Social Media: Spreading the word of agriculture quickly and efficiently, but is it effective?

As I get closer to graduation (only 12 more days!), I've been contemplating what my future, and the future of agriculture communications, will hold.  Looking around at job postings, I see so many positions opening up in the area of social media.  Whether it be Facebook, blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, or any other platform, social media is all around us and is proving itself to be a key component to agriculture communication.  With that said though, I tend to question the quality and success of social media in spreading the word of agriculture.  Though it can get the word out quickly and efficiently, I wonder if it does so effectively.  What I think lacks from social media is a conversation and putting a real face to agriculture.  With my experiences this past summer through my internship, I had the opportunity to spread the word of agriculture (specifically the egg industry), at farmers markets, fairs, and schools.  This provided me the chance to converse with people and see and hear first hand their thoughts regarding agriculture, farmers, and animal welfare.  What I found most effective about my communication and outreach efforts was that I was able to have a true conversation with people and they were able to walk away having talked directly with someone involved in the industry, putting a so called "face" to the farmer.  This is something that lacks from social media, and I don't think it is something that should go by the wayside.  I think that social media platforms have a place in the future of agriculture communication in their ability to pass information quickly and efficiently, but I don't think it can replace the effectiveness of a face to face conversation with consumers.  With that said, as I move towards finding a job and career, I hope to find something that utilizes my abilities and talents to converse with people face to face and help them understand American agriculture through public outreach and education.      

Agriculture: Viable, Valuable, and Visible

Last night, I had the pleasure of hearing Matt Rush, a farmer and cattle rancher from New Mexico and Executive Vice President of the New Mexico Farm Bureau, give a presentation through the Brock Center for Agricultural Communications.  His presentation was very well received, with plenty of laughter and food for thought.  The three key things he touched on during his presentation regarding the future of agriculture are that we need to remain viable, valuable, and visible.  His presentation actually fit in very well with what we’ve been discussing in JOUR 205, especially with regards to remaining and becoming more visible.  Rush correctly pointed out that as of now, agriculture is certainly viable.  In California, we are currently producing more food and commodities than ever before, with fewer farms and on less land.  Now if that’s not viable, what is?  I foresee the future of agriculture remaining just as, if not more viable.  With new technology, new breeds of seeds, and new cultural techniques, I believe we will continue making more with less and be well on our way to helping feed our nation’s population, and our world.  He also pointed out that agriculture needs to remain valuable.  Similar to remaining viable, agriculture is certain to remain valuable because everyone has to eat.  Though day to day fluctuations in weather, markets, etc. could cause unexpected profits or losses, I believe that agriculture will remain valuable. 

Beyond remaining viable and valuable, I think one of the hardest things for those in agriculture to do is remain visible.  With the very nature of agriculture requiring long hours of work away from any dense populations, it is difficult for farmers and ranchers to remain visible and be open and transparent about what they do.  Most farmers and ranchers would be absolutely content with sitting on their horse or tractor all day and not worrying about what others are thinking or saying.  But in reality, we need those very people to be their own advocates and be open and honest with people about not only what they’re doing, but why they’re doing it.  With less than 2% of American’s involved in agriculture, there are so many people who don’t understand what it takes to get the food that they enjoy to their table three times a day.  They don’t understand it, and most don’t care to understand it.  And that’s where we as people involved in production agriculture and as agriculture communicators come in.  It is our job to be our own advocate, teaching others what we do and why we do it, in the hopes of seeing a brighter future for our industry. 

Beginning of the End, Part 2

Well folks, it’s getting closer.  Graduation is now officially 24 days away!  With one more trip home scheduled for Memorial Day weekend and lots of projects due between now and then, it still hasn’t really hit me yet that my life as I’ve known it for the past two years here in San Luis Obispo is coming to an end.  Soon after graduation, I will be moving back home to the valley, where I will continue looking for a job.  I have a few potential positions I’m pursuing, including Blue Diamond and California Farm Bureau Federation, but I’m keeping my options open and hoping to find the perfect fit for me. 

These last few weeks at Cal Poly have, and will, consist of banquets and get togethers with friends and club officer teams from this past year.  Just last night, the Agricultural Education and Communication Department held their end of the year banquet.  This is a fun event because it brings all our department together for an evening of awards and fun.  I really enjoy it because it’s an opportunity to see a lot of my close friends from my department.  I was of course excited to attend the banquet, but was running late because I was babysitting beforehand.  After getting home about 30 minutes later than I had planned, I rushed to my room to get ready.  As I was in the middle of touching up my makeup and about to start curling my hair, I hear the door bell to my apartment ring.  I found this really weird because hardly ever do people ring our doorbell, but being late as I was, I didn’t really think much into it, just got up and ran to the door.  I looked out the peep hole just to see who it was before I opened it, and to my great surprise and shock, it was my mom and sister!  I threw open the door, yelled what are you guys doing here, and then went into a minor panic because I was running so late.  So I ran back into my bathroom to finish getting ready and they followed, and I hadn’t even realized by good friend who has been going to school in Vermont for the past year was with them too!  Needless to say, my mom had come down for the banquet and my sister and friend decided to come along for the ride.  Long story short, I finished getting ready, my mom and I went to the banquet, and my sister and friend went our to dinner and to the beach.

