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Faces of Direct-to-Consumer: Highlighting DTC Producers Across Alabama

Calen Monroe

Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted traditional cattle supply chains, prompting a shift toward alternative marketing strategies. This session would display the Faces of Direct-to-Consumer video series, a peer-to-peer educational project documenting five Alabama cattle operations as they navigate the direct-to-consumer (DTC) market. Through authentic storytelling, this initiative serves a dual purpose: providing a strategic roadmap for producers entering the DTC space and enhancing transparency for local food consumers.

Attendees would explore the development and distribution of the series via the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Integrated into statewide educational workshops, the series has surpassed 500 views to date. Beyond its digital reach, this session would emphasize the vital role of storytelling in Extension work, highlighting the need to elevate the human side of agriculture. By using authentic narratives to educate producers, Extension can move beyond technical data to foster deeper peer-to-peer connections and trust. While providing rich qualitative insights, the session would also discuss how this narrative approach can be expanded to measure long-term impacts on producer success.

Details

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