Jeff Fowle is a northern California farmer with a very diversified operation and he’s also a founding board member of the AgChat Foundation. He’s the next interview in my series with all the board and advisory board members of the newly formed Agvocacy group.
As the fourth generation to farm and ranch at his current location, and raising the fifth, it is extremely important to Jeff that the land remains productive, the environment healthy and the water plentiful. “Engaging in a positive manner through social media and other outlets is essential in order to effectively communicate with the public what, why and how we do what we do. An educated public and consumer, is agriculture’s best insurance policy for future generations to share our passion and commitment to providing the safest, most abundant and affordable food supply in the world. It is an honor and a privilege to be able to work with such a diverse and enthusiastic group of agvocates on what is certain to be a most rewarding endeavor.”
Jeff says that he sees farmers using computers and the internet in three main areas. The first one is for communications and to keep farm records of various kinds. Another one is to make online purchases and he’s seeing more and more of his friends doing so for things like used equipment parts. Then he sees another growing area of new technology being used by farmers to reach out to that part of the population that has questions about what farmers do. He says he definitely falls into this category and is using social media as an avenue to teach and educate. He wants to know things like, “What does the public think about us? What is their perception? What can we do to make sure the proper information is out there for them to base their decisions when they go to the store or to the voting booth?”
Jeff is a very passionate AgChat Foundation board member. He says the mission can be summed up by pointing to the four key program areas: Agvocacy 2.0 training; Agvocacy strategic campaigns; Data Analysis and Technology scholarships. The goal of all these program areas is to assist farmers who want to become advocates for agriculture.
You can listen to my interview with Jeff here.
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Laura has been living out her dream and traveling extensively over the last couple of years, as that is her passion. At last count, she had visited more than 22 countries in Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America – including 12 countries in one year alone!
