Freedom

Ironically, leaving the United States gives me a better perspective on our country’s beloved freedom.  I wanted to share my thoughts in celebration of Independence Day.  Regardless of your location in the world, I hope this gives you pause to reflect on – and appreciate – the freedoms you value most.

Freedom to Dream:  Can you imagine not dreaming of success or a better life? After working in former Soviet states, I’ve seen the tragedy of the human mind suppressed by communism. It’s almost impossible for most Americans to understand the limits a mind that has been trained to not dream beyond your present circumstances.  I’m grateful to have been raised to believe anything is possible.

Freedom to Choose: I didn’t used to think about choice very often, but the increasing political correctness in the U.S. brings protection of choice to the forefront. I deeply believe in choice, whether in simple issues such as food or more complicated subjects such as religion or protecting human rights over animal rights. I learned in Egypt that some people choose to follow different customs – and that’s O.K.  We are humans and were not all created to fit the same mold.  I hope the U.S. (and every developed nation) remembers to celebrate those differences and protect human choices.

Freedom to Speak: What did you expect a professional speaker to say?  Smile! Seriously, after seeing the squatter’s camps in South Africa where millions live in conditions far worse than our dogs, I’m thankful for a voice to stand up and truly make a difference.  I also believe every country should provide their citizens the same freedom.

Freedom to Work:Today’s global economic crunch has created more appreciation for work than this country has seen in decades.  As a farm kid, I’m hopeful this will turn into a greater work ethic because I think there’s something wrong with teenagers who don’t know how to earn their keep.  I’m grateful for the opportunity to be an entreprenuer and couldn’t imagine not having the freedom to grow a business.

I hope  your celebration include those freedoms you value the most! And to all those who fought to protect our independence, thank you!

 

Transparency

Eight years ago, I opened up my own shop and became a “professional speaker.” I left the stability of a good salary (at least in the eyes of a farmer’s daughter),  a corporate office team and the opportunity to hob knob with senior managers across the agrifood business. It was exciting, yet terrifying.  In retrospect, becoming an entrepeneur was one of the most rewarding decisions I’ve made – and gave credence to my life standard “no risk, no reward.”

Typically I don’t share a lot about myself because I believe the issues in agricultural advocacy outweigh my own story- and also due to security concerns for my family (terrorism by extremist animal rights and environmental groups is on the rise).  However, the transparency encouraged in social media – and recent attacks on my integrity - have helped me understand the need to be a bit more personal.

So, here’s my transparency; I hope it gives you a feel for why food literacy is so vitally important. Perhaps it will also give you a reason to share your personal role in agriculture with others.

