Industrial agriculture is developing a response to growing consumer demand for local foods and sustainable farms. A front page article in the January 15 edition of AgriNews (I can't find it on the
online version) reports on a presentation made at an Illinois Farm Bureau legislative roundtable.
Six Illinois agriculture groups have teamed up to develop a farmer image campaign to address non-farm consumers' perceptions of the industry. The Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Milk Producers, Illinois Pork Producers Association, Illinois Beef Association, Illinois Corn Marketing Board, and the Illinois Farm Bureau, with assistance from Morgan and Myers, a public relations group recently began developing a strategy.
"It came up, I believe, because of a growing concern that the foundation of trust between farmers and non-farm consumers is eroding, and, this is what really set the pace I think, the public perception of farming practices and large farms is being shaped mainly by negative news and activists," said Dennis Vocler, IFB communications director and managers of the campaign.
..."We're attempting to find out where the non-farm persons' head is at regarding farm production, and to create best management practices for communicating with non-farmers in support of agriculture," Vercler said.
Catch that? They aren't going to look at best management practices for how they farm or consider what they can do differently to meet consumer demand. They're going to look for the best message to convince the public that everything they're doing is OK.
In reality, the image of farmers isn't suffering. The image of big agribusiness is suffering. The public see farmers and consumers as victims of trends in industrial agriculture that promote practices unhealthy for both the land and consumers. In particular, the Farm Bureau's image is suffering as it's increasingly seen as being
dominated more by chemical, fossil fuel, big agribusiness, and insurance industry interests rather than actual farmers.
Later in the article, one panel member spoke about a poll done by the National Corn Growers Association.
Ninety-five percent of those polled said they supported the "family farm." However, that number drops to under 40 percent when asked if they support an "industrial farm" or a "commercial farm."
"We don't understand what is tripping the electorate's trigger as to going from a family farm to a commercial farm or an industrial farm," Weinzierl said.
..."We need to understand what's causing that change, when we change that term, and then figure out what are the key words we need to use or not use in our messaging. In really kind of stepping back and thinking about all the different words we're using in our vernacular and what's tripping people's trigger on or off, that is really important."
You might think numbers like that would cause them to reconsider the way they're doing business and respond to consumer demand. Instead, we can expect a public relations campaign to describe a kinder, gentler version of industrial agriculture but without a commitment to reform unpopular practices. If he's really clueless about what triggers the public he could start by watching
Food Inc and
King Corn.
At its core, the sustainable agriculture movement is one that seeks to restore the bond between consumers and farmers at the local level. Creating markets that allow direct interaction between farmers and non-farmers is a far more meaningful way to restore a foundation of trust than paying a public relations firm to craft the best words for TV commercials.
The Illinois Farm Bureau will have to think about whether they want to be part of a growing movement or be seen as a barrier between farmers and consumer demands.
