The Michigan Ag Council (MAC) centers itself around connecting Michigan in three core ways- through our people, our food and our agriculture. To do this, the council is comprised of a variety of agricultural groups and agribusinesses, including GreenStone.
To help build these connections, the MAC launched the Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT campaign and is now in its first year of implementing its new ambassador program. Lauren Heberling, a customer service representative in Sandusky, was one of the individuals selected to serve as an inaugural Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT ambassador. She used her background working in and studying agriculture to meet with consumers and create ag focused digital content for MAC.
The program prepares its ambassadors to represent Michigan agriculture through a series of virtual trainings. After the conclusion of these training, the ambassadors attend farmers markets throughout Michigan to meet with thousands of shoppers in the local communities, answer their questions about food, and help connect them with online resources to learn more about agriculture in an unbiased and science-based way.
This past fall Lauren headed as far north as the Downtown Marquette Farmers Market where she met not only with shoppers but vendors and farmers from both Michigan and Wisconsin.
At this point, one might be asking, “So, what value does the Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT campaign and Michigan Ag Council really provide?” While simple, the answer is much more than the engagement at the farmers market. Hear Lauren’s explanation:
I think back to my experience in a sustainable agriculture and local food systems course I took my in college. This course was comprised of students from extremely diverse backgrounds and equally as diverse levels of agricultural experience, with some students having never been on a farm. Initially, I was nervous for how the course would go. I hesitated at the thought of having difficult conversations over popular topics like GMOs, fertilizers and CAFOs. I wondered if my background in traditional, large scale agriculture would be welcome in these conversations.
I quickly realized two things. One, it is a lot easier and much less abrasive to talk about trivial topics face to face. Two, we often focus too much on the technicalities of food and agriculture and less on the fact that, at the end of the day, food is something much more personal. While the science behind why our industry makes the choices we do is an invaluable piece of the discussions we have, a connection, a personal connection, must be made and common ground must be found. If we can first connect over something simple, like our favorite recipe or the memories we have canning jam with our grandma, the conversations over science become easier and we start truly tackling concerns over modern practices.
Similarly, this same idea holds true in each conversation I have had at the farmers market. By ambassadors simply being there and being willing to face tough conversations, we can connect with the consumer in a way that is impossible to do through a screen. We can learn their background and the “why” to their concerns, enabling us to better address them. We are putting a face and feelings to agriculture, and that is where the value begins and trust in our food is established.
Michigan GROWN Michigan GREAT is the face of the Michigan Agriculture Council and serves to represent over 20 Michigan agriculture partners and organizations. For more information, please check out their Facebook page and website.
