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Real Farmwives of America revamp their online image —By Andy Dietrick Public Relations Team In 2010 a group of Indiana farm girls launched a Facebook page called The Real Farmwives of America. The goal was to share their real life farm stories with as many people as possible. The driving force behind the project was Heather Hill, Hancock County pork
producer, retailer, blogger (www.3kidsandlotsofpigs. com), wife, mother and, most recently, graduate of AFBF’s Partners in Agricultural Leadership (PAL) program. After more than two years of online engagement, the group has completely revamped its web presence. Hill describes how they got to this point and what is new for the Real Farmwives. How long was the original RFOA site up? Why a redesign now? The original RFOA site went live in in summer 2010 and the website went up in spring 2011. In the beginning, we had lots of ideas of what we wanted to do, but it all takes time. After our initial launch and going strong for a while, we decided to take a step back and re-evaluate where we were and where we wanted to go, which is what led us to our new design and reboot. What changes were made to the new site? Our site has a completely new look
and feel which we are very excited about. We hope our readers will like it. Additionally, we have added a “Meet a Farmer” map that will highlight the farmers we feature from all over the United States simply by clicking on their respective state. You’ve learned a lot in two years. Did you incorporate that into the redesign? Most definitely. One of the biggest things we wanted to offer was constant content for our readers so we could always stay
connected to them. Going forward, we plan to have at least 3 posts every week with each day having a specific theme. (Monday-Home and Garden; Tuesday-In the Kitchen; Wednesday-Photography; Thursday-Recipe Recap; Friday-Farmer Friday; and Saturday-Weekends for the Soul.) As you have more online conversations, what are people saying about agriculture? The number of consumers curious and concerned about where their
food comes from increases each day. They are eager for information and willing to listen. I hope that we are able to be a voice of agriculture for them and can help them understand a bit more about modern agriculture. Any last thoughts? We feel very lucky to be able to have the opportunity to tell our individual stories and to help tell the story of today’s agriculture. You can find the Real Farmwives of America at realfarmwivesofamerica.com.
Who’s who at Indiana Farm Bureau Two events can help you promote farmers and agriculture Education coordinator Julie Taylor —By Andy Dietrick Public Relations Team
—By Mindy Reef Public Relations Team
This year Food CheckOut Week (FCOW) will be celebrated February 17-23. Farm Bureau members can show consumers ways to stretch their grocery dollars with healthy, nutritious food. FCOW is one time during the year to make a special effort to reach out to consumers in person and through social media, to answer questions about how crops are grown and livestock and poultry raised. Free resources and materials are available on AFBF’s website, www.fb.org under “Events.”
Indiana Farm Bureau’s newest employee, Julie Taylor, is no stranger to the organization. She and her husband, Clinton, served on the IFB State Young Farmer Committee from 2008-2009, and they were the winners of the IFB Young Farmer Excellence in Agriculture award in 2011. Her new role with Farm Bureau is education coordinator. “Education creates opportunities to have open and honest conversations,” Taylor said. “I’m a firm believer that every moment is a teachable moment, and as farmers and individuals involved in agriculture, we not only have the opportunity to teach people about where their food comes from but we also have the chance to learn from them, too, because they are experts in their own right. And you can’t change someone’s view without seeing it from their perspective first.” Her role is evolving. She will work on some existing programs, such as Ag in the Classroom and the state fair, and work with counties on local education activities. She sees the position as one that requires staying up
National Agriculture Day is officially March 19, although a number of state and local activities will be taking place throughout the month. Indiana’s Family of Farmers will celebrate
www.thehoosierfarmer.com
Ag Day at the Statehouse on Tuesday, March 5, with a program including Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann and a luncheon reception for ag leaders and legislators. Food will be provided by six Indianapolis-based food trucks featuring locally sourced products. You can find more information about National Ag Day and suggestions for how to plan your own events at http:// www.agday.org. Don’t forget to take your camera along to FCOW or Ag Day activities. Please send us shots of your events so we can showcase some of them in the next Hoosier Farmer. High-resolution images should be sent to Kathleen Dutro, Hoosier Farmer managing editor, kdutro@ infarmbureau.org. For more information, call Dutro at 317-692-7824.
to date on education and trends with the non-ag public as well as the farming community. She’s looking forward to offering tools for members to improve their lives, whether it’s through education or leadership opportunities. Taylor holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue in occupational consumer and family sciences education Julie Taylor, who is IFB’s newest staff member, with a minor in poses with her husband, Clinton. The couple child development was the 2011 winner of the Indiana Young and family studies. Farmer Excellence in Agriculture Award. Prior to joining IFB, Photo by Kathleen M. Dutro she spent 10 years teaching, mostly on a grain and livestock recently at Western Boone farm where her family raised Jr./Sr. High School in Thornpurebred Hampshire, Duroc town. and Yorkshire hogs. In her She and Clinton reside in free time, she enjoys travelBoone County near Thorning, reading, going to the town. A native of nearby lake and baking. Jamestown, Taylor grew up
March 8 & 9 Indianapolis Marriott East 2013 SPRING CONFERENCE
www.infarmbureau.org/SPRINGCONF/default.aspx February 18, 2013