This summer, NutriDense Silage held its “Web Moo.0” Contest to highlight how the dairy industry is using social media to positively “agvocate” to consumers. Dairy producers were invited to submit videos, photos or blog posts describing their efforts, and fifth-generation Michigan dairy producer Ashley Messing took home the top prize.
As part of the grand-prize, NutriDense Silage sponsored Ashley's attendance to the AgChat Foundation’s Agvocacy 2.0 Training Conference, held Aug. 30-31 at the Dairy Management, Inc. facilities in Chicago. Here is her story of the experience.
“We are all farmers, we are all people. That is what’s important.”
Jeff Fowle, AgChat Foundation board president, began the AgChat Foundation’s first Agvocacy 2.0 Training Conference by sharing that piece of insight in his opening speech. That theme resonated for the entire conference, as the presenters pushed all of us at the conference to humanize farmers and give faces to the men and women who put food on our plates.
Chris Chinn from rural Missouri also shared her experiences with social media and really opened my eyes to how important it is to reach out to consumers. An animal rights group harassed her family while her mother-in-law was running for political reelection. Her story was something that was very relatable to each of us in the room, because we all have families to protect and we want to give them the choice to continue our agricultural legacy.
The conference was packed with sessions about diverse topics around social media. On the first day, we learned about creating a dynamic message and finding a community through the Internet. In the afternoon we had three sessions to discuss tools to maximize usage of Twitter and Facebook.
During one of the most important sessions, we talked about how to reach out to people outside of the agriculture industry. A key takeaway for me drove home the idea that not only do we want to use the right tools, but we should also maximize the time we invest.
On the morning of the second day, participants got a chance to ask questions they had about social media, and also receive advice on how to set up strategies. Additionally, the sessions focused on how to make impactful videos and blogs. We also listened to a panel of producers who creatively promote agriculture and their farms.
Learning sessions were not the only things we did while in Chicago for the conference. Networking was a huge part of the experience and, in my opinion, one of the best parts. For those of us who have been involved with social media for a little while now, it was great being able to put a face to a profile and talk face-to-face.
The agriculturalists at the conference were amazing, and everyone I met was kind and helpful. It was also a great environment to share your own tips and tricks, and find new ones that you could use too.
Being a part of the AgChat Foundation’s first Agvocacy 2.0 Training Conference was an experience I will forever remember. I would like to thank NutriDense Silage for financially helping me to attend this conference, and I appreciate its support of this conference.
I took home a list of new friends and individuals I can call when I have a question or need help. I have new ideas that I want to apply to my blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Most importantly, I have a renewed passion for telling the story of agriculture – because if we in agriculture do not tell it, someone else will, and we may not like the way it’s told. PD
Relevant links:
AgChat Foundation: http://agchat.org/
Ashley Messing’s blog: http://dairyinnovation.blogspot.com/
Ashley Messing’s Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/armessing
NutriDense blog: http://www.nutridense.com/blog
NutriDense Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nutridense
NutriDense Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nutridense