• First off, I have lived on a farm my entire life.  Our family’s dairy farm was lost to bankruptcy in the late 90s, a tremendously painful experience that gave me firsthand understanding of the need to speak out.  My husband and I have built a small farm with a few head of cattle, 3 cats, 2 dogs and a lot of wildlife. We cash rent most of our land and don’t call ourselves farmers out of respect for people with “real” farms, though many of our “city friends” coin us as such. I’m a blue-eyed blonde who can tame a 1500-pound cow, have milked in a skirt and can drive a skid-steer with the best of  them.
• Speaking and consulting has allowed me to work with thousands of  agricultural people across the world. 95% of my audiences are farmers or ranchers in North America - I am paid to train them to speak out more effectively for agriculture.  It’s mystifying why agriculture’s voice seems to be such a threat to some, yet this also tells me we are gaining traction.
• Farm Bureaus (of which I’m a member), National Pork Board, American Agri-Women, Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Wisconsin Dietetic Association and many other rural organizations are the types of groups that hire me.  I have spoken for “the giants” Monsanto, Pfizer, Elanco and J.R. Simplot – all of which give me free rein to share my views (which do not always match their corporate agenda).  Some pundits infer that my client list makes me less than genuine, but I am proud to work with a variety of perspectives across agriculture.  Suffice it to say that you can’t effectively give a 60-minute keynote or 3-hour workshop unless it’s in your heart.
• My passion drives me to help others share agriculture’s story by diminishing defensiveness, while preaching proactiveness. 98.5% of the U.S. population is not on a farm.  It’s not consumers’ fault that they’re disconnected from their food, but it also does not mean farmers deserve to be demonized.  We somehow must bridge the two worlds.  I don’t believe the connection will be  accomplished if agriculture doesn’t  start speaking the same language as consumers. It’s a tough task for independent people who prefer the land to a microphone and  science instead of emotion.
• Cause Matters Corp. is a 1.5 person shop, not a major corporation. I enjoy hand picking projects to help others, am thankful for great clients and seem constantly challenged to get everything done, especially since the advent of social media mania.
• I’m not pro “big ag”, against slow food, or anti-organic. Whether working with dietitians, elected officials or neighbors  – my mission is science-based decision making and applied critical thinking skills.  And, I’m a big proponent of getting people to farms – not just tourist destinations or community gardens, but real modern farms.  Who better to explain how food, feed, fuel and fiber is grown than those who live it every day?
• “Ideating” with people really excites me. I love to work in developing countries, such as the Ukraine and Egypt, where I have found some of life’s greatest lessons from people without food on their plate. I believe if more Americans had experiences beyond their own dinner plate, we’d have greater understanding of the  technology (and infrastructure) necessary to feed a burgeoning global population.
• My favorite place in the world is in the country – appreciating the growth cycle of plants and animals – and the peace that comes with it. The views from my office window are a tribute to this environment, as is the work I do daily to preserve agriculture as a cornerstone of the U.S. 
• We have a young child who provides a daily inspiration for our legacy in agriculture (my husband is a dairy nutritionist). We like to garden, travel, judge & show dairy cattle, volunteer in our community and cheer on the MSU Spartans. Our faith is important to us, as is our wonderful circle of friends.
• Impatience is my greatest weakness and incompetence makes my blood boil.  And, I strongly believe in the freedom of choice - particularly in the grocery story aisle and on the farm.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! I’m very thankful to serve and work in a business that I love. Can you say the same? And if you’re passionate about your work, how have you shared it with your community?

 

Twitter’s Business Value to Agriculture

Questioning why an organization should be a part of Twitter? Today I sent out a tweet (a 140 character-length message) to my community of 1000+ on Twitter.  Their responses were inspiring, so I wanted share these examples with you to help more people in agriculture understand the business value of Twitter.  And, most importantly, encourage you to jump on board if you’re not already a part of the Twitterverse!

My question, as @mpaynknoper, was “Why do you think twitter is valuable to #ag? Send me your comments in next hour to share with webinar participants.” Following are the answers I received in less than 30 minutes – a time frame demonstrating the power of the tool’s immediate timeliness and sense of community.

• RayLinDairy: Relationships-Putting a face on the farmer and making them human.
• whitwallace: Great for dialogue between #ag& non-ag folks. If we don’t use Twitter to tell our story, it’s told for us, minus the #facts.
• scrowell:  It’s like a cocktail party (via @johnrobinson http://bit.ly/SNXm2You can listen quietly, join in, flit between groups. (MPK note – loved this, as I use the cocktail party analogy frequently)
• twittor_groups: RT@d_tolandTwitter allows ag to reach audiences away from the farm, unite ag-related groups & leverage playing field … (MPK note-this shows value of re-tweet or forwarding of a tweet; Twittor Groups doubled the number of potential viewers of the message when they re-tweeted Dan’s message.)
• Chrischinn: Great way to spread info to other aggies in a quick manner, Great way to tell our story to non-ag audience.
• JPlovesCOTTON: creates a community that can talk about real world farming, to respond to misinformation, provide more immediate communication.
• akleinschmidt: 1) networking, 2) sharing ag-related info, 3) factual info, and 4) putting a face to ag.
• Kath_Monsanto: Twitter has been a way to bring the ag industry together. We have connected in a way that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. (MPK note – this is one of several tweeps from Monsanto, who serves as great ag business role model for others to learn from.)
• lisammclean:  I use twitter to monitor public opinions that impact farmers. I learn what we need to do better, and opportunities for messaging.
• natejtaylor: – timely decisions critical to ag – twitter helps with that & knowledge share.
• AgriLawyer: Opens up a direct line to consumers generally that cannot make it to the farm gate. Also there is education between members of the Ag community
• Fastline:  it is a tool with a variety of uses. Allows us to easily communicate with non #agfolks that may not hear our message usually.
• leahbeyer: twitter helps make messages viral. not the solution, but rather a tactic for sharing messages.
• cowjon Twitter is a quick easy way to connect with people and put a face to their food that they would otherwise likely get from groups like HSUS.
• jilibI’ve personally researched ag topics that I would have never thought of giving any time-pre-twitter.

