This episode of the Beef Runner podcast is an audio version of the article, "Addressing Vegan Myths with Advocacy" published on November 01, 2021. Visit the original article for links to citations and more information.

If you enjoy this audio article episode of the Beef Runner Podcast, let me know in the comments on the original article. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner. Follow me on social media as @BeefRunner.

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On episode 042, Ryan and Carrie sit down for another Over A Beer episode. This week's guest is Cami Ryan, PhD from Bayer (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). Cami recently published a paper (Monetizing disinformation in the attention economy: The case of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)) focusing on disinformation campaigns and their impact on agriculture and science conversations. We discuss the impact these disinformation campaigns have on agriculture advocacy conversations. Cami also shares how agriculture advocates can be stronger communicators, not by sharing the facts, but by focusing on the relationship when it comes to these tough scientific topics.

You can find those episode show notes here.

If you’d like to buy us a beer or support future episodes, hit me up on Venmo.

Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the Beef Runner podcast. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner.

Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I jump on Zoom for a virtual Over A Beer episode with guest, Janeal Yancey, the mom at the meat counter from Arkansas. If you haven’t already, you should subscribe to my podcast (RSS link) to listen to all previous episodes. You can find those episode show notes here.

If you’d like to buy us a beer or support future episodes, hit me up on Venmo.

In episode 041 of the Beef Runner podcast, Carrie Mess and I are joined by Janeal Yancey for another Over A Beer conversation. Janeal is a meat scientist at the University of Arkansas, a mom to two adventurous girls who show sheep, cattle, and (Carrie’s favorite!) goats. And Janeal has been a guest author on the blog before! Read her post here.

Recent conversations have been filled with stories of foods like potatoes or milk being dumped and hogs or poultry being euthanized. Prior to this pandemic, there haven’t been large conversations to spur people to think about getting food to our plates safely, on a huge scale. Maybe that will change in the future.

We hope you take a chance to follow and connect with Janeal online. We are so glad to have her team, advocating for agriculture and as a resource for any of our meat questions! You can find her blogging at MomAtTheMeatCounter.blogspot.com or on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the Beef Runner podcast. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner.

Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

In the current time of social distancing, there is a lot more than Zoom calls that can bring us all together - and that is food. Carrie and Ryan bring a guest to the Over A Beer podcast series to discuss these food connections. During the course of our conversation, we see how much rural and urban America can have in common when it comes to the food on our tables. This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I jump on Zoom for a virtual Over A Beer episode with guest, Nicole Rodriguez, Registered Dietitian from New York. If you haven’t already, you should subscribe to my podcast (RSS link) to listen to all previous episodes. You can find those episode show notes here. If you’d like to buy us a beer or support future episodes, hit me up on Venmo. For episode 40 of the Beef Runner podcast, Carrie and I sit down with our first guest in the Over A Beer series. Nicole Rodriguez is a mom, wife and Registered Dietitian from just outside New York City. We've all connected on social media as Nicole is very active as an advocate for beef and dairy online. It is a bit unusual for someone from NYC to be such a strong advocate for agriculture, so we wanted to ask Nicole how she found this journey to connect with agriculture. Turns out people in rural and urban America have quite a bit in common when it comes to enjoying meals with our family and friends. Or even the journey to seek out the truth about where our food comes from and how it fuels us. Tune in and listen to this episode of the podcast for some great discussions on: Life in New York during coronavirus and COVID-19 What is a Registered Dietitian? How does someone from New York find agriculture advocacy? How do you define plant-based eating? #Science What role does food play in mental health and well-being for ourselves and our families with young kids? How do you raise kids in the age of food marketing and food shaming? What does grocery shopping look like in New York City? The role of moving and exercise for mental health during social distancing We hope you take a chance to follow and connect with Nicole online. We are so glad to have her team, advocating for agriculture! You can find her blogging at EnjoyFoodEnjoyLife.com or on Instagram and Twitter. Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

