Like many pet lovers, it’s hard for me to resist a fuzzy little kitten or puppy dog playing. I was the official kitten rescuer on our farm and saved the lives of several by bottle feeding them. Many of my childhood memories center around animals – trying to persuade the Saint Bernard to pull me on a sled, hours in the hay mow with cats and fun with calves. I also remember going to local animal shelters and feeling terrible for the animals who had no home. So I “get” the attraction to campaigns run by the Humane Society of the United States – after all, who wants to see these cute little creatures suffer?

The reality is that the Humane Society of the United States is falsely advertising to attract animal lovers’ dollars.  Many great people and organizations have unknowingly contributed because they wanted to help animals. Just this week, Yellow Tail wines announced they were contributing $100,000 to HSUS – and subsequently have found  wrath on Facebook and Twitter with hundreds asking how an agricultural company could come to such a decision.

Why? Take a look at a law school article that outlines “The Myth of the Humane Society of the United States” and illustrates how the bulk of HSUS balance was spent on fundraising, campaigns and lawsuits. “There is one minor detail left out of these commercials. The Humane Society of the United States is not a large network of animal shelters, as it would have you to believe. In fact, the HSUS does not own, operate, or lease a single animal shelter in our country.”

2008 HSUS Expenditures

Before you chalk this up to another farm person who doesn’t value animals as much as you do, consider this.  I have shed thousands of tears about my cows dying, held them in my arms while they took their last breath, gave them I.V.s with more love than most nurses show, supported baby calves who could not stand, nurtured kittens from near death, watched my 4-H animals be loaded on the trailer for slaughter and still remember the heartbreak my first cat getting run over by a UPS truck. I’ve also had my body implanted into the side of a truck by an irate show heifer (yes, I left a dent), been cornered in a box stall by a protective mother cow and had a cow flip me up over a free stall, slammed on to my back.

I “get” animals. I love animals, even when they’re rotten. I believe they should receive the best possible care and be treated with respect. However, I know animals are not human and should not be valued the same as humans.  Farm animals, as much as we may love them, serve a purpose. That purpose is to provide food for humans.  Our society, generations removed from the farm, doesn’t talk about that without getting squeamish. This makes us susceptible to falling prey to false advertising by groups such as HSUS that ARE working to end farm animal production in the States, funded by the campaigns of cats and kittens. As Mike Rowe says “I happen to believe that using emotion to manipulate voters is just plain unethical and wrong.”

In a recent article questioning the campaigns of animal rights groups such as HSUS and PETA, Rowe goes on to say “Who wouldn’t get choked up to see a mistreated animal? And look, I’m sure that some farmers use methods that are not humane.  I’m equally sure that there are many who don’t.  Just like all blondes aren’t dumb and all polish people aren’t stupid, the few bad eggs shouldn’t represent the many good ones (sorry – I just couldn’t resist saying that).   Should we put every good citizen in prison and let the prisoners run free?  Just like you can’t say that every person who owns a puppy is going to treat it like the bozo down the street that runs a puppy mill, you can’t say that all farm animals are abused and all farmers are to blame.  I don’t believe that keeping a chicken in a cage, free from bad weather or predators and feeding them well and making sure they stay healthy is a bad thing.”

Support your local animal shelter if you want to help companion animals. As this article points out, “local donations will result in aid reaching animals.” Get involved and volunteer if you love animals and are concerned with their welfare. But please know there is a substantial difference between your local humane society and the Humane Society of the United States who spends less than 5% of nearly $200 million in assets on local shelters. And, if you are concerned about what farmers are doing to animals, go to a farm (not a petting zoo) and ASK A FARMER. I’ll be glad to help you find one to visit if you’re at a loss of where to get started.

If you’re a farmer,  share some of these facts with your friends – and while you’re at it, tell them about your farm. Who knows, you might help someone understand that your cow is not their dog.

Yesterday I flew back to Indianapolis on a high from the Kansas Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers Annual Meeting.  I consider airplanes to be a refuge to either get a lot of work done or sleep, so I’m not always in tune with my fellow passengers. However, I  did notice  a soldier in first class when I got on the plane. I usually stop to say thanks to soldiers, but he was trying to read a book and his legs were visibly shaking – so I didn’t bother him.

During our approach to IND, the flight attendant announced that our plane was carrying 21 soldiers returning home from the Middle East. More of their story is here. As the plane broke out in applause, I realized the soldier with shaking legs had likely experienced trauma that I could only imagine.  It was a moving reminder that we often forget about people serving in military. And I’m as guilty of  ’out of sight, out of mind’ as the next person.