These people represent farmers, commodity groups, agribusinesses, lawyers and concerned citizens interested in food production.  Many have connected through #AgChat on Twitter. They tweet from tractors, milking parlors, offices, seed plots, universities, homes, their kids games and airplanes.  Hopefully they’ve helped you see Twitter offers REAL value for agriculture; long-term to protect our perception and short-term to engage your community.  Don’t drag your feet any longer, jump into Twitter today!

 

A Louder Voice – Pet to Pasture

Recently I’ve become acquainted with a variety of people that share an interest in exposing the intentions of animal rights activists.  Twitter has provided connections, ideas and research from pet owner rights groups, biomedical researchers who rely on animals to help humans and those who are simply concerned about maintaining human rights over animal rights.

Erica Saunders has been one particularly outspoken voice.  She’s the founder of http://www.ar-hr.com  a site to discuss and investigate the efforts of the Animal Rights Industry and resulting effects on both businesses and individuals, health, legal rights and more.”  I thought her perspective would bring value to agriculture, as well as start the wheels churning about collaborating with different partners.

1. Why should people in agriculture care about your work?  

People in agriculture are under attack by the Animal Rights (AR) industry, an attack similarly repeated across practically every arena involving use of animals. It is key to understand that the goals of the Animal Rights Industry has much more to do with money, power and control of people than it does with affection for animals. With the website, Animal Rights or Human Responsibility (AR-HR), I look at use of these tactics in a number of fields including agriculture and the manipulations involved with these methods while advocating for responsible animal husbandry and management from pet to pasture. 

2.  How can we work together?

A predominant characteristic of an AR Industry attack is to divide their target groups into factions with divisive but undefined language: ‘factory farm’, ’puppy mill’, ’inhumane’, ‘animal hoarder’.  While the target community argues amongst its membership over who is or is not included in the offensive label, the AR Industry unifies its supporters by having them believe they are exempt from the same label.  We can work together through the realization that an attack on one sector is an attack on all.  Pet breeders need to stand up with agriculture, agriculture needs to stand up for research & so on.  We need to communicate and reach out to each other, the #agchat sessionson Twitter are a fantastic example.  #Agchat is an example of bringing the private conversations and realities of agriculture to the public.  (MPK note: AgChat is streaming conversation on Twitter every Tuesday, 8-10 p.m. Eastern for people in businesse of raising food, fuel, fiber and feed.) We need to unite against legislation written from the perspective of those who are informed primarily by philosophy but know little of the realities of appropriate animal care.  Efforts against poor legislation need to come from more than the targeted sector but from all sectors, demonstrating a true perspective of opposition to such legislation while assisting in negating accusation of industry bias.

 3.  What can we learn from HSUS actions following the expose’ run by WSB-TV in Atlanta?

The HSUS actions following the expose by WSB-TV had some interesting lessons in it.  Firstly, it revealed that the HSUSis an organization unused to intense public scrutiny.  The reaction has been akin to panic with what appear to be behind-the-scenes attempts to get the WSB-TV expose out of the public light as quickly as possible.  This raises questions in the mind of the public, “Why doesn’t the HSUS want seen and why?” Secondly, there has been an increase in HSUS throwing its weight around online, as suspected in the mysterious suspension of the Center for Consumer Freedom Twitter accounts and as I have been tracking on AR-HR.  HSUS has dramatically increased its rate of activity on my site through such activities as: a) running test searches to see where AR-HR appears b) monitoring Social Media activity related to HSUS such as anti-HSUS Facebookpages and investigating where links on those pages go  c) monitoring of comments made d) investigation of page biographies.  I can suspect similar activity on sites that comment on the HSUS

Thirdly, HSUS will go for ‘character assassination’ in the face of negative fact-based information.  This is its favorite tool in the face of opposition, followed closely by playing the martyr.

