Elizabeth Schaefer is our Guest Blogger for this edition of "On the Road". Elizabeth has completed an Internship with Paulsen Marketing this summer, serving as our Director of First Impressions.

She is entering her senior year at Augustana College in Sioux Falls with a major in Business Administration and minors in Government and History. She grew up on a family farm near Hancock, MN.

We appreciate Elizabeth's contributions to our agency this summer!

I don’t think anyone would say that I’m fresh off the farm, but agriculture runs deep in my veins, and I’m proud to say that I was born and raised on a farm in west-central Minnesota. I spent my childhood doing homework in the combine, taking naps in the semi, and picking rocks or walking sugarbeets in the summer.

For people like me, it’s easy to take agriculture for granted. But, as I have learned this summer, there is a disconnect between the perception and reality of today’s farmers. As an ag and rural lifestyle marketing agency, Paulsen has a lot of insight into that kind of dissonance. Over the course of my internship, I came to realize just how negative and frustrating that perception can be, and just how hard it is to overcome that negative bias.

The farmer of today is, in many ways, far more technologically advanced than the average American. They run their irrigators from their cell phone and plant an acre of corn faster than it takes to type this paragraph. They track market prices, monitor the weather and feed 300 head of cattle before your average Joe has even considered crawling out of bed. Like any good CEO, they keep meticulous records, strive to improve production and have long-term plans that would put many businesses to shame. They’re still farming the same land that their great-grandfather bought in 1908. The methods of farming may be a little different and the crops a little more diverse, but the farmer is still around.

The vast majority of Americans who don’t live in rural areas have probably never met someone like that. In my opinion, the urban public seems to view farmers one of two ways:

A. The American farmer hasn’t changed in the past 50 years. Every farm comes complete with 4 cows, 10 chickens and 13 children. With a little Johnny pop tractor and a silo, those farmers feed the world, overalls firmly in place.

B. Farmers have been replaced by evil corporations and factory farms. These “farms” are run by CEOs located far away from the fields. Not only do they abuse their help, but their livestock as well. Environmentally friendly isn’t in their language. Thoroughly modern and cold, they deserve no sympathy from the common man.

Meanwhile, the farmer is perplexed as to where all of this negative publicity is coming from. But he probably won’t spend that much time thinking about it. He’s shoulder deep in a cow trying to turn a breech calf and wondering if he should take out a loan for another grain bin. If the weather holds, he could have another good year. Of course it all depends on the markets…

And this, to me, is where the problem lies. When things get muddy, farmers have a tendency to keep their head down and, well, keep on farming. I always encourage farmers to take an active stance in protecting their lifestyle. This can be as simple as talking to the guy next to you on a plane, or as involved as writing an ag blog. It may not seem like a huge priority for farmers to invest time and money into being self-advocates, but I believe it’s necessary. Be proactive. Spread the truth.

When people ask me what my dad does, I don’t just tell them he farms. I tell them about our sugarbeets, our corn, our kidney beans and the bean processing plant. I tell them that my brother farms with my dad, and I tell them about my nephew who’s already a tractor fanatic at the tender age of two. Don’t be afraid to tell strangers about websites and blogs that further explain the rural lifestyle. Be enthusiastic. Make a conscious effort to promote agriculture, join agricultural advocacy groups, spread the word. Turn the agricultural industry into an army of individuals. You’ll be doing your friends, neighbors and customers a service. 

Special thanks to Bryan Bjerke, our public relations director here at Paulsen Marketing, for helping me update this blog with a must read essay for everyone associated with agriculture. It is written by Mike Rowe, star of the popular cable TV network program, Dirty Jobs.

Rowe was a keynote speaker at last fall’s national Future Farmers of America (FFA) convention in Indianapolis. I also had the opportunity to hear Mike Rowe address important issues facing our livestock industry at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) annual convention in San Antonio earlier this year.

I think anyone who is involved with agriculture will find...