Me, my mom, and friend Carrie Isaacson in line to get food at the banquet.

At the banquet, I was honored to receive several awards.  In addition to receiving recognition for being an officer in two of our department clubs and being on the Dean’s List, I also received the President’s Award for Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow, an award given by the club president to an officer who helped out a lot throughout the year.  I also was honored to receive the Outstanding Scholarship Award, recognizing the graduating senior from our department with the highest GPA.  With a 3.936 GPA, I was excited and honored to receive such an award, recognizing my hard work.  All in all, the banquet was a great success, with my mom right there with me!   

Some of us seniors at the "What Happens in Vegas" themed banquet.  From left to right, myself with the Outstanding Scholarship Award, Michelle Jimenez with the Outstanding Agriculture Education Student Award, Carrie Isaacson with the Outstanding Agricultural Communication Student Award, and David Jones with the Outstanding Non-Ag Communication Student Award.

The Beginning of the End

Well tonight marked the beginning of the end.  The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences held their End of the Year banquet, at which individuals and clubs were honored for their hard work and dedication to the college during the 2011-2012 school year.  As my time at Cal Poly comes to a conclusion in about a month, I seem to be experiencing a number of mixed emotions: being excited, nervous, and anxious all at once.  At tonight’s banquet, many students’ achievements were recognized through both individual and club awards.  It is wonderful to know that as I graduate and enter a career in agriculture, I will be surrounded by my peers who I know will go on and be successful participants in this industry we all love and have a passion for.  A lot of my friends were recognized for their hard work tonight, and I was so honored to stand among them as a finalist for the Beck Outstanding Senior Award.  I was also excited to have been a part of the ACT and CFFA officer teams, which were recognized as the Small Club of the Year and Large Club of the Year, respectively.  This year has been one for the books, and I look forward to reaching the end and graduating this June!

And on a side note, State Finals went extremely well this past weekend!  It was a great experience and I was so honored to work with my good friend, Luke Gocke, as the Awards Ceremony Co-Chairs!

State FFA Finals: Going Full Circle

Well, the time is almost here.  The time when over 2000 blue corduroy jackets will invade Cal Poly’s campus.  The time when there will be tears and celebration, joys and regrets.  That’s right, this Saturday is the annual California State FFA Judging Finals, hosted by Cal Poly, SLO.  This exciting, fun-filled day is a time when high school FFA students from across the state convene to compete in 19 contests for the chance of winning and going on to represent California at the national contest held during the National FFA Convention in October.  Students come to compete in a variety of contests, from Ag Mechanics to Livestock Judging to Agricultural Issues Forum to Agronomy (and many more).  After having spent a good part of the school year preparing for this very day through practicing with their teammates and coaches and participating in Field Days held at other colleges throughout the state, this is the capstone to all their hard work and dedication put into the contest.  For some students, this is the last contest of their high school careers, and for some it is their first.  For some students, this is their first time visiting Cal Poly, and for some it is the last. 

Well that’s where I found myself four long years ago, as a senior in the Escalon FFA Chapter.  I competed at the State FFA Judging Finals all three years I was in high school, and that was really my only exposure to Cal Poly.  After I left Cal Poly four years ago, I really never saw myself coming back, with the exception of maybe visiting some friends.  I would have never thought that four years later, I would be not only attending Cal Poly but I would also be serving as the emcee for the State FFA Judging Finals Awards Ceremony, the one moment in time that all FFA members work towards.  Needless to say, things have gone full circle and here I am today.

Earth Day Food & Wine Festival

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to help at a fun, exciting event: Earth Day Food and Wine Festival.  This annual event is coordinated by the Central Coast Vineyard Team and was held at Pomar Junction in Templeton in connection with Earth Day.  Though this type of event isn’t usually my cup of tea, we were asked to participate on behalf of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT).  Not only have I never taken much, well let’s not lie now, any consideration of Earth Day, but I have never put much thought into recycling and composting, with the exception of having a recycling bin in our apartment.  My participation in this event certainly took me out of my comfort zone, and not just because it was close to 90 degrees outside.  As ACT members, we were asked to participate in the event as recycle monitors; or as our supervisor for the day, Ian, so fittingly called us, the “communicators of recycling.”  Basically, our job for the 6 hour event was to stand at the recycling stations, which consisted of a recycle bin and green waste bin, and help the slightly event attendees put their trash in the right container.  And let me tell you, there was more to it than I was expecting.

