While sitting here in Detroit at the airport while they attempt to repair our plane that has a leaky fuel tank I figured there was no better time to write a blog post than now.....mind you if they don't do a very good job repairing it this may be my last post! Ha! Only kidding....hopefully
Recently one of the inspiring people I follow on Facebook posted a picture that said "No Farmers, No Food, No Future". What I absolutely love about Anthony Pannone is that he gets you to think outside the box. He did this with replying "No Customers, No Money, No Future". I feel he pretty much nailed it on the head.
Many times I feel the we in the agriculture industry feel entitlement. Like if it wasn't for us the producer everyone would die. Now to an extent maybe but I think we get a little too high on our horse sometimes and need to be brought back a little. I think that if there were not all of us out there producing the food for the world many people would take it upon themselves to grow their own food. They don't because it is easier to go to the store and buy it and they've never "had" to produce their own food while some may just not have the capability to do so. We see the whole "Thank a Farmer" campaign but where is the "Thank a Consumer" campaign? These are questions I have.
I believe now we as producers need to start giving a little more thanks to the customers because if they don't buy we don't have a market and for people who rely solely on farming/ranching this is a big deal. It's time to create a balance!
With that being said the snap on truck just drove up to the plane which can only mean something may get fixed.....hopefully I make it to Vegas in time to catch the rodeo.......wish me luck!!
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I've been saying this for years. The entirety of the agriculture industry needs to stop telling people they should be grateful for them. One of the issues we have in ag is that people nod and agree with you and then go back to their daily lives as if they never saw what was said about this.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't think a "campaign" is the way to go. I think we put too much emphasis on trying to force anyone to show gratitude to anyone. If you tell consumers how grateful they SHOULD be about farmers, chances are they're going to be offended. No one likes being told who to feel gratitude toward. Similarly, you shouldn't try forcing farmers to feel gratitude toward consumers. We should focus on building a dynamic, mutually-beneficial co-existence in which each understands the value of the other, WITHOUT needing guilt campaigns to do it.
Yes, I agree. Many voices in agriculture need to get off their high horse. But I also think the culture of telling people who to thank for what is just as detrimental as any feeling of entitlement.