It’s been almost a year since I started writing about agriculture on my blog. Sure I had posted dozens of pictures during seeding and harvest times and blogged about our family farming life, but I hadn’t ever really taken the plunge into blogging about the business of agriculture. I started off by asking my Facebook friends if they bought organic food, and why or why not. I got a varied set of responses and asked the editor of RealAgriculture.com do a guest post for me as I knew the majority of my readers (moms of young kids) would be able to relate to her as she’s also a mom of young kids and a professional in the agriculture industry. I then had my farmer husband write a post on his thoughts on organic and non-organic food from a producer’s perspective. These posts received good feedback and gave me the confidence I needed to keep agvocating.
What It’s Really Like to Speak Up for Agriculture
It is like an emotional roller coaster with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. A little background info to that is that in the late spring of 2012 in my mommy blogging world I came across a Twitter party which was a plight to get a baby formula company to be a leader in the industry by removing GMOs from their formula. It really bothered me that such fear was being spread among my parenting peers, so I attended this party in an attempt to try to be the voice of reason for agriculture and science, even simply as a farmer’s wife & mom. This would be the first time I was indirectly called a shill for agriculture when a participant asked me if I was being paid to attend this party. I had no idea what they were talking about and attempted to talk to these participants that GMOs were not harmful and that worldwide scientific consensus stated the same, but no one would listen. At that point I decided something needed to be done on my part because it was not right that so many parents were being lead astray thinking that they were causing harm to their families by feeding them “evil and poisonous” GMOs. This is when I started researching GMOs and how I could best agvocate and teach my readers about biotechnology in agriculture. My first post merely posing my reader’s questions for GMOs entitled “Do You Have GMO Questions?” received 136 comments, mostly from people of the anti-GMO nature. Immediately I questioned “what have I gotten myself into?!” as my anxiety shot through the roof at the negativity my blog was receiving. Cami Ryan, my mentor and now good friend, gave me lots of invaluable advice and many counseling sessions via email!
Overcoming Challenges
Educating about ag when I’m not really in the industry is a challenge. On one hand I lose credibility as “just a mom” and blogger…but on the other hand a lot can appreciate where I’m coming from because I’ve taken the time to do my own research as a mom. I’m a farmer’s wife and I’ve learned a ton through my husband, people in the industry via social media, and mostly by reading articles and researching myself. Trying to maintain composure and confidence when it feels like most people are attacking and fighting back gets very draining on the nerves. If you want to agvocate or be a positive voice for anything you feel strongly about, I highly recommend having a mentor and joining some Facebook groups who talk about whatever your interest is. I’ve connected with a lot of other farm wives, farmers, and ranchers who blog and that are on Twitter that I know I can rely on for support and to help agvocate in the comments sections of my ag posts. I always disclaim these blog posts that I’m not an expert in these fields and that I’m happy to connect my readers with people who can properly address their questions and concerns. I overcome these challenges by educating myself and having the confidence to do so. I know most of the tricks up their sleeves and how to dispel a lot of myths.
Speaking of Negativity…
As a blogger I have to be professional and ethical as I represent a lot of brands, but I’m also representing myself and my family too. I could get snarky and mouthy, but I always remember that our words can heal and be life-giving or our words can be hurtful weapons – so I strive to abide my the former. Fighting fire with fire just doesn’t get anyone anywhere and if the naysayers keep coming at me with snark and negativity, in the end it makes them look like fools and discredits them. I’ve absolutely had to grow a thicker skin since I started agvocating, which is a good life lesson anyway, and I have learned that it’s okay to not address every single comment and it’s okay to delete comments that are just plain vulgar and destructive. I have been called a pawn or a shill for big ag, I have been called a bad mother, I have been called an irresponsible blogger for sharing “misinformation”, and most recently I have been called a “stalker” for responding to the misinformed tweets of an anti-GMO blogger. That’s okay because I have the confidence in myself and in what I blog about, and I don’t feel the need to fight with these people anymore to defend what I know to be true. I have also decided to not engage with anti-GMO activists anymore as their minds and their ideals won’t be changed and it’s not worth being put through the ringer and dealing with the stress it brings.
