By Chris Fennewald
Today’s youth Twitter and Skype, Facebook with friends, and text on their phones at lightning speed. They also create good videos. This YouTube crowd created videos for Farm Bureau in a first-ever video contest asking FFA chapters to tell the story of agriculture in their own unique way.
The winning results were shown at the state FFA convention in April, and they were unique. FFAers continue to shine a bright future on agriculture.
These days, the U.S. public seems more concerned about how their food is produced and less concerned about the farm families who produce it. New generations of consumers far removed from the farm have lost track of agriculture. Their image of the red barn and barnyard persists. As consumers have progressed in their food choices, farmers have progressed in their farm practices. Red barns and barnyards are out, satellites and micronutrients are in.
Enter our modern FFA students, armed with computer savvy, smartphones and video cameras. They understand the today’s farm-to-food connection and are proud to share it.
This year’s winning video entry came from the Trenton FFA chapter. The video opens with a professional dog breeder explaining how the strict regulations proposed in Proposition B would shut her and other breeders down. The video cuts to students explaining why they are involved in agriculture.
A video from the Jackson chapter begins with full plates of food, cutting to an empty plate, then asking and later answering the question, “Why do we need agriculture?”
Beginning with the words “I believe...”, students from the McDonald County chapter use the FFA creed to tell their story. Every FFA student knows the creed. Although it was written in 1930, its meaning is as contemporary today as it was then.
The last paragraph of the creed states: “I believe that American agriculture can and will hold true to the best traditions of our national life and that I can exert an influence in my home and community which will stand solid for my part in that inspiring task.”
The creed’s author, E.M. Tiffany, knew nothing about smartphones and the Internet, but he did understand the impact of youth.
FFA students, armed with technology, are influencing not only their rural communities but anyone with online access. They realize their future in the industry does not include red barns and barnyards. They have the means to shape consumers’ perceptions of agriculture more than any generation before them. Encourage them to speak out for agriculture to preserve their place in it.
To see the six finalists in the FFA video contest go to mofb.org and click on the FFA icon on the left.
(Chris Fennewald, of Jefferson City, Mo., is editor of publications for Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization.)
No comments:
Post a Comment