“Her presentation empowers agriculture to tell its story with credibility, respect, and impact. Michele helped me navigate tough conversations with compassion for the urbanites who have little connection to where their food comes from.”
- Jeannette Andrashewski, Canadian Canola Farmer
What drives Michele to write? ▶ Bridging the gap from farm to food with story and science.
"You are a gift to agriculture – you do an amazing job connecting non-ag folks to agriculture in a relatable and logical way that's welcoming and opens the door to a deeper understanding.”
- Lana Frantzen, PhD, RDN, DairyMAX
DeEtta Bohling, guest blogger, didn’t grow up on a farm or ranch. She says a great deal of what she has learned about corn, sorghum, ethanol, and livestock has come from the farmers and ranchers she interacts with in person, on Twitter and on Facebook. She also challenges farmers about using social media to protect their license to operate.
A fifth generation farmer in Nebraska who grows corn, popcorn, soybeans and alfalfa has found his use of social media growing. Learn about Ryan Weeks experience in starting with Facebook, then moving to Twitter, YouTube, Linkedin and now blogging. This modern day farmer challenges others in agriculture to find their voice to counter misinformation.
Have you ever been called a prostitute to your work? Michele questions why farmers and ranchers working together are labeled puppets for big ag or factory farmers, rather than seen as a grassroots movement. She believes farmers pooling their resources makes them smart business people, while explaining some new initiatives designed to help the 1.5% of the population better understand the 98.5% not on a farm.
Get a glimpse of the family values of today’s farmers. Zach and Anna Hunnicutt live in rural Nebraska with their two young children on a farm that brings you popcorn, corn and soybeans. They spent a few minutes with Michele about why they are huge fans of social media, why it’s useful to them and how it brings value to agriculture.
Is agriculture playing defense or taking control of the game with offense? Are we driving the ball up the court with thought leadership, taking the good shots by having conversations and giving others in the agrifood system an assist? Michele points to the need for those in the business of raising food, feed, fuel and fiber to have a better game plan.
Spouses marrying into farm families quickly discover there are many unwritten rules. Guest blogger MRS shares some of the unspoken rules she has stumble on in a farming family and questions whether secrecy is the best policy for farms or not.
Celeste Settrini has embraced social media as a key tool in telling agriculture’s story. This guest blogger agvocate, a commodities broker from a cattle ranch, shares her social media journey and the whole new world opened up by Facebook, Twitter and blogs.
A highly sarcastic look at 15 reasons why farmers and ranchers should not tell their story. Why start the year on a resolution when you can kick it off with satire? Great quotes from ag people added to Michele’s sarcasm. Post your reason – let’s get all the excuses out of the way so we can laugh a little – and then have a productive year as agvocates!
Guest blogger MRS shares exciting mom news to start off 2011.
Heart attack survivor Eliz Greene shares her journey learning more about food – and why you should not suffer from guilt in the grocery store any longer. This mom discovered most of what she used to believe about food was based upon the front of the package and from the media. Don’t stand at the dairy and meat case in angst – get the facts so you can be set free from food guilt, too!
Returning home from college for the holidays, guest blogger Laura Padgett writes about her past experiences and the people that helped teach her the significance of agriculture. She also rediscovers the joy of solitude in the barn and reconnecting with those who gave her a passion for ag.
Who could you help if you were given a check for $100? Guest blogger MRS shares her family’s debate on selecting a charity to receive their last Christmas gift, along with stories of a toddler in boxes.
Dairy farmer and triathlete Jody Dyess is concerned about the “herd health” of his fellow farmers and ranchers. If you were to do a herd health evaluation on yourself and your family, what would be the score? This guest blogger notes that the holidays are a great time to consider a change in your “ration” or to get out and become more active.
Family traditions are a way of life in rural America, especially around Christmas and other holidays. Mom blogger MRS shares her family’s cooking baking tradition and how these moments are passed to the next generation.
The second blog in a series about technology in university ag classes, guest blogger Laura Padgett shares insight from a soil science student. He notes the need for continual learning with technology quickly changing.