This thoughtful card from AgMoreThanEver came at a much needed time!
Should We All Agvocate?
Simply answered – no. I strongly feel that if you cannot engage with people in a positive and respectful way, you shouldn’t attempt to agvocate. There’s no need to name-call or assume that people know anything about the agriculture industry, and that if they don’t they are ignorant and stupid, because so many don’t have a clue about anything in ag, and that’s okay. When we put our knowledge out there we must be accurate, accountable, and authentic, as I heard Cami Ryan recently shared in her presentation at Farm Tech, and I wholeheartedly agree. We must remember to agVOCATE and not to become an agTIVIST, there is a huge difference between being an advocate vs. an activist. Let us share our knowledge in agriculture, be proactive, respectfully dispel myths, avoid feuds, and just be positive. Share your story.
I also have to update this to add that I have made some absolutely amazing friends, especially my fellow female ag bloggers, who are some of the most kind, funny, and passionate women I have ever ‘met’ in my life! Love to you all!
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Hello Sarah! I noticed your quote: "We must remember to agVOCATE and not to become an agTIVIST, there is a huge difference between these two.” on the KnowGMO movie website here: http://knowgmothemovie.com/sarah-shultz/ and tried to find more which lead me to this blog post. I'm still unclear what an "agtivist" is and why we shouldn't become one. Can you please help me understand? Thanks!
That was from ages ago before I really dove into more of what I do in regards to agriculture. For me, personally, I don't want to stoop to an activist's level — the typical anti-GMO activist comes to mind. I'd rather advocate for agriculture sharing what our family farm does vs. go out and picket the way that an activist does.
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respectfully, i like the ag more than ever in canidaian agriculture.
It's really important to stand up for what you believe in – even if no one else agrees!
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Love this, Sarah! I think you are so right to back off the GMO activists – focus on the moms like us. I'm like you – I don't come from a farm background, but since I married a farmer, I eat, sleep and breathe agvocacy and I'm proud of it!
Thanks, Katie! It's hard when I can't avoid them, like in the comments section of my blog, but I've also recently told myself that if all they're going to do is be mean and not add anything relevant to the blog post I've written – I'm deleting and/or banning them. Not everyone will agree with my posts, and that's okay, but when a person can't respectfully leave their opinion, then I have to deal with them in a way I'm not used to! Also, did you know by someone's definition you and I are just gold diggers being female agvocates?… Read more »
Great post Sarah and yes, I think you have done a great job addressing hot topics and then replying to comments. Thank you for doing the research so you become knowledgeable and credible. And I love your last part about being an agVOCATE and not an agTIVIST. There are times I see people become the latter and I just shake my head. I guess I believe with the saying "kill 'em with kindness" 😉
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Thank you so much, Val that means a lot! So glad to have met you!
Great post! Thank you for all that you do for agriculture. As a fellow mother, farmers wife, and ag- enthusiast, I really appreciate how you balance your blog with all of these things. Keep on advocating!
My recent post Dear Baby Girl
Thanks, Caitey! So glad to have met you!
I don't have your patience and positivism, but I have gained so much appreciation for the world of agriculture and the very smart people who make that their life's work. It is hard for me to understand how people come to a field they are totally unfamiliar with, and yet seem to think they know more about it than those who have studied it and/or do it every day. Good for you! Maybe you can snark vicariously through me.
Rebecca I didn't mention it, and I might edit my post to add your point, but people coming to my blog and thinking/"knowing" that they know more about the *best* agriculture practices on a farmer's wife's blog…it just blows my mind! I do tend to snark a bit, I'm only human! 😉
You're doing an awesome job! Keep it up! (And I'm so glad we were able to connect through this experience!)
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Thank you, Amanda! So very glad to have met you too! 🙂
Great post! Keep agvocating! it's important that you support your husband by providing valuable and knowledgeable information through this platform. My husband (and my family) is (are) also in the ag industry and I feel that it is important that people hear from the people who's livelihood is directly impacted by the industry and who work hard, long hours to help feed this country.
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Thanks, Kelli. I think it's important to tell our stories and share information so we don't feel like we constantly have to defend ourselves and our practices, but it's a hard job to do because so many misinformation is already out there.