It seemed like the plane should have let all of the soldiers off first, but that didn’t happen. By the time I was up the jetway, there was a handful of soldiers waiting for the rest of their unit. I did manage to get out an emotional ‘thank you’ to the small group and went on my way.  As I exited the security area into the main concourse, the energy level was fervent with families awaiting their loved ones.  There were little children jumping excitedly about, wives who had held down the home fronts, parents with relief clearly etched into their face and friends anticipating the soldiers.  I had never seen a full military homecoming, but didn’t want to interfere, so I continued toward the exit. I should have stayed.  While still on the escalator, I was moved to tears by the heartwarming round of cheers that rose over the airport – a glimpse at the very human sacrifices of service.

It hit me then that we often don’t truly appreciate the sacrifices made for our country and well-being unless those circumstances have directly affected our own life. I’ve never had an immediate family member be in the military, but I’ve interfaced with enough soldiers at airports to get a sense of why they do what they do. Their sacrifice of life, family and home is something we should all keep in mind – and thank every solider we see. I believe it’s about honoring the people – regardless of your position on military activities around the world.

The same can be said for honoring people who produce our food, regardless of your political position or viewpoints on conventional vs. organic, biotechnology or not, small vs. large. Farmers are providing a service that is vital to our national security (don’t eat for a day to learn how we’d do without food). While I’d never suggest farming is as traumatic as warfare or even that the risks are as great, I do see a lot of parallels.

• Taken for granted; out of sight, out of mind.
• Under-appreciated unless directly involved in your life
• Scrutinized for actions out of their control
• Reported with great bias in the mainstream media

Please don’t forget the unsung heroes in your life. Our society relies deeply on forgotten sectors interwoven into our fabric, such as soldiers and farmers. I’d like to thank  those people today and hope that you’ll join me in gratitude.

People often ask me where my passion for agriculture originates. After seeing me gladly stand up against pundits pointing fingers at farmers, many likely think it’s the anti-ag groups that fuel my fire. While it’s true that each piece of misinformation fans the flame, it’s really the people behind the food plate that give me the greatest inspiration.

Farmers and ranchers inspire me to keep up the good fight – though many of them likely never realize it. For example, Brand Farms were at a social media advocacy workshop I gave a couple of weeks ago in Indiana. They’ve gotten engaged in Twitter to the point of having a productive dialogue about why they support rBST as an effective tool on their dairy with an urban person. I find it inspiring that they’ve invested the time to learn Twitter – and are now building their fan page on Facebook, complete with pictures captioned to tell their farm’s story and pride in solid pedigrees.

Or, my mom friend, Chris Chinn, in Missouri. She’s sassy, she’s worried about her kids’ future, she likes fun clothes - just like most of my girlfriends.  She just happens to be  a pig farmer. Not just any hog farmer, but one who is fighting like mad to keep her family farm alive for future generations. And she does it incredibly well, even when faced with the financial destruction that the hog business saw in 2009. She has no high-speed internet service, yet makes a daily effort to engage in conversation about agriculture online – and speaks regularly at ag meetings. I’m inspired by her ability to reach out to moms and farmers alike to tell her story in a way that resonates  across the country.

Young Dairy Leaders Institute Class 5

My greatest inspiration comes from those I’ve seen grow over time. For example, Ray Prock, a dairyman in California. I met Ray when I was coaching the Young Dairy Leaders Institute and he was always one of those participants who questioned everything. However, the effort to give answers paid off as Ray has consistently stepped into leadership roles. Five years later he serves as a daily source of inspiration as I watch him help rally the troops using social media, with efforts such as Farm2U on Facebook.

Sharing agriculture’s story isn’t rocket science – it’s relationships. And I’m very thankful to have an array of wonderful people who inspire me daily with the relationships they’re developing to put a face on the food plate. Like it or not, agriculture is a people business. In a time when we hear of a farmer shooting his animals and then taking his own life, something is broken in our agrifood system. I consider it my responsibility to put inspiration from farmers like these to use and hopefully effect change.

A good friend (who also farms) pointed out to me last weekend that I make a living off of worrying about how consumer’s accept or don’t accept agriculture. That’s true enough. However, it’s also true that I’d be perfectly happy if I talked myself out of a job. That’s only going to happen if we find a world where people have enough of a relationship with a farmer to question the misinformation campaigns by groups like HSUS, PETA and Sierra Club.

