2018 AGvocacy Week Essay Winner

High Plains FFA Member Rudy Nesvik was the winner of the 2018 Wyoming Agriculture Agvocacy Week Essay competition.  His winning essay will be featured here on the Wyoming FFA Association blog, as well as in the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.  Rudy will also receive $100 from sponsors Teresa and Ben Milner for his efforts.  His winning entry is below.

by Rudy Nesvik, High Plains FFA

            Agriculture is the only industry that provides food, clothing, and shelter to the population.  However, agriculture is one of the least understood industries in America.  According to a recent survey 72% of Americans admit they know little to nothing about farming or ranching.  This is astonishing to think that just under three quarters of the American population knows nothing or little about where their food, clothing, and shelter comes from.  The question arises after hearing this statistic on just how it is us as agriculturist can Agvocate for agriculture in and effective manner, that will yield the greatest success, while also giving the most information to the public as possible.  The answer is simple, agriculturist must unite with others in unconventional ways.  There are two ways that agriculture must unite with others, and those ways are talking to businesses that may seem unconnected to agriculture, and through social media.

If agriculturalists can reach out to businesses that seem to have little impact on agriculture, or that agriculture has little impact on them, they would both be surprised how connected they are.  An example is a computer technology company.  When many think about a technology company they think of their phones, computers, or large super computers.  What many don’t think of is the GPS tractors that agriculture uses, drones that are used by agriculturist, or high-tech sensors agriculturist use to detect moisture content, or mineral content in soil.  If agriculturists reached out to companies that seem unconnected to agriculture, and stressed the importance of raising awareness companies like Google, and Microsoft could put out ads showing how technologically advanced agriculture is, and bring more awareness to many in the public who have little knowledge, and give them even more knowledge about agriculture.

Second, the use of social media could be extremely useful to promote agriculture.  In this modern world almost everyone has a smart phone, and with these smart phones social media apps such as Instagram, Facebook, or Snapchat.  There are some pro-agriculture social media accounts that have a large follower base such as the Peterson Farm Brothers.  They create parodies of popular pop culture songs that positively promote agriculture.  They however, compared to many celebrity’s accounts have very little followers.  If agriculturist could reach out to a celebrity, and have them promote agriculture on their pages, and endorse other pro-agriculture pages, many more people, who would have seemingly little knowledge of agriculture, would then see pro-agriculture pages every day when they checked their phones like usual.  This would reach a tremendous amount of people and have a very large impact nation wide.

Overall, Agvocating is becoming more and more crucial to agricultures survival.  With rising public resistance to agriculture practices, and anti-agriculture groups gaining more followers it will be crucial for agriculture to promote the truth.  If we are going to increase production by 70%, and feed nine billion people by the year 2050, we must Agvocate effectively.

            Agriculture is the only industry that provides food, clothing, and shelter to the population.  However, agriculture is one of the least understood industries in America.  According to a recent survey 72% of Americans admit they know little to nothing about farming or ranching.  This is astonishing to think that just under three quarters of the American population knows nothing or little about where their food, clothing, and shelter comes from.  The question arises after hearing this statistic on just how it is us as agriculturist can Agvocate for agriculture in and effective manner, that will yield the greatest success, while also giving the most information to the public as possible.  The answer is simple, agriculturist must unite with others in unconventional ways.  There are two ways that agriculture must unite with others, and those ways are talking to businesses that may seem unconnected to agriculture, and through social media.

If agriculturalists can reach out to businesses that seem to have little impact on agriculture, or that agriculture has little impact on them, they would both be surprised how connected they are.  An example is a computer technology company.  When many think about a technology company they think of their phones, computers, or large super computers.  What many don’t think of is the GPS tractors that agriculture uses, drones that are used by agriculturist, or high-tech sensors agriculturist use to detect moisture content, or mineral content in soil.  If agriculturists reached out to companies that seem unconnected to agriculture, and stressed the importance of raising awareness companies like Google, and Microsoft could put out ads showing how technologically advanced agriculture is, and bring more awareness to many in the public who have little knowledge, and give them even more knowledge about agriculture.

Second, the use of social media could be extremely useful to promote agriculture.  In this modern world almost everyone has a smart phone, and with these smart phones social media apps such as Instagram, Facebook, or Snapchat.  There are some pro-agriculture social media accounts that have a large follower base such as the Peterson Farm Brothers.  They create parodies of popular pop culture songs that positively promote agriculture.  They however, compared to many celebrity’s accounts have very little followers.  If agriculturist could reach out to a celebrity, and have them promote agriculture on their pages, and endorse other pro-agriculture pages, many more people, who would have seemingly little knowledge of agriculture, would then see pro-agriculture pages every day when they checked their phones like usual.  This would reach a tremendous amount of people and have a very large impact nation wide.

Overall, Agvocating is becoming more and more crucial to agricultures survival.  With rising public resistance to agriculture practices, and anti-agriculture groups gaining more followers it will be crucial for agriculture to promote the truth.  If we are going to increase production by 70%, and feed nine billion people by the year 2050, we must Agvocate effectively.

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