12-26 IAN Communication

Ag producers...let's talk about our most important connection and, for that matter, relationship...the connection between you and the almighty consumer. Ag producers...I have to be honest...I don't know how you do it. Let alone the long hours and back breaking work that the majority of you put in at your ranches or farms...to say nothing about all the different areas of knowledge you have to be up on...economics, pesticides, fertilizers, weather, commodity prices, new technologies, environmental concerns, veterinary issues...the list is endless. And then, as if that isn't enough, you are ultimately held accountable by your target client...the consumer, on a variety of issues. At a recent Ag Convention, one of the speakers was Gary Baise, an experienced attorney when it comes to Ag Issues. He said at the session that he feels the Social Contract between the producer and consumer has been hurt in Agriculture: "What we found in our research were a couple of things. One, is that consumers really trust farmers but they're not sure what we're doing anymore is farming. That was a huge discovery for me and I think it's been helpful to farm groups to understand as well. Consumers still have this basket of positive attributes that they assign to farmers. They believe farmers are hard working, good people who are committed to doing what's right but when they see the change in size and scale of our operations they're not sure that we should still be granted the benefit of the doubt. So part of what we can do as those involved in agriculture is helping consumers understand."

And that my friends is called communication.