By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER

Ohio Correspondent

SALEM, Ohio — Danielle Burch is a teacher; she sees hunger in her classroom and knows what a detriment that is on a student’s ability to learn.

“In a community like mine, which is close-knit and supportive, if students are facing these struggles, I couldn’t imagine what happens in communities that aren’t as strong,” she said. “I wanted to be trained so I could advocate in Washington, in Columbus and in my county for my students and our future.”

Burch was one of 15 farmers and ranchers who graduated from the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) 11th annual Women’s Communications Boot Camp. The group completed a three-day course featuring sessions on working with the media, public speaking, testifying and messaging.

“AFBF brings in lady leaders from around the country, and they have three days of intensive training to prepare us to be advocates for agriculture,” Burch said. “We trained in public speaking, how to give a radio interview, social media, how to present on television and (to) be able just to stand up for what we are advocating for at the time.”

Burch is a teacher at United Local High School in Hanoverton; she has a real passion for agriculture – feeding the world is the most important thing she can do with her time, she said.

“If I stay a teacher and I work with students in my classroom, great; if that means that one day I run for political office, then so much the better,” she said.

At the boot camp AFBF focuses on giving farm women the skills to tell their stories, be articulate public speakers and be able to deal with media on questions that come up about food and agriculture today, said Sherri Saylor, an Arizona alfalfa farmer and chair of the AFBF Women’s Leadership Committee.

Burch saw a mention of the class in a Farm Bureau E-Newsletter, thought it looked interesting and applied on a whim. There were 40 applicants, and only 15 were selected, Saylor said.

“It’s become a highly sought-after event,” Saylor said. “The women spend three days in Washington, D.C., and they’re trained by people who are expert at what they do. According to the focus groups we use, women in agriculture have become the most influential in how people perceive food and the way in which people farm. A lot of women are stepping up and wanting to share with the public what we do and why we do it.”

Burch and her husband, Andrew, have two children and operate a 250-acre dairy farm. She also won the 2017 Ohio Farm Bureau Discussion Meet competition.

The AFBF Women’s Leadership Committee, in partnership with the AFBF staff, hosts and provides training for the Women’s Communication Boot Camp. The program is open to all women involved in Farm Bureau. An application process is used to select the participants.