21 pages, via online journal, How an agricultural organization handles the way the media reports a crisis can have an impact on the public’s perceptions of the organization, and sometimes the industry as a whole. The popularity of social media outlets as a venue for disseminating and gathering information and news makes the use of social media surrounding agricultural crises an important topic to investigate (Glynn, Huge, & Hoffman 2012; Hermida, 2010). A qualitative case study was conducted to investigate the use of social media tools during an agricultural crisis. The participants – communications directors, social media managers, and individuals with a close connection to the crisis under study – reported that social media was a major component of their communication efforts surrounding each crisis. Participants felt social media was very effective in these situations and had a major impact on their communication efforts. Although no participants reported using a structured social media strategy or crisis communication plan, they stated a need for such guidelines in the agricultural industry. From the data analyzed in this study, a model for using social media during a crisis situation, aimed specifically for use by those in the agricultural industry, was developed. This project was funded through the USDA's Beginning Farmers & Ranchers Project.
Syngenta (author) and G&S Business Communications (author)
Format:
Online document
Publication Date:
2017
Published:
United States: Public Relations Society of America
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 8 Document Number: D10303
Notes:
4 pages., Via Silver Anvil Awards., For years, males have dominated our image of agriculture. But in reality, women also hold important and diverse roles in the industry. G&S Business Communications launched a campaign for its client, Syngenta, to address this reality. As part of the campaign, Syngenta US joined the FarmHer movement as the presenting sponsor of the new television series “FarmHer on RFD-TV.” The FarmHer campaign helped nurture a relationship with this emerging group of customers, increase brand affinity among U.S. farmers and develop a stronger community among Syngenta employees to expand its diversity and inclusion initiative.
Meyers, Courtney (author), Shaw, Kelsey (author), Irlbeck, Erica (author), Doerfert, David (author), Abrams, Katie (author), and Morgan, Chris (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2015
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 153 Document Number: D06851
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 34 Document Number: D10671
Notes:
4 pages., via Scientific American website., Hours after the news broke that the U.S. Department of Agriculture e-mailed its scientists ordering them not to speak to the press, and informing them that there would be an immediate halt on press releases, the USDA insisted it isn’t really suppressing its researchers’ communications with the public—because they can still publish peer-reviewed journal articles or give media interviews if the agency approves them.
12 pages., via online journal, We examined how information from multiple communication channels can inform social norms about local food purchasing. The concept of social exposure was used as a guide. Social exposure articulates how information in social, symbolic, and physical environments contributes to normative perceptions. Data was collected from a sample in Wisconsin. Results indicated that information from communication channels representing symbolic, social, and physical environments all contributed to normative perceptions. We also found that for individuals who frequent farmers’ markets, information from some communication channels was relatively less strongly associated with injunctive norms. It may be that when first-hand, experiential information is available to inform norms, individuals rely less on information available through other communication channels. Future work might further explore how farmers’ markets foster information sharing in communities, as such information may contribute to normative perceptions.