It's safe to say that things have drastically changed over the past few weeks, but one topic that has definitely risen to the top is access to food. Whether it be families with more time on their hands or searching shelves at the grocery store that have been picked over, we've found ourselves cooking more meals at home. And many people are realizing they may not know how to cook! This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I sit down for another Over A Beer episode to discuss. If you haven’t already, you should subscribe to my podcast (RSS link) to listen to all previous episodes. You can find those episode show notes here. If you’d like to buy us a beer or support future episodes, hit me up on Venmo. One of the positive impacts coming out of this time of a coronavirus pandemic is that families are able to spend more time together – even if they’re being forced to do so through social distancing. This also means they have more time to plan meals around the table. Food is something that has always brought people together – even if we’re having to be more strategic about buying that food via restaurant take out or timing our trips to the grocery store when the shelves are restocked overnight. This also coincides with the 2020 National Ag Day theme of food bringing people around the table. For this week’s Over A Beer episode, Carrie and I discuss this from the perspective of people not being able to cook today. You can see this through all of the meal prep and delivery options available, but also through the questions people have about recipes and cooking methods. But we bring this full circle to discuss some amazing opportunities those of us in the agriculture community could take to connect with people in our communities and bring them to gather around the table for a good meal, of course, after our time of social distancing has passed. It’s important to note that Carrie and I did record this podcast episode before coronavirus has had such an impact on our society, but we felt the need to still publish this episode to talk about the topic that all of us can work through to connect with other people. Let us know your thoughts on the current pandemic and people cooking at home by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. If you’d like to buy us a beer or support future episodes, hit me up on Venmo. Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her. I hope you enjoy this episode of the Beef Runner podcast. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

This week is proving the start of something different for those of us in North America. The coronavirus has spread from Asia and Europe and now most of us in the US find ourselves working from home. Kids are out of school – many of them for the remainder of the Spring semester. Restaurants and bars are either closed or doing only carry out, drive up or delivery service. And of course, every grocery store is out of toilet paper. Even in our small town of 1,400 outside of Denver, I walked into our Safeway grocery store to find produce, meat and dairy shelves completely empty. I had to time my visit for the next day after they had restocked their shelves to get milk and eggs. And for the foreseeable future, I find myself working from a home office with all travel canceled for the next month. Which I guess means I have more time for my scheduled training runs. These are uncertain times for many of us. And that also means we have extra time on our hands to spend on social media. You can’t open Facebook or Twitter without seeing posts about the Coronavirus, ideas about its spread and people wondering where we go from here. Having worked in communications and on issues management teams, there are a few tips I’d like to share with you on today’s podcast that might help you avoid making contributions to the spread of misinformation and hysteria. While we can’t control what others post, share or say, we can control our contributions. So here are three tips that will help you identify whether or not your contributions are positive as you continue joining conversations surrounding food and agriculture during this coronavirus pandemic or any time of crisis in the future. Verify the accuracy of information before sharing Don’t make yourself the focus of attention Be aware of your audience and their concerns Listen to the podcast episode 038 to hear more of an explanation, examples for each and some advice on how we can positively contribute to these conversations. How can we better engage in these discussions during stressful times? Let us know what you think by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. I hope you enjoy this episode of the Beef Runner podcast. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

In 2017, farm accidents resulted in the deaths of 416 farmers and farmworkers. Every day, about 100 agricultural workers suffer a lost-work-time injury. In 2014, an estimated 12,000 youth were injured on farms; 4,000 of these injuries were due to farm work. These statistics from the CDC are sobering. But these events are preventable. On the podcast this week, Carrie and I share some personal stories. Both of our families have been deeply affected by farm accidents. Our hope is that by sharing our stories, others can take a second to stop, think and look around to prevent these casualties from happening to other families. This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I sit down for another Over A Beer episode. If you haven’t already, you should subscribe to my podcast (RSS link) to listen to all previous episodes. You can find those episode show notes here. Thanks to our sponsor (Yes! We finally have sponsors) David Hayden from Kentucky for buying us a beer (and bourbon). If you’d like to buy us a beer or get me to Wisconsin for future episodes, hit me up on Venmo. As I've tried to write out some notes for this blog, I just can't seem to hit the mark. When Carrie and I sat down to record this episode, it was uncomfortable, but we know sharing these stories is important. Both of our families have been affected by farm accidents and I think that is one of those things you'd never wish on others. In 2006, I lost my mom to an accident while sorting cattle on our ranch in Arkansas. This was long before I met Carrie and her husband Patrick. In 2015, Carrie's mother in law lost a leg in an accident with their feed truck. I remember Carrie's call that day when she told me about the events unfolding. Every time I hear of others impacted by these events, my mind goes back to my own personal story. Farm safety is an important topic for us both. We hope that you'll take the time to listen to our stories and reflect on how you might prevent future farm accidents for those around you. Let us know if your family or someone you know has been affected by farm accidents by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

