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South Dakota soybean growers to launch ‘Hungry for Truth’ initiative
South Dakota soybean growers are inviting the people of the state to discuss how farmers raise food.
“We want to reach out to consumers, have a conversation with them, give them a chance to ask any questions they may have about agriculture in our state, and give farmers a chance to answer those questions,” said Marc Reiner, a farmer from Tripp, South Dakota, who chairs the South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. “We also want to clear up any misperceptions they may have about agriculture.”
An initiative, called Hungry for Truth, began with farmers determining what’s on consumers’ minds regarding food safety and farming, said Reiner, during an interview with Brownfield Ag News.
“The number one thing is having healthy food,” said Reiner. “They’re concerned about crop protection, what they perceive as chemicals that we use in our fields. They’re also concerned about hormones, GMOs and biotechnology.”
There will be multiple promotions to encourage consumers to join the conversation as well as farmer participation in special events around the state to reinforce what South Dakota Soybean says are shared values between farmers and non-farmers regarding food safety, family and strong communities.
Research on consumer attitudes about agriculture showed that even though non-farmers might not understand today’s farming, people in South Dakota do trust farmers.
“One thing we have going for us here in South Dakota is agriculture still is very positively perceived by consumers,” said Reiner. “We want to build on that, that’s an opinion that we respect, but we want to make sure that that trust stays strong, and in fact, gets stronger.”
Nine out of 10 people in South Dakota know someone who farms, and people in the state say they believe farmers are good environmentalists who grow crops in a sustainable manner.
Funded by soybean checkoff dollars, Hungry for Truth will create conversations between non-farmers and farmers through social media and advertising where most South Dakotans reside, in Sioux Falls and Rapid City.
AUDIO: Marc Reiner (4 min. MP3)
Just like the Pro-Pink Slime campaign where the “industry” smeared anyone who questioned their product, we consumers don’t expect a real dialogue from farmers who are on the Federal dole to do things the way industry tells them and congress.
funny, captcha asked to “Select all the FOOD” but there were no tanker trucks or petro plants like where I grew up so I had to lie