Agricultural Advocate

We have been talking a lot, of late, about millenials, locavore movements, children having no idea where food actually comes from, making agriculture cool, and the list goes on. Bottom line, it would be very much in the interest of the agricultural community to do a reach out and edify the public in general. Enter, Elizabeth Kohtz… Make that Dr. Elizabeth Kohtz. She is a Dr. of veterinary medicine and is the kind of volunteer that makes America great. Along with a full-time job and kids at home, she serves as County Pres. Twin Falls County Farm Bureau. In her spare time, she advocates for agriculture because, she says, when people know a farmer they are more likely to understand and accept agricultural practices that they know little about.

 

“When you look at the cross-section of the United States you have less than 2% who even know a farmer. When you look at polls they say 98% of the people don’t know a farmer, don't know anything about agriculture and over 50% of those people would like to know a farmer and learn about agriculture, so it’s important that we make those relationships so we can engage with our customers and consumers. When you have those relationships in place, then you can go to work on specific issues. Whether it be G willMO’s, organic, child labor, whatever it is, if someone knows you are passionate about agriculture, they know who to contact when those issues come up. When they see something on the 5 o'clock news that doesn’t sound good to them, they can go right to someone involved in agriculture and ask the questions.