Take a look at the labels on food packages near you or in your kitchen. What do you see? These food labels can confusing, leading to misinformation and often guilty feelings that we're not doing the right thing for ourselves and our family. How do we filter through the marketing to understand what labels have true meaning? How can and should the agriculture community join in to clear the air on these topics? Or did we help contribute to the confusion of food labels? This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I sit down for another Over A Beer episode to discuss.. You can find those episode show notes here. Thanks to our sponsors (Yes! We finally have sponsors) Chad Anglin from Kentucky and Markie Hageman from California for buying us a beer. If you’d like to buy us a beer or get me to Wisconsin for future episodes, hit me up on Venmo. When Carrie and I sat down for this episode of the podcast, there were two label terms that were top of mind for us. Antibiotics and Hormones. Both things that spark emotion in us with the concern of these contaminants being in our food supply. Is it safe to eat? Is there reason for those labels to be there at all when we know there are regulations and inspection procedures in place to ensure food safety? We've both written about these topics before as restaurant chains have capitalized on labeling trends. But we also recognize the fact that this is marketing. And in some ways, agriculture advocates may have contributed to the hysteria and concern surrounding food labels, including Non-GMO Project, or any number of free-from labeling trends. We really shouldn't blame consumers for asking questions and being confused. There are so many options in the market today. As Carrie describes, her local grocery store is putting in a new section of coolers to be stocked solely with dairy options. Be sure to stay tuned as we describe some terms we've used that we now realize could be misinterpreted (cows on drug withdrawls?!?) and offer a few key tactics advocates can use to better engage in these discussions with others. This includes word choice and  listening. Let us know what you think about food labels and confusion in the marketplace by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

This year's Hollywood award season is proving desperate for ratings as was shown when the Golden Globes kicked things off by going vegan in January. So we’re tackling it this week on the podcast. Several celebrities spoke up, including Joaquin Phoenix, in post-show interviews. Joaquin didn't cool it off for the Oscars in February. In fact, he heated things up with comments bashing farmers in his acceptance speech.... and agriculture responded fiercely. Carrie took the opportunity to respond in a timely manner by writing her own letter in response to Joaquin's comments. That letter and a following interview made a splash across the country. So we sat down over a beer to discuss what happened and offer our perspectives on what can be learned for future moments in time when public figures disagree with agriculture in another Over A Beer episode to discuss. You can find episode show notes here. Thanks to our sponsors (Yes! We finally have sponsors) Kiah Twisselman and Melissa Laurent for buying us a beer. If you'd like to buy us a beer or get me to Wisconsin for future episodes, hit me up on Venmo. Carrie's letter (Dear Joaquin) had nearly 300,000 views in the first few days following the event. Her interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Stung by Oscar speech, dairy farmers suggest actor Joaquin Phoenix doesn't know what he's talking about) was picked up by the USA Today news wire and spread across the country, reaching audiences far outside of agriculture with a message from a dairy farmer. Joaquin Phoenix isn't the only public figure to speak out against animal agriculture and to receive backlash from farmers and ranchers. Miss Montana USA did it with vegan posts on Instagram. Even presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg did it with comments about the simplicity of farming. Agriculture's response to these situations is often swift, harsh and condescending with an invitation to "come visit my farm/ranch to learn what real agriculture looks like!!!" But that rarely, if ever is a good idea when these public figures are known to be completely against our way of life. How do we respond more productively? How can we better leverage these situations to reach the people we want to hear our stories? Listen in on this episode as Carrie and I discuss. Let us know what you think about my pursuit of trail and ultrarunning by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter.  Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live more than an hour's drive from town? What is life like in Wyoming where the growing season is only a few short months long, but you have amazing views at high elevation in the mountains? This week, Wyoming rancher, Kacy Atkins joins me to share this a bit of her journey through agriculture advocacy. You can find all podcast episode show notes here. For episode 034 of the Beef Runner podcast, I sit down with Kacy Atkinson during a visit in Denver. We met several years back as our paths cross in the ranching business and have had the opportunity to work together on several advocacy projects during the past few years. Kacy grew up on her family's Wyoming ranch, 85 miles from town, where they only receive mail a few times each week. She then went to school and worked in education and extension before returning to the family's operation. Since really diving into her advocacy from the ranch, Kacy shares her stories from life "10 Miles Past No Where." I think you'll enjoy hearing her perspectives on ranching and how farmers and ranchers might better work to reach urban consumers with our advocacy efforts. You can find Kacy online and on social media as 10 Miles Past No Where on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. How can we better reach consumers with our stories? Let us know what you think about ranching in Wyoming and advocacy by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. I hope you enjoy this episode of the Beef Runner podcast. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

