Last night in Fort Wayne, I decided that since my cable plan won't allow me to watch the NASCAR race, I would find a local sports bar to enjoy it. Lucky for me, a Buffalo Wild Wings is two miles down the road from my apartment.
As I sit at the bar, enjoying my Octoberfest and boneless wings and watching the first 25 laps of the race, I overhear a conversation happening three stools down from me. OK, I may have been sitting by myself at B Dubs, so naturally, I listen to people talking around me. But, what perked my ears wasn't necessarily a pleasant conversation.
This past month, I have had many awesome, hands-on experiences! I never knew that as a sales representative in the agriculture industry, there is so much opportunity to travel, meet growers and learn in the field (literally). The days seem to fly by but there is not much more exciting than the knowledge I am gaining in these fast-paced days. To accompany this learning curve about crop protection and agronomy, a new realization has set in. I have become first removed.
You might think, what is going on with her family? Is everything OK? Other than our county fair beginning Monday and I will miss my sister show her goats and run for fair queen, a newborn calf being born a few days ago that I couldn't assist with its first nursing of first colostrum or my grandmother attempting to sell her house, everything is great! The only disappointment is, I'm not there.
Day two, complete! If you have ever started a new job, you know that the first few days are very procedural and introductory. Of course, I completed the standard paperwork and got comfortable at my desk and in the office building. However, these couple of days have been more significant than just receiving a name plate.
One important aspect of joining a new company is connecting with the staff. I have spent nearly half of my time these past two days meeting with many different employees I will be collaborating with during this summer. From meeting with members of my DOW Agrosciences PR team to conversing with lead management staff of Bader Rutter, I am eager to begin a variety of projects related to my passions in communication and agriculture!
No matter what role each of these people hold, they are equally important for the success of Bader Rutter and the company's clientele.
I am excited to see what will happen these next few weeks. Not only am I looking forward to making connections in the office, but also with this outstanding group on a social level. My roommate is also an intern at Bader Rutter and we look forward to exploring Milwaukee together! We are both participating on the company's volleyball and softball teams for agency leagues. It will certainly be a fun experience and with a positive outlook, we both are bound to have an amazing summer.
It is time to push myself so the experience is more meaningful than just a name plate. Will you do the same for your summer opportunities?
Caroline
P.S. Don't forget to follow my blog and comment on things of interest to you.
In today's news, we have been hearing a lot of recent updates on energy creation. These topics range from wind and solar to shale and biofuels. However, all of them are focused on providing clean, renewable energy sources that can be used for years to come. Your stance may differ depending on the energy type discussed. But, it is up to us as consumers to look at all possible avenues of production to keep the lights on in our homes and the engines running in our automobiles.
I discovered an interesting article published by the New York Times about a new form of energy and fuel. Fair Oaks Farms of Fair Oaks, Ind. is one of the largest dairy operations in the country, with around 30,000 cows. They are showing innovation because they are not only inviting the public to join them on the farm to see their operation and participate in fun activities like cheese making, but they are using the other less-desired byproducts, manure, to create energy.
As mentioned in the NY Times, "the farm is running sophisticated $12 million “digester” facilities that process its overabundance of manure, capturing natural gas that runs electric generators or is pumped underground to a fueling station."
Any remaining manure byproducts are then spread on farm fields as fertilizer. With the fuel being produced directly on the farm, the farm owners were able to build two fuel stations and open them to the public. Because of these pumps, Gary Corbett, chief executive of Fair Oaks, believes they will substitute nearly 2 million gallons of diesel per year.
Think about all of the innovation that went behind this project. From planning how to use the manure, building the equipment and marketing the new fuel station, Fair Oaks has underwent much planning and marketing to make this new project a success. Being featured in the NY Times is a great publicity opportunity and is helping to advocate for new energy methods in the agricultural industry.
Do you feel these new energy outlets are being properly marketed? How do you feel other energy methods like shale, wind or solar compare to the marketing of biofuels and natural gases?
I have always claimed myself to be an American girl. I am patriotic, devoted to the greater good and involved in providing for our nation through the agricultural industry. A few days ago, I found something that brought me back to my younger-years and passion for being an American Girl.
The American Girl company recently created a new doll set that ties to my background and passion in agriculture. I own two of my own American Girl dolls from when I was a younger girl, and when I discovered a new doll focused on working on her uncle's farm, I jumped on the opportunity to learn more!
I started to scope out the American Girl website and quickly found what I had been searching for: Caroline. The new doll is named Caroline and she is accompanied by a red calf named Garnet.
