Agricultural News
Founder of Ag Inspirations, Kim Bremmer, Coaches FFA Members How to Effectively Advocate for Ag
Tue, 09 May 2017 15:26:29 CDT
A little over two years ago, Kim Bremmer, an agricultural advocate, launched her web-based business Ag Inspirations, with the mission to inspire farmers, ranchers, anyone in involved in agriculture to share their story and connect consumers with their food and to offer a positive representation of the success of American agriculture. Today, she travels the country training the next generation of agricultural advocates. This past week at the Oklahoma State FFA Convention in Oklahoma City, Bremmer coached FFA members on ways they can be proactive about communicating their personal experiences on the farm. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays was there, too, and spoke with Bremmer about the message she promotes on behalf of the industry. You can hear Bremmer's full interview with Hays, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of this story.
"I'm merely trying to tell them that they need to speak up," she said. "That they have to have confidence in their message; that they have to be able to answer the hard questions and that they shouldn't be afraid to tell their story."
A major topic on the forefront of the agriculture scene is of course the issue of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as a safe food source. Bremmer uses this issue as an example that most people can relate to.
"Unfortunately, there's just a lot of fear marketing out there today and food companies, marketing companies have all figured out that fear is an easy sell," Bremmer confessed. "We really have to be answering the questions about GMOs - we want people to not be afraid of their food. And, we have to stop being mad at consumers just because they don't understand."
To combat the negative image cast on the ag industry, Bremmer says the job falls to us, the people in the industry, to speak up and address the concerns of the consumers ourselves, before someone outside of the industry answers for us.
"We do have to understand that we're not going to change everyone's minds," she said. "But there is a huge percentage of people that fall into what we consider the 'moveable middle' that are just trying to get the story."
Bremmer insists that in cases such as this, talking with people who truly do want to understand how farmers farm, and why they farm the way they do - at that point it is not about knowing the science or reciting the science back, it is about the emotion they have for their food. Approaching the conversation, validating concerns and respectfully addressing a person's concerns, Bremmer asserts is a strategy that works.
"Only after having a conversation and listening to people can we earn their trust," Bremmer concluded. "We want to be their resource but we have to earn it first."
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