AFBF: Farmers Can Shape Their Future With Social Media

Through the use of social media, farmers and ranchers can help shape their futures, according to Missouri hog producer and social media advocate Chris Chinn. Speaking to Farm Bureau county presidents from around the nation at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 92nd annual meeting, Chinn encouraged county leaders to join the conversation and engage with consumers to tell their story.

“We can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines and watch the game being played in front of us,” said Chinn. “We need to help our consumers understand modern production agriculture.”

Speaking from personal experience, Chinn, whose family has undergone everything from name-calling to death threats because of their hog operation, said farmers cannot let fear paralyze them into keeping silent. The experience motivated her family to take to the Internet to show consumers how they care for their animals.

Through the use of YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, Chinn has paved the road for others to have discussions with consumers about their production methods.

“Social media is important because it lets consumers engage in the conversation and feel ownership in the issue,” said Chinn.

Using the example of California’s Proposition 2, Chinn said agriculture had the support of some very influential newspapers, but still lost the battle because it was being fought on the Internet, where farmers and ranchers had very little presence.

Learning from the experience, farmers have since taken to the Internet to talk with consumers about misconceptions about agriculture.

Probably the most successful Twitter campaign happened when Yellow Tail Wine donated $100,000 to the Humane Society of the U.S., said Chinn. Immediately farmers and ranchers began raising awareness about HSUS’s political, anti-agriculture objectives. The farmers and ranchers asked Yellow Tail Wine to reconsider its support of HSUS and instead donate to local, legitimate animal shelters. The campaign worked and Yellow Tail Wine announced in the future it would only contribute to welfare organizations with a sole commitment to animal care with no political motives.

Chinn said farmers and ranchers also maximized social media involvement to clear up misconceptions about “Swine flu,” make consumers aware of the economic plight of dairy farmers as food producers and showcase farmers on Thanksgiving.

“The stories our consumers hear today will shape the future of agriculture for future generations,” said Chinn.

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation

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