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3. 2008 National Women in Agriculture Educators Conference

Talk, Teach, Touch

Troy Hadrick

Summary

Today’s consumers want more direct contact with the producers that grow their food and fiber. You can see this with the growing popularity of farmer’s markets and direct farm sales. Producers need to be able to properly communicate information, not just about their product, but also about the farming and ranching way of life. The risk of not telling the positive story of agriculture is a misinformed public that will influence how agriculture does business. In order to effectively tell the story of agriculture, producers need to “talk, teach and touch” their customers. First, you have to talk to your customer, tell them who you are and what you do. Next, producers must educate consumers about their agricultural products. Finally, the personal touch that you put on the conversation, will leave a lasting impression on the customer.

Studies have shown that consumers believe farm and ranch women are one of the most trustworthy and credible sources of information about agriculture. This is an opportunity that agriculture must take advantage of. We have presented “Talk, Teach and Touch” to several women’s groups in South Dakota and Wyoming. The women who have used our techniques have had great success in starting a conversation with the public and promoting agriculture. The tools that we give to our audiences are very simple, but are a very effective way of promoting agriculture one story at a time.

Details

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