Born a farmer’s daughter and only child, my grandmother quickly became her father’s “right-hand man” on the farm as his health declined. She loves to talk about the time she raced against her taller and stronger cousin as they each harnessed a draft horse. Not only did she get her horse harnessed first, he had harnessed his poor old mare backwards! I could listen to her stories for hours.
My grandmother has never hesitated to share her agriculture story. So why do we? The number of people with farm experience is dwindling so we have less and less agricultural storytellers available. The voice of those against traditional animal agriculture is being heard loud and clear—and we are left with a confused general population that doesn’t know what to believe. There has never been a more urgent time to share our agricultural story.
During our second session of the Farm Bureau Leadership Institute David Williamson encouraged us to think about how we want to tell our agricultural story. We need to think of responses to the question of, “Why do you do what you do?” and “Why is agriculture important?” To make a strong impact we can develop our own “six word stories” – six words that pack a punch and leave a lasting impression.
It wasn’t hard for me to think of my own. I work as an educational specialist for AgSource DHI—I spend my days educating a range of people about dairy cattle, from individual cows to the entire herd. I love everything about what I do: working to improve cow performance and health while making dairy farmers more profitable. When I’m not working for AgSource my favorite place to be is in the barn milking at my in-law’s family farm alongside my husband and our families. My story is easy: “Doing everything for cows and family.”
Other stories from our class were very impactful:
“We’re building our dairy life story.”
“Growing great kids and greener pastures.”
“Helping all members be their best.”
It’s important to remember David’s words: “It’s not the better story that wins, it’s the better storyteller.” We are all incredibly passionate about our roles in agriculture. It is our love for our land and our animals that make us the best storytellers. We all have a responsibility to be storytellers to help teach the public who is now multiple generations removed from the farm why we do what we do.
Be a storyteller to do your part in our industry.
What is your six word story?
Taliah Danzinger
Taliah lives on a small farm in Durand with her husband Kyle. They raise bull calves as steers, as well as an assortment of chickens, horses and other livestock. She received her bachelor’s degree in animal science and agricultural education at UW-River Falls. She works as an Education and Marketing Support Specialist with AgSource Cooperative Services.
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