Recently, I had the pleasure of joining a group of Chicago-area moms for a tour of a major biotechnology provider’s research center. These women, who came as a part of the Illinois Farm Families program, had voiced concerns about GMOs and wanted the chance to see first-hand what biotech really means for their families. After an incredible afternoon of learning …
God Really Did Make a Farmer
The original Ram Trucks Super Bowl commercial featuring Paul Harvey’s “So God Made a Farmer” is up to over 14 million views on YouTube, not counting all the re-posts of the video, and has led to parodies too numerous to count. There’s God made a factory farmer, liberal, banker, photographer, skateboarder, printer, DJ, realtor, gamer, machinist, chemist, publicist, YouTuber, teacher, …
Peterson Farm Brothers Heat Up a Cold Florida Night
Commodity Classic heated up a cold Florida night last week when the Peterson Brothers took center stage during the Evening of Entertainment. The family farmers, whose “I’m Farming and I Grow It” video went viral last spring, accepted honors from event sponsor Monsanto for their work to promote the image of modern agriculture. The brothers, who have created a series …
Find Kentucky Farmers at a Grocery Store Near You
Today, Corn Commentary shares a post from Kentucky Corn Growers Association Director of Communications Jennifer Elwell. On her new blog Kentucky Food and Farm Files, Elwell discusses a variety of interesting topics, including her work with the CommonGround Kentucky program. What happens when you place a passionate, smiling farmer in the middle of a grocery store? It opens a door …
USFRA Celebrates Two Years
The U.S Farmers and Ranchers Alliance has officially entered into its third year now, celebrating two years of making connections with consumers about food. Stallman says USFRA just started with some of its initial programd 14 months ago. “We’ve made great progress considering we started from scratch,” he said. “We’re making great progress in engaging with consumer influencers … we’ve …
A Tweet New Way to Contact Congress
When I worked on Capitol Hill five years ago, BlackBerries were clunky, members’ websites were difficult to navigate, and no one used social media. In fact, I believe Facebook was still private and you had to be invited to Gmail. Man, that seems like eons ago. Today, Congressional offices have embraced the changing tides and have learned that social media …
Oh Oprah! America’s Farm Families Would Like to Invite You to Dinner
Oprah Winfrey’s daytime diatribes may not run on network television any longer, but she continues to damage public perception of agriculture with little regard for the scientific evidence against her claims. Oprah’s power as a media mogul has not diminished since her self-titled program ran its final episode. Instead, her legions of followers now flock to her magazine, website, cable …
Video Spreads Farmers Fight Message
The newest advocate video for agriculture features a young African-American woman in an urban setting encouraging everyone involved in the industry to “Stand Up” and fight for farmers. Jasmine Dillon, a Texas A&M University graduate student in Animal Breeding, stars in the video which was part of the “Farmers Fight Agvocacy Day” effort by TAMU on April 12. Among those …
Agvocacy Is Hard Work! Is It Worth It?
Many amazing farmers volunteer to agvocate as association leadership, through social media or as part of larger programs, like CommonGround. In taking valuable time away from their farms and families, they act upon their belief that creating a dialogue that acquaints the public with modern agriculture is essential to ensuring a bright, vibrant future for the way-of-life that they love. …
Social Media Connects With Corn Grower Members
Membership, leadership and communications were the main focuses of the biennial Membership Symposium for the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) this past week in Kissimmee, Florida. NCGA Director of Development Tim Brackman (right) says the meeting is a crucial part of the planning efforts for the organization. “It allows us to meet with the state staff as well as farmer …