I could not have been more excited to discover a doll that not only shared my name, but also had a red calf with it. I determined that the calf breed must be Shorthorn. I may be a bit biased, as Shorthorn is the breed of cattle I own, but I was thrilled to see a breed of cattle besides the typically black and white Holstein.
If you are unfamiliar with the American Girl brand, they create these 18-inch dolls and write books about stories these girls have experienced. As quoted on their website:
"These nine-year-old fictional heroines live during important times in America's past, providing "girl-sized" views of significant events that helped shape our country, and they bring the history alive for millions of children."
I find it unique that American Girl is marketing this new doll with a story and involvement in agriculture. It seems to me that agriculture has been making its way into our daily lives more frequently and this makes my outlook for future careers even more exciting! With large companies like American Girl promoting farming and agriculture lifestyles, this will help advocate and educate young girls about this important industry.
I convinced my mom to purchase the calf for me. I couldn't resist adding it into my American Girl collection! Once I receive it, I will be sure to compose a review on their website about how happy I am to see them promoting agriculture in their new collection.
I couldn't help but share a picture to depict my background and American girl self. This is from my county fair in 2011 when I was washing my steer, Caesar. I love the connection you can have with animals and I think this image really shows the bond we had. Do you think they could write a story about me one day?
The past few days, I had the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. for my internship with Ohio Farm Bureau. This trip is for farm bureau county presidents to learn about agricultural policy and interact with legislatures and organizational leaders at the Capitol. The idea of sharing a personal agricultural story was a primary message shared throughout the sessions. But the fact is, there is more work to be done than just sharing a simple story. We must act upon our communication efforts and then we can truly see the impact we can make for our causes.
I met with Congressman Bob Latta from my congressional district to discuss current topics relating to agricultural policy like a new farm bill, energy expansion, water regulations and more. What was most beneficial about this visit was the fact that since he is from my area of the state, all of these issues directly related to him and his family at home.
One of the key points Latta made was that it is not merely up to him to communicate our thoughts, but for us to get in touch with other organizations and governmental leaders to ensure our voice will be heard.
I think Latta does a great job of connecting with people in his district besides frequently traveling back home. He is very active on his Twitter and commented during our meeting that he "must travel and connect with the people who put him in office to do his job right". The county presidents and I enjoyed interacting with Latta and he encouraged us to reach out so he could visit their farms and stay connected with the local communities.
In addition to our congressional visits, participants had the opportunity to hear from different speakers at the Food and Drug Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, and more congressional speakers like Speaker John Boehner, congressmen Paul Ryan, Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, as well as other legislative leaders from Ohio. From this trip, I was able to learn more about my interests in policy making and potential job opportunities that await me in DC. Learning how to communicate on the Capitol has been an exciting experience that I am eager to share with others. So now, it is your turn.
What is stopping you from communicating with your congressional leaders to turn your messages into actions? How do you think policy makers can enhance their understanding and use of communication to make a greater impact for our country?
You always hear "you are what you eat". However, it can be even more fun to tweet what you eat!
Each week, the AgChat Foundation hosts a tweet chat on Twitter to connect producers and consumers about topics concerning food and farming. These conversations are focused on specific topics brought up by followers each week and then posted as 'questions' to entice discussion.
On the third Tuesday of each month, #foodchat is conducted from 8-10 p.m. These events are steered toward health and wellness and bring in a more diverse crowd of consumers. I participated in one of these discussions this past Tuesday. The discussion topic this past week was focused on heart health and had a variety of topic questions from specific types of food that people consider heart healthy and good recipes to ways to relieve stress on the farm and how producers should better promote how these food options are healthy.
Not only was I engaged in the conversation because of the agricultural discussion, but because I enjoyed discussing different topics relating to health and wellness.
I think the AgChat Foundation does a good job of advocating for the agricultural industry using social media engagement. However, they must find new ways to draw in different consumer groups and attain their interest for topics that may not directly relate to agriculture. I think from my conversations on food chat, it is easier to connect on common topics like health and wellness initially, then transition into how these relate to agriculture.
Have you ever participated in these Twitter discussions before? What do you think is most effective?
This spring, I am interning with Ohio Farm Bureau in their
public policy department. For this position, I have been able to focus on some event planning projects in the area of agricultural policy.
