by Stanley Reed
President, Arkansas Farm Bureau

Ag Challenges Initiative will help tell story of livestock production

The American Farm Bureau has launched a strategic public relations program – known as the Ag Challenges Initiative – to mobilize and empower grassroots livestock producers to speak out on issues related to livestock production and animal well-being issues.

The AFBF Board of Directors approved the project after it was apparent that those in the ‘animal welfare’ arena – people, quite honestly, who know nothing about animal agriculture – were controlling much of the dialogue about animal agriculture issues.

Something, it was determined, had to be done to combat those who demonize modern animal agriculture practices in an effort to further an agenda that borders on idiocy. They had somehow convinced the general public to pass public referendums eliminating the use of farrowing crates in hog operations in Florida and Arizona (areas with very little hog operation and, therefore, little organized opposition), and had threatened to expand their fight into other areas of commonly accepted animal husbandry practices.

The best way to blunt those emotional arguments about animal ag practices is to put the honest, hard-working men and women of agriculture in front of their friends, neighbors and policymakers, and have them explain why they utilize the latest in science and technology to efficiently raise the food for the world.

However, before we asked livestock producers to step up and defend modern practices, we felt it best to arm them with tools, materials and an understanding of how to best tell this story through the media. To help with that effort, the American Farm Bureau has engaged a pair of nationally respected public relations firms, Burson-Marsteller and Osborn and Barr.

Burson-Marsteller has carried out activities in the state of Colorado, where the animal welfare crowd had next targeted their efforts. The goal of this effort is to identify strategies that can be used by other states facing similar challenges. The longer-term program, assigned to Osborn and Barr, is national in scope and directed toward a pro-active, preventative approach to managing animal care issues and challenges.

A speakers’ training program has been designed and includes a formal strategy to arrange consumer and media outreach opportunities for persons receiving the training, as well as follow-up information for those trained speakers.

In addition, an effort is underway to develop more coordination among the livestock industry with the purpose of better assisting state organizations facing animal care challenges. The firm also is in the early stages of assembling a Farm Bureau-led effort to build more trust, communication and shared values throughout the food production chain.

I am pleased to note that Arkansas Farm Bureau has benefited from this effort, as several top animal agriculture producers engaged in the spokesperson training Aug. 5-6 in Memphis, Tenn. Also, Don Lipton, director of public relations for the American Farm Bureau, was a speaker at our most recent Officers and Leaders Conference in Springdale.

For those who understand animal agriculture, it is obvious that the well-being of our animals is important because we understand that producing healthy food for this country requires farmers to ensure that their animals are safe, healthy and content. We know that the animal welfare practices we use lead to the high-quality, safe and wholesome meat, milk and eggs that consumers demand. Simply put, without ensuring the health and safety of their animals, farmers and ranchers would be out of business.