Listening to Georgie Cartanza guest lecture in class on the Delaware poultry industry as well as her poultry farm was very informative. She touched on many different topics ranging from how Delaware became such a powerhouse for the poultry industry, specifically broilers, to how this industry has made many advancements over the years. I was very surprised as to how much the Delmarva actually produces each year, compared to the national annual production. Georgie also then touched on some of the hardships with being in the poultry industry, including the wide misconception that as farmers we pump our flocks full of all sorts of chemicals and steroids. This was something I was not surprised to hear. Coming from a farming family, I am very familiar with the poultry industry as we too raise organic broilers as a part of our business. I can very much relate with the frustration of this misconception. However, like Georgie I can also relate to the instinctive need to educate consumers as to what we actually do as producers. Georgie offered great advice as to how to accomplish this, and how to connect to your consumers. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Georgie guest lecture.
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Social Media in Today’s Ag – Michele Walfred
It was very cool to listen to Michele guest lecture about her path to where she is now, and how she has used social media/branding to get there. It was very intriguing to hear how she went from having no agriculture background at all, to now being such a crucial part of agvocay. I learned a lot about how to conduct yourself on social media for branding and professional purposes, rather then a true social interactions with your friends. As I learned, Michele is such a good example of that as she has been able to be apart of many events due to her presence on social media in the agricultural world. On the other hand, I was not surprised that educating consumers about agricultural is a crucial part of being on social media. I am always surprised by the amount of “fake news” out there about agriculture, and this was something Michele touched on as well. Overall, it was super beneficial to listen to information like this as a college student who is planning on being involved in agriculture post-graduation, specifically a farmer. Social media is such a beneficial form of communication if used correctly.