Communicating For The Farm Webinar Set
Montana State University Extension in Pondera County and Purdue Extension-Bartholomew County will offer a webinar series this month to help improve agricultural storytelling and communication skills. Adriane Good, MSU Extension agent in Pondera County, and Cora Carter, Purdue Extension educator in Bartholomew County, coordinated the series.
“We noticed that many agricultural producers want to engage with the public and share their story but have difficulties doing so. This series aims to help producers with skills to communicate effectively and present themselves professionally online when engaging with a non-agricultural-based public,” Good said.
The five-week series will take place at 5 p.m. on Thursdays, beginning May 13. The first webinar, led by Purdue scientific communication professors Beth Forbes and Linda Pfeiffer, will focus on media literacy and critical thinking to teach participants how to find credible sources and verify information.
The second session, with Forbes and Pfeiffer on May 20, will define how to effectively communicate and engage with the audience. The presenters are part of the leadership team of a College of Agriculture course at Purdue that helps students learn how to engage with the public on controversial issues.
On May 27, participants will get a chance to practice communicating in small groups and discuss common controversial practices in agriculture, while remaining civil and professional.
The June 3 webinar will feature Carrie Mess, a Wisconsin dairy farmer with a large social media following. Mess has been using social media to connect with consumers for over 10 years and will help participants learn how to craft their social media stories.
On June 10, Sara Hollenbeck of High Five Meats, which is based in Molt, will discuss how to present yourself online and what to share on social media to remain professional while still being authentic.
The final session on June 17 will be another skills practice session, with participants in small groups. Extension educators from Purdue and MSU will evaluate and participate in the discussions.
The webinar series will be hosted via Microsoft Teams, which allows participants to interact between sessions. If you are unfamiliar with Teams, an instructional video can be found at https:// www.montana.edu/office365/ teams/index.html. The webinar series is free, but registration is required at puext. in/comm4farm. For more information, contact Adriane Good at 406-271-4054.
