A Historical Look at Agricultural Communications

By: Vanna Dupree

Our society has grown away from agriculture, and it has slowly evolved into an industry that citizens are hesitant about.

The current lack of education surrounding agricultural practices is a growing issue within our society. Many of the concerns are health-related risks that come from consuming agricultural products.Genetically Modified Organisms is one of the biggest issues of disconnect within the agricultural industry.

When looking at the research behind GMOs, it is crucial to see the organizations that engage in studying and improving the processes involved. Programs involved in biotechnology practices assess the agricultural industry and provide the resources to maintain sustainable practices. Provided the benefits regarding this technology this negative information constitutes for a change.

This disconnect creates tensions amongst farmers, consumers, and even agricultural communicators. It is difficult to navigate and educate consumers when there already are negative preconceptions, such as the negative narratives surrounding GMOs.

To combat these issues, there is an urgency to inform citizens of the history of agriculture and its importance. To understand history is to better recognize how to conquer the problem of communication scarcity.

Agricultural communicators are not a newfound idea, communication in the agriculture industry has been present in our society for hundreds of years. The earliest American agrarian literature was The NewJersey Gazette. The newspaper was created in 1777 and founded by Isaac Collins.It was the very first newspaper to promote articles on farming.

Even when agriculture was a prominent occupation there was a need for an agriculturally informed public. In 1785 the PhiladelphiaSociety for Promoting Agriculture was established and the first to publish agriculture experiments. Not even a decade later, the Farmer’s Almanac was published, and provided farmers a source for improved farming practices. The Farmer’s Almanac is still published today — it even has digital content now. The USDA would later issue Farmer’s Bulletin in 1889 and became the most popular government publication of the time. Its purpose was to disseminate agricultural information and practices.

Iowa State University took the first academic leap with agriculture journalism. This course taught students how to write for the agriculture press and marked the beginning of agricultural communications in an academic setting. Later the University of Wisconsin would establish the first Department of Agricultural Communications in 1908.

Historically there has always been a demand for agricultural communicators, there is now an even higher demand for the role. Being able to inform the public about agriculture practices is the first step in combatting the issues of misinformation. As agriculturalists it is important to understand that dismantling these misconceptions has always been needed. Education is the most powerful tool, and it will allow the industry to further excel.