Guest blogger Dan Toland of Ohio Farm Bureau provides 10 tips for farmers and agvocates online – even those who are fighting the internet and social media. He points to a 52% increase in consumer trust on websites as a credible source on food system issues as reason enough to join the discussion. It’s time to step outside your comfort zone and be engaged in real, live and honest-to-goodness online conversations about what you do.
As Michele reflects on becoming a mom, she questions the lessons we’re teaching the next generation in agriculture. Is it possible we try to fix things that aren’t broken? Are we a little too hung up on bringing recognition to farmers and ranchers? Do we care enough to speak out proactively? Does our stubborness get in the way of the big picture? Thought-provoking post for everyone on a farm, ranch or agribusiness.
Guest blogger MRS and her family visit a local Christmas tree farm to pick out their tree on a cold, snowy December day. She also shares tips for how to keep your tree looking fresh throughout the holiday season and the link to the National Christmas Tree Association.
Taking lessons from her university ag classes, college student Laura Padgett provide the first blog in a series about how the use of technology in the classroom can be utilized by those in the agrifood business. How can techno tools used in education help consumers ask questions and farmers provide answers?
You’d think a mom of triplets (with 5 teenagers total) would have better things to worry about than blogging about her ranch. But Debbie Lyons-Blythe does just that – and is asking everyone on a farm or ranch or in agriculture for 10 minutes of their time. Read this guest post from a great agvocate who’s a finalist for the AgConnect Advocate award.
Guest mom blogger shares her experience with Big 10 Football at Ross Ade stadium. The post – Thanksgiving game was brutally cold, but a great reminder for parents to have date night. (side note from Michele – Michigan State did get mentioned in this post – and they beat the team in question earlier in the season – LOL.)
100 and one-half reasons to give foodthanks on November 24. Follow the last half of Michele’s journey of gratitude as it relates to food, as she considers the many people behind our Thanksgiving food plate – and favorite foods. Lattes, biotechnology, corn and carnivores, the military, farmers and food quality control professionals are all mentioned. How are you giving thanks for your full plate?
Mike Ver Steeg, a family farmer in Iowa, provides a guest blog on what he learned while joining his wife on a diet and losing 20 pounds. He points to the media hype around local, organic, processed and vegan foods – and notes we need to provide food products for ALL to enjoy. Protect our food choices – and give thanks for that freedom!
This mom blogger shares her excitement (and sadness) in a celebration of baby Blue’s first steps.
Do you know where your food comes from? Have you...
Travel through airports gave a dairy judging team the opportunity to answer people’s questions about agriculture. Guest blogger Laura Padget learns that spreading news about agriculture to many people, simply sharing a fun fact with a friend or having a conversation at DFW, every little bit matters.” Even in unconventional locations, it’s easy to be an agvocate.
This guest blogger mom knows the holidays will be hectic with a toddler in the house and bakes her yeast rolls early. If you love to bake or enjoy bread made from wheat flour grown by farmers, take a look at this post for a delicious recipe and see baby Blue enjoying the delicious rolls.
A reflection of international travel from Michele over the last 10 years. Read about feeding a lion cub, impressions from former communist states, four-wheeling on the beach, picking wine grapes, helping agriculture educators in Egypt – and the harsh reality of seeing millions of hungry people.
Does agriculture celebrate the work and process or only the final product? After experiencing the 2010 OSU Homecoming, guest blogger Laura Padgett suggests agriculturists need to create a celebration amongst farmers, ranchers and consumers.
Blue gets his little hands on a cow for the first time and learns about where his milk comes from now. Guest blogger MRS writes about how the cows were happy to be milked, similar to the relief breastfeeding mothers find.
Guest post by Nate Taylor on the evolution of technology in society, particularly in agriculture. He writes about the exciting opportunities for farm equipment and data collection to enable food producers continue to be innovative, such as data sets for better decision making and databases to capture it all.
Darin Grimm uses his passion for technology and data combined with his passion for farming and family as grows wheat and other crops on his farm in Kansas.
This California mom lives in the San Joaquin Valley with her husband of 26 years and enjoys shopping, wine tasting, and pedicures, but she LOVES cows.
