on Facebook page and tweet. Social media on the farm is a beautiful thing!
This is probably the first year that farmers have started tweeting their harvest. Expect to see more of it.
One Nebraska farmer (@huskerfarm) sent out a Twitter video of him harvesting some corn in south central Nebraska. Ryan Weeks is just one of many farmers starting to use this new media technology to bring his own farming story to the public – kind of like reality TV, only better!
Ryan uses a BlackBerry and TwitVid to tweet – the program is free and all you need is a good cell phone like a BlackBerry or an iPhone to make it happen from the cab of your combine. Here is Ryan’s harvest tweet:
My first attempt at a harvest video from the combine with my Blackberry Tour. #harvest#farm#agchat
In the world of communications, it is understood that if you don’t tell your own story, someone else will tell it for you. Being as what this other person says may not be accurate or fair, it is generally accepted that telling your story first in a clear, concise manner is crucial.
Winners of the 
If you have watched any of the 
There must be a lot of these 120 foot planters out in the fields – or farmers were just working their tails off last week in the perfect weather – because planting made phenomenal progress all over the corn belt. 
Many agriculture advocates are taking part in tweeting the hashtag #thankafarmer today from 10 am through 12 pm CST. Twitter users are also expressing their gratitude with a 
Iowa ag secretary and former National Corn Growers Association president Bill Northey is providing harvest updates on 