INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Women reaching
beyond the farm
Social media is here to stay and millions of Americans are embracing it. Irrigation Today caught up with a few women involved in agriculture to learn how they have taken their message beyond the farm to promote the benefits and importance of agriculture through social media channels.
Michelle Jones @bigskyfarmher
Michelle Jones works alongside her husband, dad and brother in Montana. They operate 10,000 acres raising dryland wheat, barley, corn, safflower, sunflowers, corn and alfalfa, along with a cow/calf operation.
Jones uses each of her social media accounts for different pur- poses. Instagram is for a mix of agriculture and personal life, Facebook for agriculture advocacy and awareness, and Twitter for policy advocacy and connecting with media. “Social media can be a powerful tool — one used to reach thousands to millions of people. It can be a critical part of telling agriculture’s story,” Jones says.
She has also been very involved in agriculture public policy and grass roots advocacy. “I have testified from the state house to the congressional level,” Jones says. “One of the things I’ve learned is that while my presence on social media is important — making myself available to media is even more important.”
30 Irrigation TODAY | Winter 2021
Alexandra Rae @HarvestJoy
Alexandra Rae lives in San Diego and works on behalf of farmers to create content they can use in advertisements, social media, websites and more. Through Harvest Joy, she has built a grow- ing audience of followers who want to know the story behind farming and the food grown.
Rae started her Instagram page when she saw a need for mar- keting the importance of agriculture to consumers. Without any clients, she would offer her services at farmers markets. “I told them I could work for free just to take photos and build a portfo- lio,” Rae says. Now fresh produce companies hire her to visit their farm to tell their story and create content.
“I use social media to reach a large audience through story- telling,” Rae says. “Harvest Joy takes on a personal approach to educate people on how food gets from harvest to table and fun produce facts.”
irrigationtoday.org
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