If you are a farmer or rancher, what are you doing TODAY to build connections with people who aren’t on your farm every day? Who knows – you might just be the next source of inspiration to someone in agriculture. Or, conversely, you may just be the next source inspiration for an activist group that are more than happy to tell your story for you.

And, if you are a consumer, please visit a real farm –  firsthand.  Don’t trust people on ABC or other mainstream media outlets who have done very little to get a real taste of modern food production on family farms. There are many wonderful farmers like the three above who really want you to know their story – and you’ll likely find them as inspiring as I do.  Just let me know if I can help connect you!

What’s the perfect recipe for chili? Some like it with corn, others put in chickpeas, yet others crave spaghetti noodles in it. Personally I add herb cornbread biscuits on top of my chili. Different recipes fit different tastes. The same is true for social media; some will love the spice and fast pace of Twitter, while others enjoy the sweetness of Facebook. Yet others find YouTube to be the special sauce – and even go so far as to shoot video from the tractor and upload from their phone since they have no high speed internet.

Some of these folks have become ‘master chefs’ of the different tools – I encourage you to listen and learn. First off, the recently retired president of Indiana Pork, Randy Curless. Randy is a master on Facebook and the shining example of how a farmer can utilize Facebook as a business tool. Check out http://facebook.com/libertyswine and be sure to look at his photos.

The next two ‘chefs’ are found on my Facebook page at http://facebook.com/causematters.  Brent Pohlman of Midwest Laboratories brings insight on how an agribusiness can benefit from social media. Brent enjoys tracking new technology and offers ideas on what’s coming, such as Google Wave.  See my conversation with Brent.

Liz Woodruff of Milk Promotion Services of Indiana is the final chef , talking about both social media and how Indiana ag organizations collaborated to produce the first Livestock, Grain and Forage Forum. Click here for Liz’s video. Her recipe is really about adapting a strategic hub to help further the message of Indiana’s dairy farmers, who now have a presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, the blogosphere and Linkedin.

Social media isn’t a completely different kitchen to cook in. You just have to find the right recipe for your tastes, as you can see from these three conversations. Shouldn’t you get cooking?

MPK Note ~ Darin Grimm, a family farmer in northeast Kansas, grows corn, soybeans, wheat, sunflowers on 2000 acres with 1100 head of beef cattle.  Darin loves technology, particularly data related to improving the decision-making ability for agriculturists, having been involved with precision ag tools for a number of years. In the last year, his interest in technology has attracted him to analytics of social media.  He wrote this guest post in response to a question posted on #AgChat, a weekly streaming moderated conversation on Twitter.  I applaud him for taking the initiative!

“How do you measure the number of people reached or the success of #agvocacy through social media?”  @debbieLB (another farmer on Twitter) asked this question and it  gets my personal vote as the best #agchat question of the year.  (MPK note: “#agvocacy” is a ‘hashtag’ used on twitter to talk about agricultural advocacy –  see the archive of this Jan. 5 chat that had more than 1000 messages over two hours.)

First, I want to touch on the idea that “we don’t need data/metrics this is “social media”.  While true that success is far more than a numbers game, I will argue that there is significant value in having some type of measurement system to judge performance and identify the best areas to focus improvements.  If you are part of an organization that requires measured results to justify a budget or time commitment this is even more true. A few of my favorite tools include:

Bit.ly A nice place to start looking at data and metrics.  You can create an account, link it to your twitter account, and than when you add a link and tell bitly to “shorten it” it creates a link that is much easier to share on Twitter.  The important thing is you can view data on how many people clicked on your link in real time, as well as over the past week/month or overall.  Bit.ly stores all the links you shorten with the service so you can see the click results of various links over time.  One unique way I use Bit.ly, often times I will want to gauge popularity of a webpage link I see on Twitter that I am not interested in tweeting myself.  You can easily go to the webpage, copy the address to Bit.ly, shorten it, and watch traffic.

Google Analytics If Bit.ly is a nice place to start, Google Analytics is the power hitter.  Unfortunately, with all that power comes what can be a steep learning curve.  Google Analytics measures traffic to your website, and can tell you a lot about how people are using your website, how they are finding your site, even down to the specific search terms they may be using to get there.  One challenge for some in using Google Analytics, you must insert a bit of code on each of your web pages, which can be intimidating.  There are many good resources around the web for learning the tool, but I recommend this  very useful piece on Google Analytics.