Carrie has decided she needs to deliver a running intervention to call out – what she sees as – a crazy running addiction. For some reason, she thinks wanting to run 100 miles isn’t normal. And, of course, I disagree and know that my running adventures are completely normal for trail and ultrarunning. So we’re tackling it this week on the podcast. This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I sit down for another Over A Beer episode to discuss. And if you haven’t already, you should subscribe to my podcast (RSS link) to listen to all 32 previous episodes. You can find those episode show notes here. My love for running on the trails and in the mountains has been well-documented on Instagram and I've shared several of my running adventures on this blog. And Carrie has followed my adventures from the time I first began a weekly 5k at the beer market in grad school. So it really shouldn't come as a surprise that I've signed up for a 100-mile race in 2020. But Carrie is concerned and wanted to have an intervention. So for episode 033 of the Beef Runner podcast, we sit down and hash it out. I share my journey from a beer market 5k fun run/walk to climbing mountains and spending (literally) all day on the Continental Divide crawling over boulders. We’ll let you decide who wins this discussion as Carrie expresses her concern for my sanity and I discuss why I love my crazy running adventures. Let us know what you think about my pursuit of trail and ultrarunning by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. Thanks to our sponsors (if we had sponsors) – Spotted Cow Beer from New Glarus Brewing for the hydration and to Crawfish Junction for the location for the discussion. Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her. I hope you enjoy this episode of the Beef Runner podcast. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner.

What are your thoughts on plant based proteins (a.k.a. alternative proteins, plant milks, fake meats, etc.)? It's been a topic of discussion in the business news headlines and within the agriculture community. So we're tackling it this week on the podcast. This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I sit down for another Over A Beer episode to discuss. You can find episode show notes here. We've seen the marketing and business headlines as a CEO gives a good soundbite, a restaurant adds an option to their menu, or a company has an IPO in the stock market. Alternative proteins are in the public eye and livestock agriculture isn't too pleased. How do we respond? Are these products sticking around? Carrie and Ryan tackle these questions on episode 032 of the Beef Runner podcast. What do you think? Let us know what you think about Alternative Proteins by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. Thanks to our sponsors (if we had sponsors) – Spotted Cow Beer from New Glarus Brewing for the hydration and to Crawfish Junction for the location for the discussion. Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her. I hope you enjoy this episode of the Beef Runner podcast. Check out all my episodes and subscribe at anchor.fm/BeefRunner. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

