USFRA Ag Forward Communications Strategy

September 29, 2011

A Huge Conversation and Growing…

277,000 online conversations

in April 2011 alone

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Will We Fight?

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We Can Turn

Today‘s War Into a

Conversation.

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Led by Farmers and Ranchers…

A Different Approach: Leading a “big table” national

movement that will finally get our voices heard

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How Is the USFRA Movement Different?

A number of groundbreaking firsts:

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One voice Livestock

and crop voices have joined forces at a deeper

level than ever before

A long-term movement,

not a campaign The viability and leadership of the industry, not promoting one

product or one moment in time

Engaging First time today‘s

agriculture will engage America in an inclusive dialogue, not a one-way

conversation

Leading the conversation

Setting the agenda, not reacting to attacks

Entry to Popular Culture Going additional places where today‘s influencers get their information

Strategy

• Lead versus confront, invite many to table

• Listen and seek common areas of interest

• Set agenda as an aligned community

• Use words that reflect action and commitment to improvement

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The Inputs of a Movement What Our Research Told Us

What We Did

• Instant Response Research to uncover emotional reactions to messaging

– Five 3-hour IR Sessions with Farmers and Ranchers, influencers and opinion elites • Denver

• Indianapolis

• New York City

• Washington DC

• Los Angeles

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Here’s what we heard: America continues our love affair with Farmers and Ranchers.

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FarmERS vs. FarmING

• Consumers and customers love stories of family farms and bucolic images of farmers – But the emotion does not translate to farming and

ranching as an industry

• They think conventional Farmers and Ranchers are part of ―Big Ag‖

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* Size of word corresponds to how many times the topic was mentioned across all 3 influencer sessions

FarmERS vs. FarmING

• Affection for the people does NOT translate to the industry

• Our audience‘s truth: ―American agriculture‖ =

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And It’s Not About Shouting Louder

• Even with a $100 million TV advertising budget focused on traditional farming families and romanticized images, credibility of farming and ranching as an industry would not be restored

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The Credibility Gap

You say … They hear …

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Our methods are proven

safe.

We keep food affordable.

We care about our land and

animals.

We NEED to produce more to FEED the world.

We need a secure domestic food supply.

We have the safest food supply in the world thanks to

the ag industry.

Most farms are

family-run.

Your methods tamper with nature.

At what expense to quality?

But beholden to big processors and the bottom line.

You will take profitable short cuts when and if

you can.

You WANT to produce more to SELL to the world.

You want subsidies and lax regulations.

Pesticides, antibiotics and hormones might not be safe in the long-run.

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Focus on

food’s

impact on

long-term

health

Safe,

Affordable,

Abundant

Food

The Disconnect

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Effective Communication

How do we shift the conversation?

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Address Their Actual Concerns

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• FarmING methods make our audiences (and their consumers) uncomfortable

Answer Their Actual Questions

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• Consumers aren‘t sure if their food from conventional farming is safe or healthy in the long-term

• The opposition has redefined food safety as the long-term effects from what you eat

– ―Low cost is good … but at what expense to quality and long-term health?‖ — influencer in NY

The Path Forward

1. Acknowledge concerns

2. Commit to continuous

improvement

3. Change the language

4. Begin a dialogue

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Acknowledge Concerns

• The first hurdle is even getting them to listen

• Acknowledging your audience HAS concerns

– even if they aren‘t legitimate to YOU –

engages them in the conversation

“Don’t try to be perfect. I know it’s not true.”

-- Participant, Los Angeles

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Commit to Continual Improvement

• Highlight the dynamic nature of these industries

• Make the future about continual improvement

• Cite past improvements to be credible

• Talk about future goals and acknowledge

credible motivations to highlight shared interests

“I like hearing that farming is evolving. And the

specifics of how they’re reducing

environmental impact were really important.”

-- Influencer, Washington, DC

Language Landmines

• Much of the language we use today to describe methods revolves around process, innovation and technology

words to lose – words to use +

Pesticides Preventing bugs and other pests

from eating crops

Fertilizer and Nitrogen

Nurturing crops with nutrients at

exactly the right time, at the right

rate, and in the right amounts to

make them thrive

GMOs Seeds that grow stronger, more

resilient and better tasting crops

Antibiotics Keeping animals healthy

Hormones MAINTAINING growth

Words to Use

words to lose – words to use +

Pesticides Preventing bugs and other pests

from eating crops

Fertilizer and Nitrogen

Nurturing crops with nutrients at

exactly the right time, at the right

rate, and in the right amounts to

make them thrive

GMOs Seeds that grow stronger, more

resilient and better tasting crops

Antibiotics Keeping animals healthy

Hormones MAINTAINING growth

Begin a Dialogue: The Big Table

• There is a REAL appetite among consumers to know more about where their food comes from

• We have an opportunity to harness the power of the aligned industry to have a real impact

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The Six Phases

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PHASE 1

Late June to

Early August

PHASE 2

August to

September

PHASE 3

August to

September

PHASE 4

October to

Ongoing

PHASE 5

November to

Ongoing

PHASE 6

2012 to

Ongoing

Farmers &

Ranchers

Activation

Public

Launch

Town Hall

Conversation

Myth

Busters

Call to

Action

Cultural

Integrations

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The Headline

“America’s Farmers and Ranchers join forces to listen and address America’s

concerns about food production.”

