MONTE VISTA — Michelle Miller, aka the “Farm Babe”, had never envisioned living her life on a farm. Although she grew up “in 4-H, horse riding and doing chores on her friends’ grandparents’ farms in Wisconsin”, she chose to go to college and pursue a career in fashion. That led to years living in big cities and “globetrotting” but marriage to a “commercial scale farmer” brought her back to her farming “roots”, and a career involving a social media platform she titled “the farm babe” and time spent advocating for “farming and science all around the world”. 

“From city girl to farmer advocate” is how she described her journey when she was one of the featured keynote speakers at the Southern Rocky Mountain Agriculture Conference and Trade Show held in Monte Vista Feb. 3-5. And for the bulk of her 50 minutes titled “Managing the Message: Cutting Through the Chaos to Connect Farmers and Consumers”, she was encouraging farmers to advocate for themselves and farming, as well.  

Miller began by spending time on the “chaos” created by, what she felt were, unfounded concerns she once had about farming. She basically ticked them off – the use of chemicals used in farming, unjustified concerns about animal welfare in factory farming or what may be the “myth” of organic farming. That “misinformation”, she said, is largely responsible for the division between those in rural areas and those who live elsewhere where farming is not a part of the local economy. 

The only way to address those misconceptions and misinformation, she said, is for famers to have a “dialogue” with consumers where they can educate those who buy their produce about what farming involves and what it does not.   

That dialogue, she said, can easily be had on social media but, first, farmers must realize the value they have, as many may have forgotten or feel somewhat defensive.   

After showing an aerial photo of the densely populated New York City, Miller said, “Look at that. Look at all those millions and millions of people. And all of those millions of people in New York City and all over the world are alive because of you.”  

She repeated that again, for emphasis. 

“People don’t trust corporations, but they trust farmers,” she said. “They trust you. When you tell people you’re a farmer, people react like that’s pretty cool, right?  Farmers have a built-in level of trust. People trust you, which means you need to think about the power of your own voice. When it comes to farming, people are going to believe a farmer.” 

Again, she said, having a dialogue is important. Using the power of their voice is important. And the easiest place to do that with a large number of people at one time is on social media. And the first step is to develop a following.  

Miller shared the story of her beginnings, where she posted a humorous post that caught the attention of people online. Essentially overnight, she went from a small audience of followers online to hundreds of thousands as her post was shared and re-shared. 

While it went without saying that immediate successes like that are likely few and far between, she said there are certain things farmers can keep in mind and steps farmers can take to building a strong following of their own. 

When farmers prepare to write something online, they should start out by having empathy. “These people are your friends, so be yourself.”   

She also said to “share the posts, share, share.” She suggested starting with groups the farmer is a part of and use that infrastructure to share the post more online. 

She also said there is no “wrong platform” to use online, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn or Snapchat. She suggested using more than one – in fact, use as many as possible, she said, 7-plus platforms online. 

Once a post has been created, she encourages people to “share share share”, including using the groups they are already a part of and asking those members to share your post, as well.  

She also spoke about the absolute necessity of authenticity. “Don’t be afraid to be authentic and to tell stories with heart. People are greatly moved by those kinds of stories and they remember.” 

Last, she said, collaborate. Work with others who are trying to do the same thing and, if possible, try to write posts that are funny. 

For those who think they can’t do this, Miller suggested using ChatGPT. While only a few in the audience indicated they knew what that was, she demonstrated how she uses ChatGPT, stressing that it’s important to use the program a lot. Given that ChatGPT is personalized specific to a person, they “better it gets to know you”, the more their suggestions sound unique to you? 

If someone is “stuck” on what to write about, she said to start simple. Start with one thing you would like to communicate. When asked for suggestions, one person said, “We’re not the enemy.” Another said, “We grow the food they eat.”   

She then illustrated using ChatGPT to generate a post that is based on that one idea that could then be posted online.  

In wrapping up her presentation, Miller spoke about the importance of connecting with consumers on those shared values. And for those wanting to reach those who may have some pre-conceived notions about farmers, she said, “There are many things we can’t change, but we can change perception.”