Guest blogger Chuck Zimmerman writes about the changes he’s seen going from days of Less Nessman at WKRP to present – and the power of people becoming “media.” Read on for a look at how a farm broadcaster turned new technology into a communications portal for agriculture. Let him know what you think the new changes mean and if it’s changed how you get information.
Guest blogger MRS celebrates baby Blue’s first birthday with mixed emotions, a party and lots of cake. Pictures guaranteed to make you smile.
If agriculture can’t translate the science of agriculture and food to a language that can be understood by others, we lose the opportunity to connect. The greater the disconnect, the greater the divide between farm gate and consumer plate. Michele writes about speaking the same language to give agriculture some sex appeal and three key questions to consider as you learn a new language and translate ag.
Canadian Shaun Haney writes as a guest blogger to shed light on similarities and differences between Canadian and American agriculture. He highlights why the two countries need to be on the same page to compete globally as low cost producers against China and South America. Haney also points to social media as a great tool to improve the dialogue amongst North Americans and gain an understanding of issues facing different farmers.
College students learn more about utilizing different strengths while listening to a motivating speech by Dr, Temple Grandin. The Colorado State professor actually taught more about human behavior than animal behavior in her Oklahoma State appearance. Explaining how autism works, Dr. Grandin made a point of giving a descriptive lesson on the differences between the thoughts of people with autism and those of the majority of the population. The end result were college students better understanding behavior styles.
Baby Blue takes his first ride in a combine. Guest blogger MRS documents the day in photos and shares a glimpse of what harvest looks like from the seat of the people producing your food. See if you find it as interested as Baby Blue to learn about how farmers combine corn and soybeans in the Midwest!
What happens when you’re just not smart enough? As an entrepreneur, I used to worry a great deal that I wouldn’t have all the answers in my said area of expertise. Nearly a decade later, I’ve come to realize that’s not only arrogant, it’s a disservice to the people I serve in the agrifood business. I’m still not smart enough to have the answers, but I know a lot of smart people. And if they don’t have the answer – they usually know someone who does.
Farm wife MRS recounts a tough lesson she learned the first time she rode in the combine…one her husband reminds her of every harvest.
Sarah Bedgar Wilson shares her perspective on the need for agriculture to reach out through faith-based education. She explains what happened at her own church as adults learned alongside the children and the results were astounding. “Not only did we raise enough to purchase 14 heifers ($7,000), but we also had a surprising turn-out to each event. Especially Vacation Bible School, where we were planning for 30, over 90 attended the dairy farm tour! People are hungry (pun intended) to learn about agriculture on a Christian/moral level.”
Oklahoma State University sophomore Laura Padgett makes her first Gate to Plate blog appearance. She writes about role models of successful agriculturists that show no goal is too ambitious or hard to achieve when working in agriculture.
Society has shifted in an era of 500 million Facebook users, 50 million tweets, 450 million people on mobile internet and 68 million bloggers – whether you accept new media or not. We’re bombarded by 13,000 marketing messages each day, now largely due to new media. Watch the Evolution of Online Agvocacy if you want to see more. All of this social media mania is also building a fear that humans may just stop having real conversations -after all, we can just text, direct message, instant message, Facebook or email (how old school!). Nothing could be further from the truth, based upon the energy level of a group of farmers, ranchers and agricultural folks this week at the inaugural AgChat Foundation Agvocacy 2.0 Conference.
Generations removed from the farm means we no longer have conversation that animals die for us to eat. Somehow, we need to get back to understanding that farmers raise animals for food – animals that are very different than Fido or Fluffy. Those farm animals take things we can’t eat or drink and convert them to life sustenance.Those of us in agriculture need to learn to better communicate that we are grateful for the sacrifice that farm animals pay so that we can eat. Not just to feed people in cities, but our families, too.
Michele Payn & Kelly Rivard provide a humorous look of their conversation talking cows, complete with video of Kelly’s first experience touching an udder and milking.
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Foodchat session 6/15/2010 Question 1: What are...
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kathy Swift and I grew up on a dairy farm in northern Virginia. My parents milked 100 Holstein and Jersey cows and I spent many years in 4-H traveling around to county, state and national shows exhibiting my dairy cattle…