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by Susie Taylor

For years, opponents to how farmers conduct their business have used the media to get their messages out to the public. The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) used the media to its advantage this past year to discredit those messages and present positive images about agriculture in the Buckeye State.

"Our approach to specific issues impacting our members is to present a positive message to counter any negative comments that may be out there," according to Joe Cornely, OFBF’s director of corporate communications.

Specific media campaigns started early in 2003 with an effort to demonstrate how important federal farm programs are to the public, not just farmers. Radio campaigns featured OFBF Executive Vice President Jack Fisher saying the 2002 Farm Bill "gives consumers an assurance that American agriculture will be able to meet their expectation about food quantity and quality, environmental protection and economic stimulus."

Newspaper editorials and interviews with key metropolitan news outlets also featured OFBF viewpoints.

And to help farmers better understand all provisions of the new farm legislation, OFBF sponsored a nearly statewide one and a half hour broadcast, "Navigating the Farm Bill," on a Columbus farm radio station. Experts described specific regulations and answered callers’ questions.

On another issue, it seemed Farm Bureau was ahead of the curve when following the suggestions of August Leadership Conference speaker David Milenthal. He encouraged the agricultural community to "put a face" on animal agriculture and make it more personal for consumers.

OFBF’s Director of Promotion and Education Pat Petzel said the organization has done just that with full-page magazine advertisements featuring farm families that operate large livestock facilities – dairy farmers such as The Hatfield family in Licking County and Hord Livestock in Crawford County. Those ads were placed throughout the year in Ohio magazine, Columbus Monthly and OFBF’s Our Ohio.

Also appearing in Our Ohio was an article titled "Forging a Partnership" featuring two farm families operating large and small farms that depend on each other for survival. Our Ohio is written for OFBF’s nonfarmer members.

When the Dayton Daily News printed a series criticizing Ohio’s large livestock operations and the way they are regulated, Farm Bureau responded with an editorial in the publication and encouraged members to write letters to the editor.

Farm Aid 2003 occurred in Columbus, and media outlets statewide quoted Farm Aid spokespersons talking negatively about farmers and the environment. Before and after the event, Ohio Farm Bureau aired a radio campaign featuring the "Ohio Farmers are Naturally Resourceful" message.

Once a bill on tort reform was introduced in the Ohio legislature that OFBF agreed with, the organization got behind it in a big way. Members were encouraged to contact legislators to urge passage, and media outlets were notified of Farm Bureau’s support.

The same was true when the organization came out against Issue 1, which appeared statewide on the Nov. 4 ballot. Farm Bureau informed its members why it opposed the issue and encouraged them to vote the issue down.

"Farm Bureau historically has been respected by media throughout the state," Cornely said. "The media trust us as a news source, and that’s because Farm Bureau members and staff are generally recognized as reasonable people with reasonable ideas."

Several studies were released this year that show the public feels farmers are good people who are trustworthy, Cornely said. "The campaigns we’ve coordinated just remind people what they already believed."