Twitter Tools So many tools, focus on a few that benefit, such as Tweetdeck, Tweetstats, and follow an account such as @twitter_tips.  Or, you can take a look at this list of over 50 tools.

The first step is learning to integrate these tools into your routine and decision-making process, using the data appropriately. The second step is even more difficult;  understanding that most often the data only fine tunes and focuses your personal passion/work.  It would be a mistake to let the data drive too much of what you do.  I will use Bit.ly and a small personal example here.

When I first started on Twitter with only a handful of followers, I tweeted out a link to a new ag video site.  I was shocked as I got several re-tweets (forwards) of the video resulting in a total of over 90 clicks (tracked on Bit.ly) at a time when most of my posts would get 2-3 clicks at best.  From that, I could summarize that I should focus on providing links to video content like this.  But if that is the take home message I am using the data VERY incorrectly.  It is not my personal goal on Twitter to get large numbers of clicks around topics that really don’t interest me that much.  My passion is numbers/data, and even though the audience may always be small, it is where I want to personally focus.   Now that doesn’t mean that there was nothing to be learned by the high interest in the video link.  As an example, it might indicate that there is more interest than I expected in something like a training video on how to put Google Analytics on your site.

Key points for you to take home:

1)  Know there is a plethora of tools regarding tracking and measuring results
2)  Start slow, don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to do it all at once
3)  Don’t let the data take away from your enjoyment of social media.
4)  Take advantage of the social network you have, ask questions, look for advice, share!

Just remember “Data gives good managers the tools they need to succeed”, it alone will never do the managing for you. Hopefully this helps you take advantage of the opportunity social media offers farmers to tell their story.

In the past 8 years of speaking, I have stood on a ‘bully pulpit’ and likely asked more than 100,000 people to stand up and speak out for agriculture. In order for this to happen, I encouraged farm folks to overcome their natural modesty. After all, it’s impossible to put a face on the plate if there aren’t any faces willing to step forward or voices to go with them.

As a farm girl, I thought I understood how modesty is  branded on nearly every child born on a farm. Then some in the ag community taught me otherwise when they successfully campaigned to have @mpaynknoper (that’s me) as one of Mashable’s Top 5 Twitter Users of the Year.  While it was touching to see the ag community together come together and I understood it was a real opportunity to showcase agriculture’s voice, I was embarrassed.  I honestly didn’t really feel like I deserved the nomination. It was really hard time asking people to “vote” for me (kind of gave me a queasy feeling). And what if some one found out that it was just little old me?

Words aren’t quite easy to slide down the tongue when you have to eat them.  I had a handful of people who would directly quote me whenever I protested. However, at the end of this campaign, I still ask every person who’s connected to a farm or a farmer to be less humble. Yes, it’s painful to sometimes draw attention to yourself. Yes, it feels like bragging. Yes, it is not natural for the agricultural community to stand up and say “LOOK AT ME.”  Yes, speaking out will make you uneasy. However, we must – if we don’t, there are certainly people who are pointing fingers that say “look at them – those terrible farmers.”

Speaking from experience, swallowing humility is better than the very bitter pill being forced upon us by the activists. Why don’t you try it out as you celebrate this holiday season?

Ever had a cow lick your video camera? Wonder why a farmer tweets? Want to know how the agricultural community is REALLY using tools such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs?  Take a look at any of these quick videos on the Cause Matters Corp. Facebook Fan page – I can’t say it any better than these farmers and agribusiness folks do.

http://facebook.com/causematters

Ray Prock in “Singling Out Social Media”

Brandon Hunnicut on “Why Farmers Tweet”

Barbara Martin, The Dairy Goddess, “Blogging with the Video Camera”

Cheryl Stubendieck, Nebraska Farm Bureau “Sharing Social Media Success”

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve traveled from coast to coast keynoting, as well as  providing agricultural advocacy and social media workshops. The people who I meet are truly the greatest reward of my work. I hope  you enjoy them as much as I do – and heed their advice that it’s time for agriculture to get in gear in social media.

As Americans sit down to the gluttonous feast known as Thanksgiving, I hope that you’ll reflect on your plate before it’s loaded with food.  Look closely and you may even see reflections of the faces behind your food.  The people engaged in the 1.5% of the U.S. population raising food deserve gratitude as we celebrate the heritage of our country. While most Americans have lost sight of our agrarian roots, I believe it’s only fitting to say thank you to each person who grows enough to feed 155 people.

