Celeste Laurent is a student, double majoring in agriculture with a concentration in animal science and in journalism at Western Kentucky University. It seems like that would be plenty to keep anyone busy, however she doesn’t spend all her time in the classroom.
She is a farm girl at heart, growing up on a commercial beef cattle farm in the small Western Kentucky town of Princeton. In 2006, she and her siblings started their own show pig operation through the Kentucky Proud program. “We sell show pigs to kids in Kentucky and Louisiana currently, and farrow about 4 litters per year. It’s small operation but we’re really proud of starting it ourselves and making all the decisions… with the help of my dad of course,” Laurent said.
Laurent’s college experience has been different from a lot of other college agriculture students, college aggies, as they come to be known. She is double majoring and has to split her time between the two schools. However, she doesn’t see this as a problem, but rather an opportunity. “At WKU I have the opportunity to double major and take advantage of the ag department’s hands on learning and small class sizes as well as one of the top-ranked public journalism schools in the country.” Her passion for both agriculture and journalism are evident in her current work, as well as her future plans, “I hope to combine the two and eventually write about ag,” Laurent added.
Laurent and her fellow ag classmates are well aware that they are part of the changing face of agriculture and are ready to implement what they are learning in the classroom, and apply it in real world situations. “One thing I’ve noticed at WKU and at Michigan State (where I worked this summer) is that ag students realize that they need to add “ag literacy” educating to whatever field of agriculture they are pursuing. The production farmers need to teach people in their community and explain their practices. The biotechnology folks need to teach consumers what gmos are in a way that the average person can understand. The animal health people need to explain common misconceptions like, you can’t get H1N1 from eating pork and hormone free milk is a contradiction. Everyone in ag has a role to play and its great to see that my peers are preparing to take on this responsibility.”
Social media plays a large part in Laurent’s life, especially when it comes to telling ag’s story, “Social media is an awesome way for farmers an everyone in ag to network not only with other aggies, but also with consumers.” While Laurent is an avid user, she also is working to encourage other people associated with agriculture to join in. “Don’t be afraid to tell your ag story. Whether your 5 or 55 someone out there is interested in your experience in ag.”
Laurent offers these tips to those who want to become involved with social media, but don’t really know where to start:
Tell people what you are doing on the farm– “Just last week when much of the country got their first snowfall of the year many farmers tweeted that they had to brave five degree weather to feed their animals or check on the livestock. Farmers are already working really hard and doing a great job raising their crops and livestock, why not just tell people what you’re doing?
Take pictures—“Bring the camera along with you to feed the cows, take pictures from the seat of the combine. A picture really is worth a thousand words, especially when people are a thousand miles away from the farm.”
Don’t be intimidated of the web—“I think the web intimidates aggies. They feel like no one will listen to what they or that they have to fit into some certain mold to tell their story. This is completely untrue!”
Your story is important, tell it—“Don’t think that your farm isn’t big enough or impressive enough or whatever. My siblings and I own 5 sows but I still write about them.”
Laurent is a true depiction of how much farming and agriculture have changed in the last decade, and will continue to change in the future. Ten years ago, no one was tweeting from a tractor or knew what Agchat was. Agriculture is becoming more about connections, education, and sharing the true story of farmers and what their lives are like on a daily basis. Social media and new technologies aren’t going to clear up all the misconceptions there are about ag, but it is certainly a place to start. “I love that with social media, I can connect with people who are not from farms but are curious to know where food comes from. It’s great to hear from a non-ag person who has learned something from what I’ve written or tweeted,” Laurent said.
To learn more about Celeste is up to on a daily basis, you can follow her on Twitter, add her on Facebook, and check out her blog.
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