Your event. Real results. Let’s build something worth talking about.
Your attendees are swimming in food misinformation, farm distrust, and — for many — real mental and emotional pressure. Michele Payn, CSP, cuts through the noise with boots-on-the-ground farm credibility and polished professional delivery, customized for your audience every time.
Choose what meets your needs
Check what interests you — Michele will customize the rest. She can combine elements from different programs to ceate the right mix for your audience. All programs available in-person or virtual, ranging from 45 minutes to multiple days. Work with Michele to design the program to hit your goals – and help your audience have fun!
Keynotes
Take Food Bullying by the Horns
When your audience is losing ground to food misinformation – and needs tools to win it back.
Neuroscience, neuromarketing, and consumer psychology combine to help audiences understand — and counter — fear-based food marketing.
Celebrating Agriculture!
When your audience needs to remember why this work matters.
An uplifting keynote honoring the people, promise, and passion behind our food. Built for annual conferences and events that want to end on a high.
Resiliency for Agriculture: Surviving the Darkest Storms
When your members are burned out, breaking, and need someone who will normalize stress - and offer practical solutions.
A heartfelt, practical look at chronic stressors in farming and ranching – with real tools for overcoming adversity and protecting mental health.
Grace, Gratitude & Growth: Women Leading Agriculture Forward
When female agricultural leaders are overwhelmed and need affirmation, with a reminder to lead with intention.
Practical strategies for self-leadership, mental wellness, and confident communication in the business of farming and ranching.
Translating Farm to Food: Creating a Different Conversation
When the gap between farmers and consumers is costing your business trust.
Bridges divides around animal welfare, GMOs, antibiotics, chemicals, and hormones – replacing conflict with connection throughout grocery aisles.
Workshops
Science Story Speak
When your scientists are brilliant – but the public still doesn’t trust them.
A six-step communication framework to simplify complex science and tell stories that engage consumers, policymakers, and media.
Harvesting AI: Predict Food Trends, Protect Farming’s Truth
When AI is spreading misinformation about agriculture faster than your team can respond.
Learn to forecast consumer food trends with AI while protecting agriculture from machine-generated myths about farming, animal welfare, soil health, sustainability, and more.
Stress Management for SMART Business
When stress is becoming a productivity and retention problem you can’t afford to ignore.
Science-backed, agriculture-specific strategies to manage pressure, boost resilience, and protect the people of agriculture.
Championing Agriculture
When your members know their work matters – but struggle to say so persuasively.
Strengthen the ability to discuss contentious issues face-to-face, on social media, and in policy discussions.
Dietitian & Nutrition Professional Programs
Don’t Buy B.S.: How Food Bullying Hurts Your Health
When your clients are drowning in food guilt created by a $5.75 trillion marketing machine.
Firsthand farm expertise meets sound science to give dietitians and healthcare professionals the tools to cut through food confusion with confidence. Available for CEU credit through sponsoring organization.
Finding Food Truths / Knowing the Source: From Gate to Plate
When your clients ask where their food comes from — and you want a real answer.
Connect the farm-food gap with practical, evidence-based knowledge that helps nutrition professionals answer the questions their clients are actually asking.
Not-for-Profit & Association Programs
Creative Community Connections / Phenomenal Fundraising
When your community engagement or fundraising has plateaued — and you need a proven playbook.
Michele has raised more than $5M in local capital campaigns and corporate sponsorships across 15 states. She hleps you understand what actually works and provides an action plan for your organization.
Extend the conversation beyond the stage
Michele’s books give attendees tools to keep using long after the event ends. Bulk orders available – contact Michele for pricing. Author signings, trade show appearances, and sponsor messages at front of books also available.
- Science Story Speak: The playbook for connecting diverse audiences to science – on a heart level..
- Food Bullying: Exposes fear-based food marketing and gives readers tools to defend their choices..
- Food Truths from Farm to Table: Turns grocery store confusion into clarity – without the guilt (limited availability).
- No More Food Fights!: A two-sided call for decorum in the farm-food conversation (not available for bulk orders.
What planners and attendees say
“Michele hit a home run. She provided a number of tips for engaging the public on controversial misconceptions about food and agriculture. If you are looking for a dynamic, thought-provoking speaker, you need look no further.” — Gene McAvoy, President, National Association of County Agricultural Agents
“Michele provided a safe, enthusiastic, and understanding environment for our producers to address difficult topics such as mental health and managing stress. She combined science with reality to connect with the audience.:"— Zoey Dinkla, Iowa Pork
" I’m so grateful for the way you connect both sides of the table. The journey from idea to product is long, complex, and filled with years sometimes entire careers focused on solving a single challenge for a grower. Thank you for helping people see the heart, rigor, and care behind that work." – Broch Martindale, Corteva Agriscience
“She challenged us, as scientists, to step outside our ‘science comfort zone’ and actively share our expertise with a broader audience. Her workshop gave us practical tools to handle various communication challenges.” — Christi Calhoun, PhD, American Meat Science Association
Questions Planners Ask
How do I know this will resonate with my specific audience? Michele customizes every program using a pre-event questionnaire. She’s spoken to hundreds of organizations across agriculture, food, nutrition, and rural communities – and she does her homework before every single event. Generic keynotes are not her style.
Can she speak to audiences unfamiliar with farming? That’s one of her specialties. As founder of #AgChat and #FoodChat – which engaged people from 25+ countries – Michele has spent decades translating agriculture for dietitians, healthcare professionals, consumers, and policymakers. She meets people where they are.
Does she offer virtual presentations? Yes – with over a decade of virtual delivery experience. Many programs are eligible for continuing education credits, particularly for dietitian and healthcare audiences.
Are bulk book orders available Yes, and at a discount for speaking clients. Contact Michele using the form above for pricing.
What does CSP mean for my event? The Certified Speaking Professional designation is held by fewer than 10% of speakers globally. It’s earned – not purchased – based on documented track record, client evaluations, and professional standards. It significantly reduces your risk.
Everything you need – before & after you book
Keynotes
- Speaker One Sheet (PDF)
- Demo Reel (link to pop out)
- Full Program Descriptions
- Client Testimonials & References
- About Michele Payn
- Contact Form
After You Book
- Pre-Program Questionnaire: Michele customizes every presentation to your audience
Logistics & A/V Checklist - Introduction
- Short promo bio
- Downloadable photos
Downloadable Photos
Short Bio for Promotional Use
Michele Payn, CSP, cuts through the noise around food, farming, and the people who feed us. As principal of Cause Matters Corp., she's spent 25 years empowering voices from farm to food - authoring four award-winning books, working across six continents, and raising millions for 4-H and FFA. One of only 900 people worldwide to hold the Certified Speaking Professional designation, Michele also has degrees in Agricultural Communications & Animal Science from Michigan State University. When she's not antagonizing audiences into action, she's on her Indiana farm with registered Holsteins, wildflowers and her city-slicker husband.