I was trying to type in the code to get my boarding passes at the airport in Atlanta, but I kept typing it in wrong. A young lady that worked for the airline asked could she help me.
She asked, “Where are you traveling to on this cool January day in Georgia?” I replied, “Minnesota.”
She then asked me if I owned a globe, and why would I want to fly north in the winter? I told her I was going to Minnesota to tour robotic dairy farms. She looked at me and asked, “What do you do for a living?”
I told her proudly, “I am a dairy farmer.” She smiled, looked at me with awe and said, “I have never met a farmer.” I smiled back and replied, “Now you have!”
To say the least, I was blown away by her comment. I live in a fairly rural part of Georgia and thought everyone had a farmer friend or relative that farmed in Georgia. I forgot how many people now live in urban areas of our state and country.
I took just a moment to tell the young lady about our farm while the boarding passes were printing. I smiled and told her that now she knew a farmer that was working to produce the food she saw in the supermarket. She laughed and said it was interesting to finally meet a farmer.
I have told several of my farming pals about the lady that had never met a farmer. I told them that I hoped I made a good impression on her, and that perhaps she can put a smiling face with the food she purchases.
You never know when you will have a chance to spread dairy’s positive message. It could be through social media or even a chance encounter. We need to let the consumer meet their farmer.
Mark and Caitlin Rodgers are dairy farmers in Dearing, Georgia. Their “Father and Daughter Dairy Together” column appears every other Thursday on HD Notebook. The Rodgers have a 400-cow dairy that averages 32,000 pounds of milk. Follow their family farm on Facebook at Hillcrest Farms Inc.