Thank a Farmer. We’ve heard it over the years and I’ve even joined in the movement myself over the past decade by writing a few articles asking for others to thank us – farmers, ranchers and the agriculture community for the food, fiber and fuel that is used every day. But is that really what we should be asking? This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I sit down for another Over A Beer episode to discuss. You can find all episode show notes here. Hey, I’m guilty of it. If you search my blog, you’ll find an article as far back as 2009 asking the world to Thank A Farmer “for all of the hard work a small portion of Americans put forth to feed a growing world population.” But as we’ve matured in our advocacy efforts, I’d like to think we can realize there is a much more effective way of communicating that message. Carrie and I sit down over a beer to discuss how this campaign had every great intention when it began. There are absolutely appropriate times to ask people to Thank a Farmer. A really good example of this is a campaign like Culvers’ Thank You Farmers. However, this has changed over the years with a bit of a self-seeking tone. Farmers aren’t the only people who work hard. People don’t want to be told they need to be educated. Carrie and I offer our solutions to raising awareness of those who work in agriculture. This has included the evolution of our own brands to correct course and connect with other people as a person rather than trying to be advocates armed with facts, figures and science to tell people they should support agriculture. We share how we’ve done this and how other advocates can as well. We share a few examples of people who are connecting are examples of doing this. This includes Cara Harbstreet, a registered dietitian from Kansas City (Instagram and Twitter). Let us know what you think about Thank A Farmer by chiming in on Twitter. Thanks to our sponsors (if we had sponsors) – Spotted Cow Beer from New Glarus Brewing for the hydration and to Crawfish Junction for the location for the discussion.  Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

It's been a few years since Dairy Carrie and I sat down with a pitcher (or a few) of Spotted Cow beer in the back room of the Crawfish Junction bar in Milford, Wisconsin and recorded several episodes for my podcast (formerly known as Agriculture Proud). And, of course, we titled the series Over A Beer, because who doesn't like to sit down with their best friends for great conversations over a beer?!? We covered a ton of topics in the world of agriculture advocacy. You can find those episode show notes here. I recently made a trip back to Wisconsin for the holidays, so we decided it was about time for another round. Carrie and I caught up on a few topics and over the next four weeks, we'll be sharing those podcast episodes. In classic Wisconsin style, Carrie made sure my day started with a Rumchata coffee + a breakfast beer before we made it to the bar (hey... it was vacation) so I think you'll enjoy some good, open conversations over a beer. In today's first round, also known as episode 30 of the Beef Runner podcast, Carrie and I briefly catch up on life events over the past two years. Carrie and her husband Patrick had a second son, Ben (my godson) Carrie discusses the challenges of the dairy industry as milk prices have dropped and growing seasons have been difficult I've moved to Colorado, started a new job, bought a house and cannot stop running Fun fact: Carrie and I recently realized we joined Twitter (@DairyCarrie and @BeefRunner) on the same day 10 years ago. We didn't know each other then, but she now refers to me as her little brother she never asked for. And I do my best to live up to those expectations. Thanks to our sponsors (if we had sponsors) – Spotted Cow Beer from New Glarus Brewing for the hydration and to Crawfish Junction for the location for the discussion. Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

I’ve got a special bonus episode for you today from the 2019 Cattle Industry Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana. I brought four beef advocates that I work with for a panel during the convention to ask them about their experiences in advocacy.

This segment here is as we wrapped up the panel and I asked them to share their advice from experiences with advocates.

On the panel we have Christie VanOver, a food blogger and grilling master from Las Vegas who is online as Girls Can Grill.

Michaela Gasseling is a rancher from Nebraska who is online as Cowgirl Boots and Running Shoes

David Dial is a food blogger from New York who is online as Spiced Blog

And Terryn Drieling is a rancher from Nebraska who you can find online as Faith, Family & Beef.

I hope you enjoy some of the tips they have to share at the closing of the panel. And let me know your thoughts on this by sending me a message on Twitter as @BeefRunner.

Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up. Hop over to the Beef Runner blog to see more.

On Episode 029 of the Agriculture Proud Podcast, Ryan Goodman and Carrie Mess continue the Over A Beer series talking about hot topics in agriculture. This week, we’re likely stepping on a few toes and sharing a few tips on how not to advocate.

We should start off by saying we're at the bottom of the final pitcher for this series of Over a Beer.

We're not recording this episode to tell people how they have to advocate. But there is a wrong way to do it and you can mess things up. Carrie would, she married a Mess (her words, Patrick).

Carrie and Ryan share their experiences of being involved for more than a decade, have our work stolen by others and being called bullies by others in the advocacy world. There's room for all of us.  If you're disrespecting anyone in your advocacy in order to promote yourself, you're doing it wrong.

And not to leave it all on a sour note, we give a shout out to several advocates who are doing great work in sharing their stories.