We started the day by getting a tour of the event and locating the nine recycling stations.  We then got the scoop on what things at the event would constitute being recycled and what could be composted.  Though my fellow “communicators of recycling” were initially having a hard time remembering what was compostable, we finally figured out that if it was ever alive, then it could be composted.  We thought we had it all figured out and that our day wouldn’t be too eventful, until we were told of the Boy Scouts who did this particular job last year and supposedly did an outstanding job (remember though, they probably got a badge for this).  We were reminded that those boys did a great job, and specifically, that they weren’t scared to dig through the trash to the bottom of the bin if a plastic spoon ended up in the green waste container.  Well, that’s when things got interesting.  We quickly realized that this day was going to entail more than just standing behind the bins and directing people as to which bin to throw their trash into.  This day was going to entail us physically getting into the bins to remove things such as a little plastic spoon that if otherwise not removed, would deem an entire can of compostable products as not compostable.  Needless to say, we all experienced our share of sticking our hands, and many times heads, into the bins to remove a plastic spoon or cup. 

Check out ACT President, Jennifer Ray, getting her hands dirty in the compost bin.  In an effort to live up to the expectations the Boy Scouts left for us, we were removing a paper towel that indeed, come to find out after the fact, was compostable.  Oh well, at least we learned!

Despite all the time we spent rummaging through the compost bins and the hot weather (which of course was made worse by the fact that we had to wear black t-shirts), we actually had a decent time and I can say that I learned a lot about recycling and composting and have a new found respect for those involved in such endeavors.  Oh, and how can I forget all the slightly awkward, yet entertaining moments involving myself and monitoring intoxicated folks as they attempted to discard their garbage into the correct bins (key word there: intoxicated)?  But we’ll leave those stories for another time…

Poly Royal

Well as many of you know, last weekend was Cal Poly’s Open House, better known as Poly Royal.  It was my third time attending Open House, and what I’m hoping wasn’t my last.  The first time I attended Open House was as a potential incoming student, back in 2010.  I came down with two of my friends from Modesto Junior College who were also considering transferring to Cal Poly the following fall.  Attending Open House was a great opportunity to see what all Cal Poly and CAFES had to offer, and it got me excited about my upcoming transfer to Cal Poly.  Last year’s Open House was my first as a Cal Poly student.  Being on CAFES Open House Committee, I was involved in the activities for incoming students on Friday, along with helping at club and department booths during Saturday’s events.  And that leads me to this year’s Open House, my second and last as a student. 

This year’s Open House certainly lived up to its expectations, even with the poor weather we experienced here in San Luis Obispo.  With rain on Friday, I had the opportunity to meet with incoming transfer students, talking to them about the things unique to them as a transfer.  We met them outside the Rec Center, and of course as soon as they were released from the university welcome, the clouds opened up and the rain began to pour.  But as true Cal Poly aggies, all of the current CAFES students were ready and excited to greet them and lead them to the Farm Shop, rain, mud, and all.  I had a great time talking to the transfer students, and helping to make their transition to Cal Poly a little easier.  I concluded Friday by helping out one of the clubs I’m involved in, Collegiate FFA (CFFA).  To prepare for our booth the next day, we had to cut 15 flats of strawberries to be served with ice cream.  Sitting around five gallon buckets with our flats of strawberries and knives in hand, we went to work cutting strawberries and with about 15 people helping, we were done within an hour and a half.  We then got the room set up for the next day and it was home to rest up for the big day.

Saturday is probably the busiest of the Open House days, for me at least.  This year I had to split my time between the Ag Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) booth, CFFA’s ice cream and strawberries booth, and the Ag Education and Communications department booth.  Getting to campus early in the morning, I helped get the ACT booth set up before running over to see my friend, David Jones, in the parade as Cal Poly’s Homecoming King!  I then spent some time helping at CFFA’s booth, then back to ACT, then to the department booth, and then back to CFFA’s booth for the remainder of the day.  In between all of that I found a little time to walk around campus, finding a delicious tri-tip sandwich and strawberry milkshake.  Though I had planned to work all my shifts in the morning hours so I could attend the tractor pulls, because of the weather it was canceled and I got to spend the entirety of my last Open House helping at club and department booths.  Even so, I enjoyed every minute of it and look forward to coming back to Open House, next time as a Cal Poly alumni!