NAMA, National Agri-Marketing Association, is currently holding its Trends in Agriculture fall convention in Kansas City, MO. The theme this year is “Connecting with the New Ag Community”. That title can mean many things but to Dr. David Kohl, the opening session speaker, it means agrimarketer’s need to be prepared to embrace the new trends this will lead to. Dr. Kohl has an impressive background. He grew up in upstate NY, attended Cornell University and received his M.S and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics. He spent many years as Professor of Agricultural Economics at Virginia Tech and currently is part owner of Homestead Creamery in Wirtz, Virginia.
Dr. Kohl started the session by making the group aware of the facts about American Agriculture that are changing rapidly:
- 70% of North American farm ground will change hands by 2025
- Local, natural organics could be 20% of the consumer marketplace by 2020 (currently 8%)
- 80% of Americans are two generations away from the farm and/or ranch
- Water could replace oil as the limited resource
He then placed agriculture into 5 key dimensions: Food, Fiber, Fuel, Life Experiences, and Life Sciences. Each of these areas will be integral to the future of the ag industry. He spent time in each category explaining how we need to be prepared for the changes and how to react as well.
A few key facts about how digital options are shaping up:
- Social networking is now more popular than email
- 14% of people trust advertisements
- 78% of people trust recommendations of others
All of this leads to anew way of thinking for those in the world of agri-marketing. The future will be defined by those who understand how to speak effectively to their target audience in a format they embrace. One of the final comments confirmed this as Dr. Kohl recalled speaking to a farmer in South Dakota who stated, “If my banker does not text, email, etc. then I won’t do business with him”. Those companies that can manage high tech with high touch (still extremely important) will be successful in the future.
Thanks to Matt Coniglio, Fastline National Accounts Manager, for this write-up.
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