On Tuesday, we hosted our first event of the year, Ag Day at
the Capital. Ag Day at the Capital is an annual event that focuses on bringing
farm bureau members to Columbus to learn about updates in policy and
regulations that relate to the agricultural industry. These agriculturalists
have the opportunity to meet with legislatures during a luncheon and also
schedule individual meetings with their congressional districts to discuss pertinent policy topics for their local areas.
I assisted with the pre-event planning and logistics and
worked with legislatures and farm bureau employees to help the event come
together. During the day, I had a few minor responsibilities like assisting
with check-in and seating legislatures in the Statehouse atrium for a luncheon. Because I did
not have many ‘big’ tasks, I was able to do one thing I love: tweet.
Twitter has become one of my
main resources of information and favorite ways to communicate with people! Not
only does it allow me to enhance my creativity by stopping me from using over
140 characters, but I can also follow events and people in a timely way.
For Ag Day, Ohio Farm Bureau created a Storify account to piece together all of the details from the event in a fun,
technological way. This helped guests and others who were unable to attend see
some of the event from a unique perspective. To the right is the Storify story that was
created for Ag Day.
You can visit the farm bureau Storify and see more tweets and posts from Ag Day.
I think the use of a Storify was a very innovative action
for farm bureau to take. Not only is it unique, but also it is an easy way to
piece together all of the thoughts and activities that were shared during Ag
Day. If other companies and organizations begin to implement the use of
platforms like Storify, it could help them standout in the
public relations realm.
How do you think farm bureau did in their PR for Ag Day?
What are your thoughts on Storify and other similar technologies?
This weekend, I went on a shopping trip with one of my
friends. I love shopping, but what I love even more is comparing the different
marketing campaigns these companies use in their displays and store layouts.
After taking my graphic design classes, I am better
able to interpret what type of feel and approach these organization are
portraying. One company who I feel excels in their marketing approach is Tacori.
Tacori is a jewelry brand I first saw on QVC while in high
school. Now, all I dream about is filling my jewelry box with their beautiful
gems and statement pieces. When stopping by and browsing their jewelry in the
mall, it is easy to pinpoint the Tacori display – it is all in a royal blue
case. I think their branding is outstanding. Not only do they have consistency
in their design concepts, but they also showcase the quality of their products
in a variety of campaigns.
Most recently, Tacori created a video depicting
a story of love by chance. The video called Par Chance has a variety of Tacori
jewelry worn by the actress while telling her love story. Below is the trailer
of the video, but I highly encourage viewing the full-length film here (it is
only 3:36 long).
Not only do I find this video captivating because I enjoy
romance, but I thought it was creative how Tacori used some of their current
advertising campaigns within the video. One of my favorites they are currently
using for their 18k925 Fine Jewelry Collection is the martini glass ad,
“Pour on the Glamour”.
If you notice within the video, while they are at the
restaurant, she places her necklace into his martini glass and he proceeds to
drink from it anyway.
One of my favorite ads for their engagement rings is the chess
ad, “Checkmate”. I found their approach very unique in symbolizing the journey
to love.
The video also includes a game of chess, where the female
wins the game against her pursuer. This clip also symbolizes how love is a
process and in the video, the actor is given clues to finding this mysterious
woman he is wooing.
Can you find any more similarities between their
current campaigns and the video?
Overall, I found this video very effective and cohesive to
the marketing scheme Tacori has been using for virtual and print media. Even
though it may be a while before I can have my first piece of Tacori jewelry,
their advertising is very enticing and pleasing for me.
What do you think of their campaigns and in particular, the
video they released? Are there any other jewelry brands you feel are effective
in their campaigns with video usage?
Day two, complete! If you have ever started a new job, you know that the first few days are very procedural and introductory. Of course, I completed the standard paperwork and got comfortable at my desk and in the office building. However, these couple of days have been more significant than just receiving a name plate.
I discovered an interesting article published by the New York Times about a new form of energy and fuel. Fair Oaks Farms of Fair Oaks, Ind. is one of the largest dairy operations in the country, with around 30,000 cows. They are showing innovation because they are not only inviting the public to join them on the farm to see their operation and participate in fun activities like cheese making, but they are using the other less-desired byproducts, manure, to create energy.
As mentioned in the NY Times, "the farm is running sophisticated $12 million “digester” facilities that process its overabundance of manure, capturing natural gas that runs electric generators or is pumped underground to a fueling station."
The American Girl company recently created a new doll set that ties to my background and passion in agriculture. I own two of my own American Girl dolls from when I was a younger girl, and when I discovered a new doll focused on working on her uncle's farm, I jumped on the opportunity to learn more!
