~ guest post by Jennifer Heim, Structural Engineer & Farm Wife

A couple of weeks ago I happened into an interesting twitter conversation with Michele regarding consumer trust in farming methods.  Recent studies have shown that consumers trust farmers, but not farming. The general agvocate crowd thought maybe lack of understanding meant mistrust, but as a structural engineer almost no one I know (including my farmer husband) actually understands what I do.  However, I also don’t know anyone who hesitates before walking into a building or driving over a bridge.

So the question is – why?  Why do people question the way that farmers grow their food but not the way the engineers design their buildings or other infrastructure? At the time of my discussion with Michele, I thought the difference in reactions must come down to differences between farming and engineering.  My roles at my office and at our farm are extremely different…aren’t they?  Thinking about the occupations at a basic level (beyond tasks), I only came up with three differences.

Educational requirements

When I first meet someone new and mention that I’m a structural engineer, their reaction is usually a blank stare followed by “is that like an architect”, but occasionally it’s “wow, you must be smart”.  When I tell a new acquaintance that my husband is a dairy farmer, the reaction is somewhat different.  Most don’t seem to know what to say, maybe because they aren’t familiar or comfortable with farming.  But of all the varied responses I’ve gotten, not once has someone said “wow, he must be smart”.  For the record, he is smart (and has a degree), but farmers aren’t required to go to college and engineers are.

Emotional connection

Not many people have an emotional connection with steel or concrete.  Engineers design structures made of these faceless, lifeless materials with faceless lifeless calculators and computers.  Animals and plants are a different story.  Farmers work with living things, things people worry about.  How do you feel when you see a baby calf or a healthy garden? What about a concrete slab or steel beam? Even as an engineer, my emotional connection is quite different.

Media influence

Part of the public’s reaction to anything is related to what they hear from the media.  How has the media portrayed engineering?  They haven’t. If I recall the results of the Minneapolis bridge collapse investigation correctly, the bridge failed because of an undersized connection – an engineer made a mistake.  I only know that because I read part of the report.  On local news I recall hearing about some high percentage of bridges in Missouri that had failed inspections and were still open, placing the blame on government.  It wasn’t true, but I never heard that from the media.  Conversely, the media has certainly addressed modern farming, and usually not in a positive light. Unfortunately, that’s all many people hear or see.

Beyond these perceptions, the only difference I see is the dress code.  What basic differences come to your mind? I’d love to discuss.

Jennifer Heim is a 26 year-old structural engineer working in Kansas City.  She has both BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois.  In her free time, she helps her husband David operate their small conventional dairy in northeast Kansas and watches college sports.  You can find her on twitter or check in with the dairy at her new blog heimdairy.wordpress.com.

*Note from Michele:  I was a little surprised by the reaction of some farmers on Twitter to my note about a year-old study that shows people trust farmers but not the practice of farming. I suspect it’s because we have a hard time separating farmer from farming because it’s engrained in our being. Jennifer’s conversation about trust in engineers vs. farming raised some interesting points, so I’m glad she shared them