Did you know that if you go to YouTube and search the word “dairy,” the first video that comes up is one titled, “Dairy is Scary”? And if you click, you can watch a video telling you why you shouldn’t drink milk.

Woodring kelli
Kelli Woodring
Dairy Producer

This video takes every misconception about the dairy industry and manipulates it to induce fear in the viewer. It has been viewed almost 3 million times. Social media has changed the outlook of the entire agriculture business. People can read stories and see pictures online that paint farmers in a bad light, and they don’t have the truth to compare it with. This is why I believe the way we promote the dairy industry can be improved in three steps.

Step 1: Stop making excuses

Often those involved in the dairy industry use the excuse that people won’t understand our side of the story to rationalize not sharing. That excuse is partially right though. People outside the industry cannot fathom what it means to be a dairy farmer. Most consumers have never touched a cow, let alone have any idea how to care for one.

They have never picked up a weak calf that was lain on by its mother, so they don’t know why they separate them. They have never had a cow use her horns against them, so they don’t understand why dehorning is necessary. They don’t realize how heavy a cow is, so when they see farmers using tractors to lift a fallen one, they think farmers are cruel. The problem is they don’t hear and see what really happens on a farm to compare it with.

You see, people don’t understand, but they never will if we continue to brush them off. Instead of making excuses why we can’t tell our stories, we have to listen to questions and concerns, and be able to provide the explanations and examples necessary to help them understand.

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Step 2: Be the source

Whenever I’m researching something, the first thing I look for is credible sources. There is no better source for questions about dairy than the farmers themselves. Whether it’s sharing posts, starting a blog or using hashtags, we have to get the word out.

There is a really great hashtag called “#askfarmersnotgoogle.” It’s connecting people who have questions to farmers who can answer them. By opening up the farming community to become the reliable source for information, we can prevent people from getting the wrong facts. Even if there are questions we can’t answer, we have an abundant supply of people who can help. Our veterinarians, nutritionists and milk co-ops can provide us with the right responses to difficult questions.

Step 3: Share your whole story

For years, farmers have been asked to share their stories, but I think for this to have a real impact, we have to share the bad along with the good. Share the mistakes and failures along with the victories. Share the pain and heartache along with the joy. Display your scars as long as you can say what you’ve learned from them. Because when we only share the positives, we become unrelatable. What good story doesn’t have conflict and plot twists? Every farmer has a story filled with frustration and disappointment, but they powered through to be the less than 2 percent of the population who feeds over 300 million people in the U.S. That sounds to me like a story that people would want to hear.

Promoting dairy is not about consumers versus producers. It’s about building a foundation of trust between the two. It is about ensuring the safest products are on the shelves. It’s about promising they were made with farmer’s pride and ethics intact. It’s about families making healthy choices that will nourish and strengthen their bodies. That doesn’t sound complicated or frightening to me.

In the end, social media has created an environment that could either make or break the dairy industry. Don’t let it break us. Use it to make us stronger. Use it to prove farmers as reliable sources and to share your own personal story. We can do this together to make certain no person is ever scared to pour him or herself a glass of milk.  end mark

Kelli Woodring