By Cyndie Sirekis, American Farm Bureau Federation
More than 6,000 people, mostly Farm Bureau members, attended the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 93rd Annual Meeting, held last month in Hawaii. About a dozen of the attendees, all active in social media, volunteered to blog about their experiences.
These “guest bloggers” wrote more than 40 posts for the Farm Bureau Annual Meeting Blog. Posts about the topics below were the most popular.
President Bob Stallman’s annual address. In what has been dubbed the “State of Farm Bureau,” AFBF President Bob Stallman outlines the current “lay of the land” when it comes to regulations and policy related to agriculture, and highlights the organization’s priorities. He also suggests a few strategic actions for the farmer and rancher members to consider.
“We must engage directly with the consumer as an industry in ways we haven’t before,” Stallman said. “And while we must fully engage in this ongoing national dialogue about food and the devoted care we take when we grow it, we must also never, ever forget to listen.”
Blogged Jeff Fowle, a California farmer and rancher, “I believe he [Stallman] is spot on when he said, ‘…Folks, maybe, just maybe, we, as the producers of food in this country, can play a role to help unite instead of divide. It’s about time to put all else aside and for all of us to stand up as Americans first.’”
Advocating for agriculture. “For years when we talked about agriculture we told people how safe, abundant and affordable our food was in this country,” blogged Chris Chinn of Missouri. “Farm Bureau members learned from U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance research that consumers don’t connect to these messages because these are not concerns they have. People are more concerned about the methods we are using to produce food and the impact it might have on consumer health. We need to let people know we hear their concerns and we want to address them.”
Young farmers and ranchers. Results for national Young Farmers and Ranchers (aged 18-35) competitions naturally generated interest, but musings about where agriculture may be headed also garnered attention.
“The increasing average age of farmers and ranchers in the United States is a legitimate concern,” wrote Chelsea Good, communications director at the Kansas Department of Agriculture. “Many people my age are hesitant to take the leap and farm and ranch full-time. From increasing production costs to limited access to credit, getting a start in agriculture as a young person is not easy. However, in my opinion, the leadership development happening through YF&R indicates that our industry will have strong, competent leaders for many years to come.”
Farm tours. “Hawaii is facing a lot of issues in agriculture that are similar to what farmers face on the mainland, including challenges related to water, economics and animal rights activism,” blogged Hilary Maricle of Nebraska. “Additionally, they have supply issues as so much of their food is shipped in…throughout the U.S., we have things that are threatening agriculture and the effects can be seen in Hawaii. If we want to keep ag strong, farmers must continue to stand up and speak out together like our AFBF delegates [who set the policy direction for the organization in the coming year] did on Tuesday!”
Farmer and rancher photos. North Dakota rancher Val Wagner blogged about a surprisingly emotional standing-room only session featuring photographer Paul Mobley talking about his book American Farmer, the Heart of Our Country.
“As image after image played across the screen, and story after story was told, I couldn’t help but sit up a little straighter, hold my head a little higher and feel just a little bit better,” Wagner wrote. “Mr. Mobley said it best when he said, ‘If we need to look for role models in this day, we need to look no farther than the American farmer.’ Amen.”
Arizona’s own Blogging
Arizona Farm Bureau’s own blogs are changing the way Arizona families look at Arizona agriculture. Between Fill Your Plate’s blog and Julie’s Fresh Air Blog, more than 8,000 viewers are connecting with these blog stories monthly.
According to a WordPress report on Arizona’s Fill Your Plate blog, the concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. The Fill Your Plate blog was viewed approximately 32,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 12 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
In 2011, there were 69 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 360 posts. Julie’s Fresh Air had 150 posts last year bringing that total of blog posts to more than 2,000 (Julie’s Fresh Air began in 2006).
Farm and ranch families are encouraged to subscribe to both blogs. You’ll automatically be able to stay on top of what both blogs are talking about and even be able to make suggestions to the editorial teams for both blogs. Plus, subscribing allows you to participate in public outreach engagement as you can post comments to each blog. Remember, Arizona families want to hear from Arizona farm and ranch families.
To sign up for Julie’s Fresh Air blog, go to www.juliesfreshair.com and look for the subscribe box that says, “Sign Up for FREE.” New subscribers will receive a downloadable report on the “33 Ways to Mix and Match Your Wardrobe.” To sign up for the Fill Your Plate blog, go to www.fillyourplate.org/blog.
Related articles
- Arizona Farm Bureau Recognized for Excellence (fillyourplate.org)
- Look Who’s Talking Now: Farmers (fillyourplate.org)
- Arizona Agriculture is Alive and Well and Hiring (fillyourplate.org)
