By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Who is telling your story? Social media such as Facebook, You Tube and Twitter are telling the animal rights activists’ side of the story.
At the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation’s (OFBF) annual meeting, viewers cringed at the online video that Dan Toland showed of farm animals being mistreated.
According to the Center for Food Integrity, people are getting more information about food from the Internet, said Toland, OFBF communications specialist, in a presentation on social media impact. In one year, there has been a 52 percent increase in the number of people who are getting information online.

“The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other similar groups have been organizing protests and campaigns online for years,” Toland said. “Those campaigns are mostly unchallenged; if we aren’t out there, who is telling our story?”

Social media has given farmers and ranchers the opportunity to balance this out. It is a way to see what issues are important by paying attention and listening. Toland said. It gives a platform to tell agriculture’s story.
 
“Social media actually is the most effective and direct way to have an engaging dialog with the consumer,” Toland said. “It is not the only way, but it is free and very effective.”

Using the term “agvocates” for those who promote agriculture online, Toland said that unfortunately some agvocates are using the same negative tone and language that often puts animal rights activists on the fringe. The message from farmers needs to be cool-headed; farmers have a strong story to tell. It should not be an “us” versus “them” type of argument.

“We want to educate consumers, but we should be engaging in dialog to get a better understanding of their concerns and the providing facts and information. It should be a conversation not a lecture,” Toland said.

The point is to avoid Chicken Little types of arguments. “They” say all farmers are animal beaters. “We” say they’re trying to take away our meat, milk and eggs. There has to be something in the middle that the public can believe, Toland said.

“What do people think about farmers? What is the image people are getting? What is our brand?” Toland questioned. “We need to reconnect and put our face back with our brand and these tools, social media, can help you do that.”
Toland’s presentation included a SKYPE interview with California rancher Jeff Fowle, president of AgChat Foundation, which empowers farmers and ranchers to connect communities through social media platforms.

According to the website, the AgChat Foundation “is designed to help those who produce food, fuel, fiber and feed tell agriculture’s story from their point of view.

“The Foundation will educate and equip farmers and ranchers with the skill set needed to effectively engage on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, Linkedin and other social media services.”

For more information on the AgChat Foundation visit www.agchat.org
The OFBF has an award-winning social media guide. View it at www.tiny url.com/ofbfsocial media