• How Farms Work (YouTube)
• The Farmer's Life (Twitter)
• Sara Sheep Lady (Instagram)
• Debbie Lyons Blythe (Blog, Twitter)
• Modern Day Farm Chick (Instagram)
• Jenn Zeller, The South Dakota Cowgirl (Blog, Instagram)
• Will Gilmer, Gilmer Dairy Farm (Blog, Twitter)
• Janice Person (Twitter)
• Jude Capper (Twitter)
• Janeal Yancy (Facebook)
• Vance Crowe (Twitter)
• Don Schindler (Twitter)

Thanks to our sponsors (if we had sponsors) – Spotted Cow Beer from New Glarus Brewing for the hydration and to Crawfish Junction for the location for the discussion.

Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her. If you’re interested in helping your business learn more about involving social advocates in your outreach and marketing strategies, or if you’re an advocate looking to get involved, check out GROW Influencer Group.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the Agriculture Proud podcast. Check out all my episodes at BeefRunner.com/podcast.

Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

In the world of agriculture advocacy, we often get caught up in the latest social media tools. But, truth is, we can be advocates offline as well. Let’s not forget I started with a dumbphone just a few years ago. And apparently Carrie like to tell people to just EAT IT in song. (At least I think this is what she was trying to sing.)

On Episode 028 of the Agriculture Proud Podcast, Ryan Goodman and Carrie Mess continue the Over A Beer series talking about hot topics in agriculture. This week, we’re talking about how you can be an advocate for agriculture offline.

So often Carrie and I will be visiting with attendees of a local meeting, conference or workshop, and receive great supports for our efforts in agriculture advocacy. But it never fails that we hear an undertone to the effect of, “That’s great! But I’m not doing it. Social media is for millennials.” And that is always disappointing. We can all be advocates in our own right and that does not have to include social media.

How to advocate offline

If the internet ceased to exist tomorrow, could you still find a way to advocate for your cause? Sure you can! There are always opportunities surrounding us. A few of the advocacy examples we provide in the podcast include:

• Saying thank you at the grocery store like Carrie’s father-in-law
• Be involved in local civic organizations
• Connect directly to customers
• Be involved in legislative or policy advocacy efforts
• Connect via a mutual interest like Ryan’s example of Team Beef running

Sometimes we just have to DO IT. We need to be involved and we shouldn’t be afraid to be ourselves. One of the best ways to advocate is to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and just do it.

Thanks to our sponsors (if we had sponsors) – Spotted Cow Beer from New Glarus Brewing for the hydration and to Crawfish Junction for the location for the discussion.

Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her. If you’re interested in helping your business learn more about involving social advocates in your outreach and marketing strategies, or if you’re an advocate looking to get involved, check out GROW Influencer Group.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the Agriculture Proud podcast. Check out all my episodes at BeefRunner.com/podcast.

Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.

Beyond the fence post also means that I must be involved. There are so many different aspects to agriculture. The more I learn through involvement, the better I can be as a farmer. I believe that it is important to “AgVocate” for agriculture at the local level and beyond. – Jeremy Brown, Beyond the Fence

On episode 027 of the Agriculture Proud podcast, Ryan visits with west Texas farmer, Jeremy Brown during the 2017 Bayer Agvocacy Forum in San Antonio, Texas.

Jeremy is a 4th generation cotton farmer and proud Texas Tech alumnus. On his West Texas farm, he works with his family to raise cotton and grain sorghum.

In this podcast, Jeremy and Ryan discuss how biotechnology is a tool in the belt of farmers as fewer generations come back to the farm, margins become tighter, and input costs rise. And as consumers ask more often to learn more about where their fiber comes from, as a producer, Jeremy belives the need to be an advocate is an important part of doing business.

As a steward of his resources and a business owner, Jeremy needs to do everything to utilize tools in his tool belt, which may often include biotechnology, herbicides, or insecticides. Even with that GM technology, Jeremy still utilizes good management practices to ensure he’s being a good steward of the land and operate his business in a sustainable, profitable and safe manner.

Two examples of biotechnology Jeremy offered where the need to protect against the bollworm in cotton and the sugarcane aphid in grain sorghum. GM technology allows farmers like Jeremy to spray less insecticide and still protect his crop against pests that like to eat the plants.

