12/09/08 Telling Your Story

To help the nation's dairy producers tell their story the National Dairy Board has created a new program. Board member Paula Mayben says this new effort funded through the dairy checkoff its aptly named 'Tell Your Story." MAYBEN "Its getting farmers off the farm, getting them media trained, being able to present themselves in front of the community, in front of the public. Who better to be able to tell our story?" The board says it will provide the training and the tools to dairy producers so they'll be confident when talking with other people about what they do. MAYBEN "They are able to get up and tell their story to tell the facts about what is happening and what we're doing as checkoff and as an industry. You have a real live person in your community doing community events, telling them, 'hey, this is what I do on my farm. Do you have any questions? I'll be glad to answer your questions, your concerns you know that you do have.'" Mayben says so far consumer response has been positive and the personal approach is helpful to the business. One other note, the State Department of Agriculture will be implementing an updated score sheet to be used for evaluating and determining a water quality risk rating for proposed or expanding confined animal feeding operations. The new score sheet will be discussed at a public meeting Thursday, December 11th from ten to noon at the Jerome County Courthouse. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott