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Cab Conversations: Get Growing No. 2

This week in Get Growing, Meghan Grebner, Indiana Farm Director, talks with farmers from the I-states, about social media and other technologies that help them tell the farming story.

Brian Scott,  Indiana
Erin Brenneman, Washington, Iowa
Thomas Titus, Elkhart, Illinois

Show Notes:
The Conversation, How to share the farm story

Meghan Grebner: Makes introductions and asks the group to tell a bit about their operations and how they use social media to share their stories.
Brian Scott: He says he farms with family every day and stays active on social channels as The Farmer’s Life.
Erin Brenneman: Shares that she didn’t grow up on the farm but has grown to love it and love sharing her family’s farm’s story anywhere she can.
Thomas Titus: He’s working a sixth generation farm with his in-laws. They are active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Meghan Grebner: Asks the group what sparked their interest.
Erin Brenneman: Shares that she was blown away by what farmers do and it made her wants to share it.
Brian Scott: Says he started with a blog and things snowballed from there.
Meghan Grebner: Asks Thomas about how he got started participating in the Faces of Agriculture project.
Thomas Titus: He says the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance helps him to get the word out about farming with consumers.
Meghan Grebner: She asks the group their opinions about whether or not social media has changed the public’s perception of farming.
Brian Scott: He says if farmers don’t tell their story someone else will. He says it’s important to tell people what it is they actually do on the farm.
Thomas Titus: He says educating consumers has become an added element of their duties as farmers because people want to know how livestock are being raised and more about the food that’s being put on their table.
Erin Brenneman: She says there’s something new and enjoyable happening on the farm every day.
Meghan Grebner: She asks the group how planting is going.
Thomas Titus: He says they are about 90% done.
Erin Brenneman: She says they are about 60% done.
Brian Scott:  His farm has 600 acres of corn in, with 200 to go and 300 acres of popcorn and 900 of beans left to go. He says they’re about 25% done overall.
Meghan Grebner: Asks the group where the push to use technology comes from.
Brian Scott: He says it was just a matter of the family talking about it.
Thomas Titus: He says there is still some resistance by some to use the technology that’s introduced.
Brian Scott: He asks the group about backlash they get from using technology.
Erin Brenneman: She says there are people who in a roundabout way are asking farmers not to use technology but the advancements are too great.
Thomas Titus: He says agriculture is one of the few industries that is chastised for using technology.
Brian Scott: Says his great grandfather would never have imagined knowing his fields as well as farmers do today.