Nine states. More than 50 hours of training farmers and ag organizations on social media. 2 tornado warnings during 15+ hours of driving, topped by 5 severe thunderstorms. Gratitude for the way others in ag welcomed new folks. 15+ flights; 1 diverted, many delayed and two cancelled. Tired vocal cords. And outstanding conversations with close to 200 farmers. That was my June.
We had great discussions about the necessity of farmers speaking out in a more proactive way. Most people I’ve worked with in the last month agreed agriculture has developed a tendency to be defensive. After all, if you’re backed into a corner, you’re likely to come out fighting, right? Local food, biotechnology, organic, animal welfare, subsidies, carbon footprint, fuel, etc. are all hot issues that have seemingly put our backs up against a wall.
Rather than looking at this as being put in the corner and constantly defending ourselves, I believe the interest in food and fuel offers an incredible opportunity for agriculture to be a part of the conversation.
1. Listen: How will you connect with a person if you don’t take the time to listen? Groups on Linkedin or Twitter conversations are a great place to listen to folks, even if you don’t agree with them. Listen louder and you’ll get a clear look at societal interests and trends far removed from your driveway. It’s about broadening your horizons, understanding another viewpoint and learning about others. This does not mean you have to agree!
2. Engage: Unlike some folks I met in Missouri that enjoyed collecting friends on Facebook (but not talking to them), you actually have to engage in a real conversation with people – whether you are in person or online. Look up the definition of conversation: an oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas. As you engage with people, you widen the stream of communications, bringing in others and deepening the “trust well.” It’s about connecting on an emotional level.
3. Educate: After you listen and engage, you earn the right to educate. I had a person in Iowa tell me this week that he didn’t want to waste his time on the first two – he just wanted to be able to tell people the facts. That may work in his playbook, but it doesn’t in the majority of communities. There’s a reason that 460 million people are on Facebook; humans enjoy interfacing with humans. A glimpse into life on the farm with a photo from your phone, perspective from a farm family or a tidbit on how food gets to the grocery store can provide that very human connection. Telling people what you want them to know doesn’t connect at the same level if you don’t have a relationship.
Sometimes we need to realize a question is just a question. The question doesn’t mean that a consumer is dumb, your neighbor is against your farm, or a mom is questioning how you raise food. The question means the person is opening the doorway for a conversation. Will you slam that door shut by being defensive? Or, will you take the time to listen and engage?
We’ll never be able to earn the right to educate if we only defend. Take the time today to listen and engage – then you’ll be able to educate far more effectively to help people know how deeply you care.
Gate to Plate Blog by Michele Payn-Knoper 
June 30, 2010 at 2:03 am
Excellent points. But there is a Fourth Point, oft used by our adversaries and neglected by us: Emotions.
We have facts on our side, so we argue facts. But facts are sometimes dry and off-putting.
So let’s continue to use facts, but let’s add a measure of emotional appeal. We’re right on the facts, but we’re also right on the emotions. So let’s fire up our arguments by appealing to both the intellect and the heart of our audience. After all, our adversaries have empty claims and empty emotions, so we have the responsibility to demonstrate this to the public.
An old law partner once told me how to prepare a law case. “When your opposing counsel argues a case against you, if the facts on their side, then they will appeal to the jurors’ brains. And if emotions on their side, they will appeal to the jurors’ hearts. But when neither the facts nor emotions are on their side, then your case is much more difficult, because then your opposition will not argue the facts nor the emotions. Instead, your adversary will try to baffle them with bullsh*t.”
We have a difficult case to present to the public, so let’s use both the facts and emotions, and let the other side use the alternative.
Joe
June 30, 2010 at 7:35 am
Agree that emotion is often missed by ag folks, and is a part of engaging. If you don’t get them emotionally, you’re likely only in a verbal debate.
June 30, 2010 at 12:26 pm
I like the idea of using emotions to tell the ag story but I also point to Michele’s comment about listening with an open mind. I’ve seen farmers get emotional about these issues but also not open to listening to where the other person is coming from, what facts they are basing their opinions on, etc. A healthy debate is a good thing. As Michele says, get engaged!
June 30, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Hey there – Loved this Blog Michele – Having approached Agvocacy from the “outside in” given my day job I do see that most of the time we take the offensive analytical approach and I see your training as a big key in teaching others to be proactive in explaining the benifits and emotional impact of our day to day activities to the nonagricultural community.
July 1, 2010 at 1:02 pm
I so appreciate this blog. I hope to share this with our CattleWomen. It is helpful to reinforce how important it is to just calmly talk to people about your livelihood. Sometimes we have to jump start the conversation, ask “what have you heard…” to have a starting point for discussion. After addressing that, role with your “story”. We know how far away from the farm or ranch consumers are today. I belive most just want to understand and feel good about the food they eat. We just have to help make that happen.
July 1, 2010 at 9:31 pm
There are so many things we do every day that are a mystery to those who have never been around it. We think of it as farmer to consumer but relationships are much more than that. I don’t claim to know cotton or soybeans or raising 30,000 chickens per year. It would be a disservice, IMO, to speak on that. Equally many who are well versed in that aren’t with rabbits or specialty crops or other things. The beauty of the internet is it allows an inter-connected network. It allows ‘meeting’ people where you can say “I don’t know for sure – but I know someone who does…!” It’s happened to me on Twitter from both sides. I’m a neophyte and constantly learning social media…but there’s so many things to share!