4.  How do you suggest we mutually leverage this information to help people understand the true agenda of activist groups such as HSUS?

There are a number of ways this information may be leveraged to help people understand the goals of groups such as the HSUS.  The first and most critical, follow the money.  Not everyone cares about the details agriculture but everyone pays attention when it comes to use or mis-use of donated money.  Second, recognition of the key role of language, it is the stick that the AR Industry and its legislation beats a population with.   Third, continue to point out the response of AR Industry groups to ‘pulling back the curtain’ on their behavior and campaigns.  What was the first response of the HSUS to the WSB-TV report?  Rumored threat of legal team + character assassination.  AR Industry groups rarely combat hard data with evidence to the contrary, we need to ask, why?  

Monitoring the data from your own websites may give you valuable information, specifically where visitors come from. It is possible to determine if and when HSUS headquarters is checking your site, what locations they are accessing your site from and where they go on your site.  This allows you to know if/when you strike a nerve and, in some cases, anticipate what the Animal Rights Industry may choose to use against you and look how they attack others.  The HSUS often levels attacks equally applicable to itself. 

Lastly, remember both your audience and the audience you seek.  Speak to your audience with truth, passion & conviction but remember that too much anger and rhetoric can serve to drive away potential allies and alienate current ones.  We are all in this together and I couldn’t be prouder of the side I have chosen or of the support I have received so far.

 

HSUS Doesn’t Help Puppies & Kittens

Rolly little  puppies and fuzzy kittens are irresistible.  Apparently the Humane Society of the United States can’t keep away from them, though it may not be for the reasons you expect.  Less than 4% of the annual HSUS budget goes to local animal shelters, counter opposite to HSUS campaigns featuring adorable little pups and kitties.

 

Value in Twitter & Tweeting

To tweet or not to tweet – therein lies the question. Twitter is the rage of the season and a headliner in most media outlets. Since Oprah began tweeting last month, Twitter moved to mainstream from early adopters.  Before you wave it off as youth fad, the numbers below tell you that people 35 and older are driving the success of Twitter as a business tool. According to ComScore, college age and teenagers are 12% less likely to tweet than middle agers.

 

Frenzy & Freakout Over Flu

 Media outlets around the globe have been in a frenzy spreading fear about the flu, now known as H1N1. Pandemic is the best way to describe it – and I’m not talking about the sickness, but the sensationalism surrounding the mutated virus. May I suggest a perspective check?

• More than 500,000 people  around the world die annually from the common seasonal flu.
• You cannot get this virus from pork or pigs, contrary to misperceptions formed around the original name, swine flu.  Get the facts.
• The single American death came from a 23 month who was brought to the U.S. for medical care. Most people are recovering from it within a week’s time. It’s unfortunate that people have died, but don’t blow it out of proportion.

 

Industrial Agriculture & Sustainability

“Industrial agriculture” and “factory farming” are terms used with increasing frequency, thanks to activists on a rampage to put food production in the worst light possible  to further their own agendas.  What is a factory farm?  How do you define one?  And, WHO is responsible for defining that? 

 

Hey PETA, Agriculture Shows Up Every Day

Michigan State University’s student newspaper, The State News recently ran an op-ed from one of PETA’s well-known radicals. This particularly upset me, as no reference was made to the acts of vandalism that animal rights and envrionmental activists have done to MSU’s College of Agriculture & Natural Resources over the last 20 years – including arson proven in the court of law.

 

Idea Proliferation

Creating ideas is my business. I frequently engage in “idea infatuation” and have lengthy discussion about how these ideas can help people in agriculture.  And, I’m constantly humbled by how others build on the initial thought and proliferate an idea to be far-reaching and truly impactful.