Today’s farmer is somewhere between the bib overalls of Charlotte Web images and the greedy corporate moguls painted by pundits.  Today’s farmer still represents core values of work ethic, perseverance,  integrity and quality of life for their family. Today’s farmer also represents creative entrepreneurship, astute risk management skills, adaptive use of technology and stewardship of resources.

When I consider the faces behind the food plate, I think about:

• My friend Kelly, who likes to shop, heatedly debates politics, bakes a mean Snickerdoodle and has beautiful long black hair. She also loves cows, works on her family’s dairy operation making the genetic selection choices, milking cows twice a day seven days a week (including mine) and carefully monitors herd health of a couple hundred animals. She spends hundreds of hours volunteering to help children experience agriculture. She  worries about over-regulations and animal rights activists putting her farm out of business.
• A Twitter buddy, Darin, who is an introvert on the farm, but can run data sets with the best of the tech heads from Silicon Valley. He’s on his children’s school board,  runs half-million dollar equipment to harvest their family’s two thousand acres and wonders why pundits say he’s controlled by subsidies and corporate agribusiness.  He also gets a kick out of using technology to develop business decision models for inputs needed for every acre they farm. He worries about government requirements preventing their farm from doing what they do best.
• My family farm, which no longer exists. It is the place of all my childhood memories and the master of my most valuable life lessons.
• Friends that have withstood the terrorism of PETA coming onto their hog operations to shoot sensationalized videos of animal abuse. These same friends are a young family who serve their community and industry through leadership positions. They also have clear policies in place against any type of animal abuse, but had to see their name dragged through the mud. They wonder how some people can hate at such a deep level.
• Many other farms, large and small, that I’ve visited around the world. People who produce food are not hayseeds, nor are they greedy. Nearly 98% of all farms are still family owned. These are simply people trying to operate their businesses, be solid members of the community and raise their families in the best environment in the world.

Help me celebrate the people behind your Thanksgiving plate by  raising food awareness and literacy, literally saying thank you to the people who produce your food.  If you’d like more, see some of these great posts :

• Love Thanksgiving? Thank a Farmer - Busy Women’s Guide to Eating Better http://bit.ly/8lvACg
• Giving Thanks - Cut to the Paste  http://bit.ly/8w1Bvz
• Be Thankful for a Lot of Things, and Don’t Forget the Farmers - Texas Agriculture Talks http://bit.ly/7vcClc
• America’s Family Farmers – Food for thought from Monsanto http://bit.ly/8HXNux
• Farmers make foodie aspirations possible – Farm Bureau Blog http://bit.ly/4svklJ
• Don’t Be a Turkey This Thanksgiving, Thank a Farmer - Beyond the Rows http://bit.ly/6Y8WgQ
• Food a Plenty, Thanks to family farmers – NCGA http://bit.ly/2plNrK
• Giving Thanks - Marketing Newbie http://bit.ly/8nhJCs
• A place to post your thanks – Beef from Pasture to Plate  http://bit.ly/5nuPL9
• A Farmer in Northwest Iowa - Faith, Fiction, Friends http://bit.ly/5EdzJl
• Thanking a Farmer for Introducing Me to the World of Beef Cattle – Beef from Pasture to Plate http://bit.ly/5DpkxC
• Fun Facts about the Food We Eat - Ag Day http://bit.ly/70rAgI
• Thank a Farmer – Beef From Pasture to Plate  http://bit.ly/8oEQni
• #thank a Farmer – JB Chicago http://bit.ly/5rfMzp
• Thank a Farmer – Advocates for Ag  http://bit.ly/7MHmCo
• It’s Thank a Farmer Week – Tyson Foods Hunger Aid http://bit.ly/8nF2xg
• #ThankaFarmer – Ray-Lin Dairy http://bit.ly/5OgYgC

I wish you a beautiful Thanksgiving. As you enjoy the bounty on your plate, please take a moment to reflect on the people who brought that to you – and the national security they provide in doing so. Imagine if we had to rely on Iraq, Mexico and China for our food. We’re truly blessed to have plates filled by some of America’s best citizens.

A Brazilian popstar, Hollywood celebrities and an agricultural speaker are side-by-side in the race for an internationally-recognized social media award. Mashable, The Social Media Guide, announced the nominees for the 2009 Open Web Awards today and Certified Speaking Professional Michele Payn-Knoper was one of the top five nominees for Twitter User of the Year. There are over two million “tweets” sent daily on the micro-blogging site Twitter and celebrities attract the largest number of followers, so agriculture’s representation on this list is an exciting opportunity for the agrifood business. Payn-Knoper was nominated by members of an agricultural community, “#AgChat”, which Payn-Knoper founded in April.

