Day two on the Indianapolis adventure, (don't miss day one) and we are waiting for the bus to take us to Dow Agriscience's headquarters to attended the AgChat National Collegiate Congress. The bus may have been an hour late after it went to the wrong hotel, but that didn't slow us down! Here is a list of advice I learned on how to improve advocating for agriculture.
1) Numbers don't matter.
Thanks Laura Daniels! Do not define yourself by the amount of acres of land you have or pigs you have. Consumers often don't know what you are talking about and you are more than a number, especially if you are sharing important and cool information.
2) Not knowing is ok.
When answering questions about agriculture, it is better to not know than share the wrong information. You aren't expected to know everything, you are expected to find out what you don't know.
3) Get butterflies.
The last awesome fact that Laura Daniels, a dairy farmer from Wisconsin, is to get butterflies in your stomach. That means you care!
4) How can you understand if you don't try?
Mark Gale from Charleston Orwig suggested to all agriculturists to try food that they usually are against. For example, if you dislike Chipotle that's understandable, but have you tried it? Maybe you'll relate to the consumers if you do.
5) Play the 2:1 rule.
Dairy Carrie shared a great tip, for every one ag person you follow on social media, you should follow two non-ag people. This helps steer away from only talking to people who already know about agriculture, which is a challenge for every agvocate.
6) Don't jump on the bandwagon.
Carrie also mentioned that we should only write about what we are passionate about. Don't cover what everyone else is talking about, especially if you don't know much about it.
7) Pick a few things to blog about, and stick to it!
Taylor Truckey and Brooke Hanley both emphasized on an important topic that stood out in my mind. Connect with others through mutual interests. Brooke mentioned that even your dentist makes small talk. This means you should relate to them through a mutual interest and then share your awesome agriculture information once they are interested. Taylor suggested your blog has a theme and you stick to three main things you write about. (This is something I'm working on, can you tell my three themes?)
8) Follow your passion.
Michele Payn-Knoper, founder of AgChat, challenged us for 15 minutes a day to advocate for agriculture. She also shared a quote that stuck with me:
If you want a year of prosperity, grow grain
If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees
If you want a 100 years of prosperity, grow people - Chinese Proverb
This emphasized the importance of growing people, which is what the agriculture industry does.
The overall experience at AgChat was wonderful. Not only did I learn, I met some amazing people! My new friend Lauren shares her experience on her blog, and gives a different perspective on the National Collegiate Congress. I've started to work towards the goals I made while at AgChat, how are you going to advance your agvocating?
Thanks Laura Daniels! Do not define yourself by the amount of acres of land you have or pigs you have. Consumers often don't know what you are talking about and you are more than a number, especially if you are sharing important and cool information.
2) Not knowing is ok.
When answering questions about agriculture, it is better to not know than share the wrong information. You aren't expected to know everything, you are expected to find out what you don't know.
3) Get butterflies.
The last awesome fact that Laura Daniels, a dairy farmer from Wisconsin, is to get butterflies in your stomach. That means you care!
4) How can you understand if you don't try?
Mark Gale from Charleston Orwig suggested to all agriculturists to try food that they usually are against. For example, if you dislike Chipotle that's understandable, but have you tried it? Maybe you'll relate to the consumers if you do.
5) Play the 2:1 rule.
Dairy Carrie shared a great tip, for every one ag person you follow on social media, you should follow two non-ag people. This helps steer away from only talking to people who already know about agriculture, which is a challenge for every agvocate.
6) Don't jump on the bandwagon.
Carrie also mentioned that we should only write about what we are passionate about. Don't cover what everyone else is talking about, especially if you don't know much about it.
7) Pick a few things to blog about, and stick to it!
Taylor Truckey and Brooke Hanley both emphasized on an important topic that stood out in my mind. Connect with others through mutual interests. Brooke mentioned that even your dentist makes small talk. This means you should relate to them through a mutual interest and then share your awesome agriculture information once they are interested. Taylor suggested your blog has a theme and you stick to three main things you write about. (This is something I'm working on, can you tell my three themes?)
8) Follow your passion.
Michele Payn-Knoper, founder of AgChat, challenged us for 15 minutes a day to advocate for agriculture. She also shared a quote that stuck with me:
If you want a year of prosperity, grow grain
If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees
If you want a 100 years of prosperity, grow people - Chinese Proverb
This emphasized the importance of growing people, which is what the agriculture industry does.
The overall experience at AgChat was wonderful. Not only did I learn, I met some amazing people! My new friend Lauren shares her experience on her blog, and gives a different perspective on the National Collegiate Congress. I've started to work towards the goals I made while at AgChat, how are you going to advance your agvocating?