Angus Woods: How farming can win back the general public

Angus Woods

Positive messaging about agriculture, rather than endless griping, can repair the growing disconnect between farmers and consumers

Escalation: Dutch farmers block a motorway with tractors as they protest against their government’s nitrogen reforms. Photo: Getty

Escalation: Dutch farmers block a motorway with tractors as they protest against their government’s nitrogen reforms. Photo: Getty

Dutch farmers protest

Escalation: Dutch farmers block a motorway with tractors as they protest against their government’s nitrogen reforms. Photo: Getty

August 02 2022 02:30 AM

People over the age of 40 may remember many of the farming ads that were common on Irish radio and television in the 1970s and ’80s.

There were regular ads for milk replacer, scour treatment products, veterinary products and agricultural machinery.

A product called Cheno Unction was famous for years because of its positive slogan: “It’s a quare name but great stuff.”

Back then, agriculture was all over the media. RTÉ — the only TV station available in many parts of the country — was full of ads for products for treating the likes of hoose, liver fluke and scarcoptic mange mites.

The general public, including children, had a much better understanding of farming and food production.

A large proportion of people who lived in towns and cities had come from a farming background, or had spent summers in the country on relatives’ farms.

This common experience of agricultural life has changed significantly over the last 40 years as Ireland’s economy improved.

Kids from the city no longer spent their summer holidays on farms, and the link was broken for a large section of the next generation of Irish consumers.

The result has been a widening of the gap between farmers and consumers, both urban and rural.

This gap has not been recognised or acted upon properly by farm leaders, as an opportunity has been lost and a vacuum created.

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Environmentalists, animal welfare and anti-meat groups have cleverly targeted the young urban population with their messaging and campaigns, bypassing the older demographic, safe in the knowledge that targeted messaging at the younger consumers will pay off in the long run.

Dutch farmers protest

Irish agriculture in general has failed to generate positive messaging around what we do on our farms.

Farmers are often more intent on trying to discredit organisations like Bord Bia and meat factories, rather than focusing on a sustained positive message about Irish food production. This is a terrible shame as there are so many good-news stories about the way that Irish food is produced.

Specialised artisan food producers have been very good at promoting their produce and selling a positive story, giving consumers a happy feeling when purchasing.

The debate about agriculture’s emissions reduction target has highlighted how farming has lost the support of the general public.

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Unfortunately, on the increasingly rare occasions that farm leaders have had the opportunity to put forward a positive case for farming on national media, the result has been far from positive.

A campaign of trying to pass the blame to other sectors is only creating the impression that we are trying to shirk our share of the responsibility.

When the wrangling over percentage cuts required to our emissions is complete, a serious discussion will have to take place among farm organisations as to how farmers can re-connect with the general public and re-build our reputation again.

Allowing bad communicators with continuous negative messaging out to represent farming is not working.

Ignoring young consumers and leaving their food education to other types of campaigns will result in a continued lack of their support in the future, which governments will take notice of.

The power of advertising and positive messaging is immense, especially with children, students and younger adults.

The results can last a lifetime and be hard to change.

Angus Woods is a drystock farmer in Co Wicklow