The majority of farms in Illinois are family-owned and consider themselves to be stewards of the land who care about feeding communities.

Sadly, that is not always the case with the average consumer’s assumption. Without our stories and connections, they often consider agriculture to be a corporation that has lost its connection to the environment. It is our time to tell our stories and connect with communities around us.

I have been engaging in agriculture outside of the family farm since I was a child. Beginning with my time in 4-H and FFA, and as I moved to Collegiate Farm Bureau to Christian County Farm Bureau Young Leader Committee to the Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow program to State Young Leader Committee and of course as an Illinois Farm Bureau member, I have learned so many different things. I have learned about the diversity of our state, be it the policy and regulation that impacts our industry or, most importantly, advocating for what we are passionate about.

The most powerful thing that has resonated with me is the need to connect with our communities and tell our stories. In a divided country, it is our time to open the gate of our fence and invite people to our farm and into our family.

I have learned that just opening the gate is not enough. We must find a safe space that allows those who do not know agriculture to ask the questions they are afraid to ask. We must be willing to listen and learn with them. It is time for us to change our approach and find new and innovative ways to communicate our story and connect with our community.

My first step in connecting with my community is engagement events, including school programs or other activities. I offer to bring my livestock on site to let others see, touch and feel our animals. I make a point to share at least one fact about each animal with everyone I talk to. I always try to share Illinois Ag in the Classroom materials with the parents and explain where the additional resources can be found. There is something about that personal connection that I find makes a lasting connection.

However, this really started when I found my passion to share my family farm stories on social media. The goal is to give a little glimpse into the day-to-day operation. Through this I respond to questions thoughtfully and carefully. I always felt there could be more creative ways to tell our story. As a family, we recently began Bertie’s BARK on Facebook with other social media platforms to follow. There’s something about telling our farm stories through our dog’s perspective to make the community more willing to engage and ask those hard questions. As we think about farm visits, the dog is often a great icebreaker, and why not utilize that comfort level to enable the hard conversations?

You might be asking what is Bertie’s BARK? Bertie is the all-around farm dog that goes on adventures and helps with the farm’s day-to-day tasks and shares what she is doing from her point of view. I believe that to be an advocate, we must find our voice. Much like we speak, a dog will bark and, in this instance, BARK stands for Be an Advocate: Raise Knowledge. We believe using our dog’s perspective is a new, creative, low-pressure and fun way to share the farm story and allow people to ask questions. My request is for all of us to BARK together because you never know who you can impact, and we must be together as one for Illinois agriculture.

Amy Heberling represents District 11 on the Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leader Committee. This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.