An Agri-Culture of Complaint - Insight 13

Lazy. Entitled. Leaches. Ungrateful. Free-loaders. Complainers.

A recent post illustrated one of the greatest polar reactions the Ranch page has ever seen on any of our content.

The adjectives above were some of the most prevalent descriptions, both direct and inferred, of farmers and ranchers from those on the other side, so to speak. While I understand there are two stances to any issue, the approach from the anti-farming and ranching side is what causes the greatest concern.

If you are so against farmers and ranchers for whatever reason, what is your food solution for the future?

The most common thread seemed to be, "Oh, another farmer complaining he didn't get free stuff again!"

Complaining in the agriculture industry, does in fact, seem to be the norm on social media. We share common threads such as our financial struggles, attempts to overcome obstacles from policies and droughts, then the ever-continued difficulty in passing the torch. However, instead of seeing it as complaining I would ask the public to flip that perspective and look at it, instead, as a plea.

In an era rife with social media, I cannot help but agree that we do need to reassess our approach when sharing content from the farm or ranch. Why? Because we use social media to show what we do on our operations, and maybe we should no longer do that.

As agriculture producers, we come from a culture where we voice issues out loud to solve them. When we see fences down, equipment in repair, or livestock injuries we typically say a quick curse under the breath then address the plan out loud. We seek a solution through verbal outlines, mostly to ourselves.

Our sharing online is, perhaps, dragging our society too close to food production. People recognize the hard work, but have no interest in seeing the nitty-gritty details. Or, maybe we are showing our problems too much in an attempt to educate with reality and it is instead creating a greater separation. Instead of bringing people to our side and our understanding within overall production, we are rather pushing them farther away and creating more of a disconnect than a reconnect with food.

To reference the post described above that went crazy for 48 hours, the message from it was not that the farmers in Tennessee deserve a handout. Rather, it was that we need to consider the long-lasting impacts certain decisions will create on food production when we end programs altogether. Disregard the short game, start looking long.

Food producers do not look days, weeks, months, seasons, or even years ahead. We continue to peer generations ahead while fighting daily. Maybe we need to stop sharing those struggles. Maybe we need to focus only on the cute, positive video snips and chase the likes and the shares and the growing following list.

We could just show the fun side until it all no longer exists. Then, random social media users will ask, "But why is it suddenly gone?

We did not suddenly disappear. There was an erosion we warned the public. There was a slow decay. There were so many struggles we hid that we ultimately succumbed. Because we focused on popularity instead of the information and holistic illustration, people never saw the reality. The writing was on the wall, but we followed likes and failed to show the bigger issues at hand.

So, rather than looking at farmers and ranchers online as complainers, maybe we should take a moment and listen to the full story. Recognize they are trying to warn our nation of a looming crisis. It is not only a national security problem, this is a survival concern. It may not be anytime soon, but if we do not correct our trajectory it will come faster than we expect.

Do not take agriculture posts as a continuous series of complaints, try to read them as a plea before it is too late.