The New York Animal Agriculture
Coalition is launching a statewide campaign to address misconceptions and
promote positive messages about dairy farming.
The
campaign includes 18 billboards that will run from March through June along the
Finger Lakes corridor in the Auburn, Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca and Rochester
markets and north to Watertown and Canton. Public service
announcements for television will run in the Buffalo,
Rochester and Syracuse markets for two weeks in April. The
commercials will also air in Albany, Binghamton, Elmira, Plattsburgh, Utica and Watertown. The
commercials, graphics and messages can be viewed at www.farmskeepnygreen.org.
“Fewer
people know a farmer today than in past generations. They’ve lost the human
connection to how our food and fiber is grown. We think it’s important to share
the care, commitment and ethical responsibility that farmers feel towards their
land and their animals,” said Julie Berry, New York Animal Agriculture
Coalition Outreach Coordinator.
With the rise of
food safety scares and increasing social awareness, consumers are increasingly
interested in how their food is produced. Fewer people know a farmer. They’ve
lost the human connection to how our food is grown.
The Coalition supports
farms by placing positive news stories, responding to misinformation, and
providing direct assistance to farmers who are engaged in telling the story of
modern agriculture. In our media monitoring we have observed five key areas of
misinformation and have developed a campaign to address these myths in a
positive way.
The campaign
includes five billboards with visual graphics and positive messages about
farmers and farming practices. They include Dairy Farmers Love Feeding
Families, We are dedicated to providing you with fresh healthy milk; Dairy
Farmers Love The Land, We practice sustainable farming for a cleaner, greener
New York; Dairy Farmers Love Happy Cows, We know that the healthiest cows make
the healthiest milk; Dairy Farmers Love Strong Communities, We create jobs and
drive growth in our local economies; and Dairy Farmers Love Family Tradition,
99 % of New York dairies are family owned.
The
graphics are also available as bumper stickers, as display banners and as
vinyls for hay wagon billboards. To order, or for more information, contact the
Coalition by phone at 315-232-2485 or by email at jrb7@cornell.edu.
The
public service announcements for television tell the story of the care and
concern that modern farmers have for their animals and the land by profiling
modern, progressive farmers. Farmers are credible spokespeople, and the
commercials use the emotional appeal of farmers speaking from the heart to
educate about key misconceptions of animal agriculture, specifically dairy
farms.
The
New York Animal Agriculture Coalition is a farmer founded and funded
organization that exists to reconnect the public with animal agriculture by
facilitating media engagement, public education and interaction between
industry stakeholders. Founding farmer organizations include New York Farm
Bureau, Northeast Dairy Producers Association and Cayuga Marketing. Visit www.farmskeepnygreen.org for more
information.
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