This year as part of The Archibull Prize students in schools across NSW and QLD are studying and reflecting on the biggest challenges facing agriculture in this country.
We have told the teachers and students those challenges are:
- Climate Change
- Declining natural resources
- Food and Fashion Waste
- Biosecurity
We have left out the most immediate challenge and the most important because the program itself by default addresses this
That problem is consumers are increasingly concerned about the way their food and fibre is produced
Surveys continually back up the following
Consumers want Safe, affordable and healthy food
Consumers are concerned about
1. environment
2. animal welfare
3. chemicals in food
4. Farmers ability to make a living
I have dedicated the last ten years and the next 20 years of my life to showing consumers that they can have faith in the way food and fibre is produced in this country
I am lucky enough to work with a wonderful team of supporting partners and advocates helping me do this including agriculture’s rising stars
The biggest barrier to achieving major gains in building trust with consumers is our farmers themselves. There is a culture in agriculture that values quiet achievers and frowns upon being proud and loud
Too often I hear those early adopter quiet achievers say that the farmers talking in the media do not represent the majority and are not walking the talk whilst they are at home doing what they do best and don’t need to share it.
Let me tell you early adopter quiet achievers. You are the biggest threat to agriculture in this country and I put it to most of you that like me ten years ago you are very proud of what you do and would be delighted to talk about it if you had the confidence and skill sets to do so.
I have spent the last ten years building my confidence and skills sets and now help others by sharing my journey and providing them with the same technical experts that I was lucky enough to have access to.
Let me share with you what I believe the problem is.
You can break farmers up into the following demographics
- Innovators
- Early adopters
- Early Majority
- Late Majority
- Laggards
Interestingly enough you can break consumers up into the same demographics. Looking at mainstream technology – love this graph but can’t understand why it wasn’t the girls who were the innovators. See postscript
In agriculture the early adopters get their information from the experts and other farmers follow by having conversations with and witnessing the successes of the early adopters. We have all heard the stats – 9 out 10 farmers learn from other farmers.
Agriculture’s big problem is early adopter consumers have great difficulty accessing agricultural experts or early adopter farmers prepared to share their journey so they get their information from the internet. In a lot of cases that’s a very scary thought. Dissemination of information in the community occurs in just the same way as it does in the farming community. Early adopters (or thought leaders) are highly respected by their peers and listen to what they say.
So I rest my case. Like it or not Early Adopter Farmers is time to come out from behind the bushel and it you were like me and want to build your confidence and skills sets – lobby the organisations you pay levies to for the access to technical experts to help you Because in reality this is the only way you can save your fellow farmers from extinction.
Self driven extinction by our lack of across the board acknowledgment that the consumer is King and Queen and without their support we are wasting our time and money and our physical and emotional energy
Postscript.
I just love twitter my question as to why girls weren’t the innovators re the iPhone the brains trust on Twitter tells me and you will love this- its because boys watch porn online that’s why they are innovators. Bit confused but amused
Now there is a research topic for the scientists – Online porn the driver of innovation
