Ways to be a Model Advocate for Agriculture
Before we can talk about ways to advocate for agriculture, I think it's important to know what the definition of "advocate" is. According to the Oxford dictionary, advocate means to "publicly recommend or support" and an advocate is "a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy". Keeping these definitions in mind, how can we advocate for agriculture?
When thinking about those around me who are wonderful advocates or "AG-vocates" as some might name them, I think specifically of the Wondering Maverick Boutique (WMB). When thinking about WMB, those in leadership within their company have an education minded operation. They strive to educate the population about the importance of agriculture. Also, they share posts daily. Whether they are shining a light on different FFA CDEs that relate to careers, or sharing fact about agricultural production, they demonstrate what a good "AG-vocate" should look like.
Another thing that comes to mind are all the Agricultural Communications SAEs, typically blogs or podcasts, that are shedding a light on agriculture. A few that come to mind are "I Believe TV" with Jacob Simpson, "Brag On Ag" with Titus Montgomery, and "Agvocate with Ashlee" with Ashlee Pervine. These podcasts are allowing FFA members and agriculturalists to educate to public, but to more importantly, share their stories and it's so very cool to see!
But, what does it take to be deemed a good "AG-vocate"? To be a good advocate for something, you have to publicly take a stand for it! It could be the clothes you wear to show your support or maybe you share posts about it almost on the daily! Truly, you can tell a lot about a person by the organizations that are on their clothes and the things they post on social media! But we all have different background, different experiences, different lives that influence the way we see agriculture. So, use your journey, use your background and do what fits you the best!
As always, thanks for reading, and come back next week for more "All About Ag with Esther" content!