Take a look my video response about why this type of ‘exposure’ is important for agriculture, even when it’s painful to be the name involved. It is true that many in our #agchat community launched a campaign to make this nomination happen while I was overseas.  Believe it or not, this has been a really good lesson for me to practice what I preach about agriculture folks to get over self-consciousness if it means we can tell our story to a wider and more diverse audience.

Again, thanks to those who have chosen to vote and participate to put agriculture in the spotlight. I really believe this is about the community and not any given user name. Regardless of whether you choose to vote daily at http://mashable.com/owa/votes?v=247&c=50 or not, I’m thankful for your interest in food and the people who raise it this Thanksgiving season.

One of the greatest personal advantages to social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube is the ability to really connect with people, rather than just see them when I’m speaking. Relationships, built through shared experiences, have been growing through hundreds of conversations online.

#AgChat on Twitter has been a breeding ground for thousands of those conversations to spread the word about agriculture.  One of the people I’ve enjoyed connecting with through #AgChat is @farmerhaley, a Purebred Simmental, grain and hay farmer in Ohio who also goes by Mike Haley. He gave me a totally different perspective on the value of social media when I was challenging him about the need to speak up for agriculture in his local community.  Mike said “While I have always taken time to answer my communities and neighbors questions about agriculture, since I have been on Twitter I have gained more confidence and knowledge in how to talk to people about their questions or concerns.”

So, if you want to know why a farmer ‘tweets’,  read on…

How long have you been engaged in social media and what got you started?

My wife and I were at the Ohio Farm Bureau Young  Agricultural Professionals conference in February 2009 and attended a session where Joe Cornely was talking about his experiences with social and ways that we could use it as farmers. When we got home we decided to try it, she set up a facebook account and I set up a twitter account.

What has been your experience with educating others about farming on Twitter?

My experience has been something like a roller coaster, some people engage with curiosity wanting to know more about agriculture, and some have engaged me trying to discredit what I say. I have even had other farmers ask me for information about my views on a subject so that we can both understand it better.

I also have engaged other tweeps (people on Twitter) on some of the misinformation that they were spreading around.  In some cases I have learned that I am the misinformed party, others I have found out we were both right under different circumstances. In the situations where I was correct, I was sometimes able to shed light on the other party, while other times they don’t care. In any case, I have found if I engage in a conversation with them some of the people that follow are willing to listen to my side as well, which is what matters the most.

How has Twitter given you more confidence in speaking out for agriculture?

Twitter has made me more aware of my surroundings and how other view what I do, both good and bad.  I have learned a lot about how to talk in a way that individuals not involved in agriculture will understand. While doing that, I have also learned that people do care about what I do and want to listen to some of the things I have to talk about.

I also have learned a lot more about the need to speak up. In some ways I feel this knowledge is more of a reason for me to be speaking for agriculture, rather than actually building my confidence.

Why do you think farmers should use social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube?

Most of us in agriculture live in small communities where most people already have an idea of what agriculture is about.  SM allows us to take a few seconds or minutes to educate thousands of people without leaving the farm, to take the time to educate the same amount of people by word of mouth would mean I would have to take time off to travel to a meeting, or invite people to come to me and take time off to show them around.  BUT, dont ever discredit the power of a personal touch; both methods are important.

What’s the greatest benefit to agriculture in using social media?

Think about the big bad wolf, the vilian in the fairy tale Little Red  Riding Hood.  Have you ever thought about what would have been the story if the wolf would have gotten his version of the story published first?  Farmers have a very important voice in how our food is grown and raised, but if we do not speak up about why, what and how we produce it somebody else may just do it for us, and we might not agree with what they are telling our consumers!

How does this translate to bottom line value for your farm?

I am currently the fifth generation of my family on this farm. I want to do everything to make sure that my family has the choice to continue to farm in generations to come.  If we dont speak our piece now, then we will not have anything but memories to tell in the future.

Still scratching your head about the business value for agriculture? Click here for some of the articles and radio spots with more facts about social media and the agrifood business. Consider this; the Humane Society of the United States or Sierra Club will be glad to have that conversation with people for you on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Is that what you’d like to happen?