Trade Media Allignment

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Food Dialogues Town Hall: September 22

Historic Town Hall: The Food Dialogues

• The first major step forward in leading a conversation with influencers

• Four locations, connected via a satellite link and live broadcast

• Online live streaming

• Questions from live studio audience, Twitter, Facebook and www.fooddialogues.com

• Secretary of Agriculture special appearance

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FoodDialogues.com Home Page

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The Food Dialogues Locations & Hosts

• Fair Oaks Farms/Fair Oaks, IN – Moderator: Max Armstrong, Farm Progress Companies

• The Newseum/Washington, D.C.

– Moderator: Phil Lempert, food trends analyst and editor, The

Lempert Report/Supermarket Guru

– Emcee: Claire Shipman, ABC News

• Robert Mondavi Institute at University of California Davis/Davis, CA – Moderator: Jane Wells, CNBC

• Chelsea Studios/New York, NY – Moderator: Chef John Besh

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Panelists

Fair Oaks, IN • Malcolm DeKryger, vice president,

Belstra Milling Co.

• Phil Bradshaw, Illinois soybean, corn and hog producer; former vice chairman United Soybean Board and vice chairman, USFRA

• Casie Conley, state president, Indiana FFA Organization

• Gary Corbett, CEO, Fair Oaks Farms

• Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the College of Agriculture, Iowa State University

Washington, D.C. • Tres Bailey, director of Agriculture and

Food, Wal-Mart

• Kathi Brock, director of Strategic Partnerships American Humane Association

• Frank DiPasquale, CEO, School Nutrition Association

• Bob Stallman, Texas farmer/rancher; president, American Farm Bureau Federation and chairman, USFRA

• Jon Scholl, Illinois corn and soybean farmer and president, American Farmland Trust

• Dan Glickman, senior fellow, Bipartisan Policy Center, former secretary, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

• Dr. Jason Clay, senior vice president, Market Transformation, World Wildlife Fund

Panelists

Davis, CA • Eric Benson, California egg

producer and president, J.S. West & Co.

• Michael Dimock, president, Roots of Change

• Dr. Neal Van Alfen, dean, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

• Stuart Woolf, president, Woolf Farming and Processing

• Rick Stott, Idaho cattle rancher and executive vice president, Agri Beef Co.

New York, NY • Bart Schott, North Dakota corn

farmer and president, National Corn Growers Association

• Dr. Lynn Silver, director of Science and Policy, New York City Dept. of Health

• Sarah Murray, author, Moveable Feasts

• Patricia Cobe, senior editor, Restaurant Business Magazine

• Dr. Pamela Ronald, professor, Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis and co-author, Tomorrow’s Table

Invitations and Advertisements

Invitations Advertisements

• X

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Media Materials

• Town Hall Press Release

• Consumer Survey Press Release

• Town Hall Fact Sheet and Media Advisory

• USFRA National Infographic

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Preliminary Social Media Results

• Online at www.fooddialogues.com:

3,500 attendees

– Analytics

• Since website launch: 25,886 unique visitors

• Web analytics for 9/19 – 9/25:

– 14,000+ visitors with largest spike

occurring on Thursday 9/22 (4,882

visitors just that day)

– 6,271 visitors in total came between

Monday-Wednesday leading up to

Town Hall

• Facebook at

http://apps.facebook.com/fooddialog

ues/: 574 attendees

– Does not include participants who assembled at one location to view remotely

• Twitter: 4,036 Tweets using the

designated event hashtag

#FoodD

– 1,754 ReTweets

– Many of the Tweets from the Town Hall event were positive. Examples:

• ddills88 - Danielle Dills: It's great

when an industry can come

together and be productive. Thank

you @USFRA for providing a great

conversation today! #foodd

• Srlaupan - Sarah Laupan: Congrats

and thanks to @USFRA and all

organizers, contributors and

followers. Wonderfully produced

and executed w/ lots of good info.

#FoodD

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Preliminary Media Coverage

Coverage by media type (as of 9/26/11): – Print: 2 – Online: 30 – Broadcast: 1 – 242 pick-ups of the news release announcing the survey results

Key articles: • the SALT: NPR‘s Food Blog, ―Farmers And Ranchers Reach Out To Talk To

Consumers‖ • News10 (ABC affiliate in Sacramento), ―California ranchers, farmers discuss food

in America‖ • Sacramento Bee, "Virtual Forum Focuses on Food" • Agwired.com, ―USFRA Food Dialogues Now Live‖ • Brownfield Ag News, ―‗Food Dialogues‘ happening today‖ • Corn Commentary, ―NCGA President Participates In USFRA Food Dialogues‖ • WJBC – the Voice of Central Illinois, ―‗Food Dialogues‘ offer opportunity for

conversation about food production‖ • World Dairy Diary, ―USFRA Food Dialogues Live To Watch Online‖

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What’s Next?

• Discovery Channel‘s holiday partnership – Inviting consumers to ―join the dialogue‖

• More aggressive social media focus around Global Food Day and Food Day in October

• Message training 250,000 farmers

• Broader consumer call-to-action to ―know where your food comes from‖

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