May 20 2020 01:54 PM

ADA North East Offers Tips, Videos for Developing Online Farm Tours

The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

Dairy farmers interested in hosting virtual online farm tours can use the training resources developed by American Dairy Association North East to prepare for and execute successful educational experiences for non-farm audiences.

“Consumers love to hear from dairy farmers, as evidenced by the success of our virtual farm tours that have racked up 206,500 views – a jump from the initial 23,000 views in the three-season series before the quarantine began,” said ADA North East CEO Rick Naczi. “By offering some ‘tried and true’ tactics, farmers who want to share their stories can start their online journey armed with the tools to succeed.”

ADA North East hosted an online training seminar that covered topics related to pre-tour considerations, equipment suggestions, media platform options, and ideas to celebrate June Dairy Month.

When planning a tour, the main messages to consider sharing are animal care and the environment, and how high-quality milk is produced on the farm.

Other information to consider when planning a tour includes intended audience, written scripts, a practice walk-through, recruiting a camera operator, and promoting and providing details like time, date, needed equipment or media platforms.

Media platform options are plentiful – the video discusses the pros and cons to using Zoom, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Farmers are encouraged to use the system they feel most comfortable operating.

With June Dairy Month approaching, the time is right to share a positive dairy story. Ideas include a series of mini-farm tours, collaborating with fellow farmers, or allow for ‘take-overs’ of another farm’s social media page to introduce another dairy story. Visit AmericanDairy.com to watch previous farm tours to get guidance and ideas.

If dairy farmers find enjoyment of hosting online tours, consider joining ADA North East’s DairyFAN (Dairy Food Advocacy Network) group. Geared toward social media-savvy farmers, the group allows networking with other “ag-vocates,” educational trainings and guest speakers, and honing social media skills.

To access the virtual farm tour training video, or for more information on DairyFAN, contact Emma Andrew-Swarthout at eandrew@milk4u.org, or call 315.472.9143.

About American Dairy Association North East

American Dairy Association North East (ADA North East) is the dairy farmer-funded organization funded by participating dairy farmer’s checkoff investment to build demand and sales for milk and dairy foods throughout the local region. Representing more than 10,000 dairy farm families in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and northern Virginia, ADA North East develops and implements local programs to drive milk and dairy sales at retail outlets and in schools. The organization also conducts consumer education about dairy through events, traditional and social media, and in collaboration with health professionals through National Dairy Council®. ADA North East works closely with Dairy Management Inc.™, the national dairy checkoff organization, to support nutrition research, national partnerships and developing export markets for dairy to bring a fully integrated promotion program to the region. For more information, visit www.AmericanDairy.com, or call 315.472.9143.