Why are you Agriculture Proud?

Jeremy says he is proud to be a part of agriculture because it is in his blood. Being able to work the land, improve the land and seeing the rewards of his hard work bring him joy. It’s being able to take something from a small seed and seeing the fruits of labor, growing a fiber and taking pride in his small part to help clothe the world.

You should definitely connect with Jeremy Brown on his Facebook page, Broadview Agriculture Inc. Let him know I sent you and stick around to learn more about farming in West Texas.

As a part of the Bayer blogger program, I am not compensated for sharing this information, but am thankful for Bayer Animal Health helping me contact experts on important topics impacting our cattle and livestock business today. As always, thoughts shared are my own. Learn more about Bayer’s efforts to support agriculture advocacy by joining the AgVocate Facebook group.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the Agriculture Proud podcast. Check out all my episodes at BeefRunner.com/podcast.

I must say that I live in my boots. I like all kinds of boots, cowboy boots – fancy and plain, dress boots – tall and short, snow, rain, muck and work boots – yup I like them all. I feel comfortable in my boots, they are part of my everyday life on our family farm. But there are many times every year when I trade the comfort and casualness of my boots for the not so familiar formality of suits. – Deb Gangwish, From Boots to Suits

On episode 026 of the Agriculture Proud podcast, Ryan visits with Nebraska farmer and rancher, Deb Gangwish during the 2017 Bayer Agvocacy Forum in San Antonio, Texas.

Deb and her family raise corn, soybeans, and cattle in central Nebraska on two different locations that are three hours apart. While the distance creates some challenges for the logistics of her own operation, Deb says some of the greater challenges for Nebraska agriculture today include labor, asset utilization and making sure to plug the right people into the right positions to do the job to the best of their ability. Sound familiar for most small business operations?

While the Gangwish operation is a family farm, they’re still a large operation and have learned that advocacy is an important part of conducting business in 2017. Deb advises that an investment in advocacy isn’t always a monetary return. Sometimes that takes the form of reaching out to our customers through the work of organizations like Common Ground, and at other times it includes building business relationships in the community.

For Deb, advocacy is a two-way street, which includes bringing the farm to those who may not have the opportunity for that experience. Working with state and national legislators is an important form of advocacy for farmers and ranchers so that they can hear personal stories to better understand the impacts of policy and legislation.

When we find ourselves in situations where others disagree, Deb has good advice, saying it’s important to take a breath and seek to understand where common ground may exist.

As a part of the Bayer blogger program, I am not compensated for sharing this information, but am thankful for Bayer Animal Health helping me contact experts on important topics impacting our cattle and livestock business today. As always, thoughts shared are my own. Learn more about Bayer’s efforts to support agriculture advocacy by joining the AgVocate Facebook group.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the Agriculture Proud podcast. Check out all my episodes at BeefRunner.com/podcast.

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Want an opportunity to do research with Jack Daniels? Have you considered studying cattle nutrition? Well, I didn’t get to drink any JD as part of the work, but we did get to use some of their by-products from distilling as feed for beef cattle.

On Episode 025 of the Agriculture Proud Podcast, Ryan Goodman and Carrie Mess continue the Over A Beer series talking about hot topics in agriculture. This week, Carrie turns the table on Ryan to ask several questions about the world of beef cattle.

And Carrie doesn’t start off easy.

We talk about the import of beef from Brazil and concerns that have been expressed surrounding that import and export. And of course, associated with that conversation comes a discussion on Country of Origin Labeling.

Instead of reiterating numbers and resources, I’ll direct you to the blog post for this episode with answers and specific links to questions and topics addressed.

Thanks to our sponsors (if we had sponsors) – Spotted Cow Beer from New Glarus Brewing for the hydration and to Crawfish Junction for the location for the discussion.

Be sure to hop on over to Carrie’s Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with her. If you’re interested in helping your business learn more about involving social advocates in your outreach and marketing strategies, or if you’re an advocate looking to get involved, check out GROW Influencer Group.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the Agriculture Proud podcast. Check out all my episodes at BeefRunner.com/podcast.

Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.