Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Telling the Story of Agriculture

By Beverly Flores, North American Media Relations and Communications, John Deere

Agriculture – its’s behind all of our food and much of our clothing, shelter and fuel. And yet, when we talk about any of those we don’t often think about agriculture or all the people involved in producing these daily necessities. National Ag Day is an opportunity to encourage that dialogue and bring together an industry and serve as advocates.

We need storytellers in agriculture—to share our enthusiasm, our energy and our passion for what we do and how we do it. We need to share our stories proactively. We need to take the time and effort to help off-farm consumers connect with our on-farm stories

As a mom of three boys, in my house we often talk about agriculture. We talk about the passion and dedication, the commitment. In fact, a portion of our spring break was spent helping feed cows and checking calves—what a great trip!  But, for the vast majority of consumers they don’t get that same opportunity. They won’t get to see the rancher counting the cows as he throws out the hay- the care and the knowledge behind his actions. They won’t see his lifelong commitment to something bigger than himself. They will, however, see the food and clothing. 

My hope is that we commit to telling just one story more tomorrow than we do today. I encourage you to find your story; to remember when someone asks about their food, they are really asking, “Where did my food come from?” Take your time, paint a picture of enthusiasm, energy and passion for agriculture.