Tweet What You Eat

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?

Pork promotional video: Shows potential or stuck in a rut?

As an agricultural advocate, it is my job to find new methods to share with consumers the practices and methods used in today's technology-savvy world. With this objective, many commodity groups and organizations are striving to enhance their efforts to promote the industry to society with increased use of social media and videography. One group recently released a video to do just that.

The Ohio Pork Producers Council published a Youtube video on Feb. 11 to depict how hogs are raised and provide different retail products we typically eat. The video titled, "Pork from Farm to Fork: Where'd Ya Get That Pork?", brings an animated side to farming.

Watching this video objectively, I see positives and areas of improvement to its effectiveness (these are my personal opinions). 

Positives:

• The video is fun and presents a down-to-earth feel with the music and cartoon images.
• It places an emphasis on current trends in agriculture. This is show with the modern style of housing for the hogs.
• It is concise and to the point in explaining hog production.

Areas of Improvement:

• Who is the target audience? This seems unclear. The video appears more sophomoric in its presentation.
• Was the selection of music the best way to present current trends in agriculture? The idea of using a version of "Old McDonald" could make the audience think of traditional livestock production methods while this video is promoting the new age in raising animals.
• Including real-life examples of hog farmers that are represented could strengthen the end of the video.

From the standpoint of a general consumer, I feel this video could be improved to better identify hog farming as a reputable career and livelihood of the farming families. It is important to share our stories in the industry and we must find the right techniques to do it successfully.

What are your thoughts on this video? Do you like the presentation of the information or do you feel it could be improved upon? Help me start a discussion about this video or others found in the agricultural industry.