Too often we don't realize what we don't know. And as the disconnect between farmers and non-farmers grows, misinformation often fills the gaps.
Wanda Patsche, a farmer from Minnesota, recently shared a post on her blog Minnesota Farm Living about why farmers need to tell their stories and consumers need to ask questions of farmers. Here is an excerpt:
What do farmers need to do moving forward? What do consumers need to do? A good first start is for farmers to tell their story and having consumers reach out to those that that raise their food.
So how do farmers tell their story? It’s actually fairly simple. Farmers need to talk about what they do and why they do it. They need to be honest, genuine, and transparent. And they need to talk to everyone. Farmers need to realize It’s okay to show the struggles right along with the successes on their farms. “Telling their story” should be part of their annual business plan. If farmers want to continue raising food here is the U.S., it’s paramount they start telling their story.
Consumers also have a responsibility to reach out to those who grow their food if they have questions. Google University is just not as reliable as farmers themselves. If both farmers and consumers communicate with each other, many of these issues can be avoided.
We have several farmers and ranchers in North Dakota who are excited about answering your questions about why they do what they do. And we have an easy way for you to ask your questions AND get straight and factual answers.
Just email onyourtable@ndfb.org with your question, and we'll get one of our farmer or rancher experts to answer for you.
Watch our short video about On Your Table (we call it OYT for short!):
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