Outreach Leaders

Outreach Leaders comprise a core group of our farmer members committed to sharing their farming stories, knowledge and expertise with a wider audience, including the media, the public and other farmers.

Outreach Leaders seek media coverage on a range of topics to illustrate the value of diverse, sustainable farming systems, and how they “grow more than crops and bring more than food to the table” – a slogan developed by the farmer leaders themselves as an expression of the broader benefits these farming systems offer. These farmers also serve as spokespeople and experts on the farming practices they use and their experiences with sustainable farming methods.

The first Outreach Leaders group completed training in 2012, and a second group of farmer leaders shored up skills in messaging, media outreach and communication in 2013. Some of the key messages that Outreach Leaders try to communicate include:

1. Sustainable farmers provide us all with healthy soils, clean water and clean air.
2. Sustainable farmers bring another generation onto the land, building rural communities.
3. Sustainable farmers bring fresh, local food to a population desperately needing healthful food.

Practical Farmers staff work with Outreach Leaders to identify opportunities for speaking out and to help ensure their farm stories are well-crafted and emotionally compelling.