In a recent issue’s Resource Spotlight we shared a link to Consumer Conversations, a valuable resource for Farm Bureau members looking to fine-tune their communication skills with non-farming audiences. Its importance boils down to a simple truth: If we want consumers to better understand farming, we must be good at explaining it.
For trustworthy information about health and disease, we normally consult doctors — credible experts in the medical community. To navigate the court system, we need lawyers — credible experts in the legal community.
Likewise, to learn how the raw components of food are produced, it makes sense to speak with a farmer. (Don’t entrust that message to anyone else; it’s yours. Own it. Share it.)
I was recently reminded of the power of these skills by two members for whom it’s relatively easy — talented communicators who accept Consumer Conversations as part of their job as farmers.
The audience was a small group of my coworkers — the staff of MFB’s Center for Marketing Media & Marketing — our communications division, coincidentally. If you think that’s an odd audience, think again: As professional communicators working for you, doing our jobs well means translating your vocation into everyday, relatable language those “everyday consumers” can understand.
But first we need good, communicative farmers to be our credible experts from the agricultural community. Last month those experts were a pair of Clinton County farmers raising crops and livestock on the fertile ground outside Fowler.
An active Clinton County Farm Bureau member since 1988, Pat Feldpausch uses innovative, progressive and precision agriculture practices to grow corn, soybeans and wheat. His diversified operation includes custom application, planting and harvesting businesses; a Pioneer sales team; a Granular Certified Services Agent; and Feldpausch Precision Services.
Pat hosted our group long enough to walk us around the central cluster of barns and sheds, explaining what happens where in simple, everyday language we could all understand.
It was a short drive from Pat’s place over to Berlyn Acres, one of Tony and Patti Jandernoa’s dairy farms, where herdsman Rob Hamilton was eagerly waiting to show us around.
Eagerly? Yes, and that’s the whole point with Rob, whose boisterous enthusiasm about farming oozes out of every pore. He isn’t quiet about his love for it; he’s got a high-octane personality and a Holstein-sized heart on his sleeve. At no point did we question this man’s love for his work.
Like Pat, Rob has an effortless way of explaining the complex science of agriculture in everyday language we could all understand. Some folks are born with that gift, others have to learn it, but that’s the good news: It is 100% learnable and resources like Consumer Conversations exist to help anyone looking for some guidance and good advice.
As the number of bona fide farmers continues to decline, it only becomes more and more important that those remaining are strong advocates for the vocation, the lifestyle, the hard work and the legacy central to the Michigan farmer’s way of life.
Don’t think of it as carrying a flag for the whole industry. Keep it close to home: Your farm, your family, your livelihood.
You are the single most credible expert of your own community.
Click here for more about Pat Feldpausch Farms, and here to learn more about Tony and Patti Jandernoa’s dairy farms.
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