A new poll is telling American farmers they couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn standing two feet away with their message of safe, responsible stewardship.

According to this new poll, people aren’t hearing what we are saying. Reading Sarah Muirhead’s article in Feedstuffs Foodlink, she presents the findings of a poll conducted by Keith Yazmir of Maslansky Luntz & Partners, who recently presented to a group at Charleston/Orwig his firm’s research on the messages agriculture uses to communicate with consumers about food production and agricultural practices.

The research was funded by the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance and provides insight into the messages agriculture uses and what consumers are actually hearing.

Using the same research methodology employed in political debates to track changes in agreement or disagreement with an idea or statement, the reactions of influencers in the food industry were tracked as a farmer discussed current farming methods, phrases or ideas. The Instant Response Research uncovered emotional reactions to messaging in real time.

Participants included chefs, restaurant owners, food bloggers and food writers, among other food industry influencers.

Now that we’ve gotten through details of who did the poll and how they conducted it, read that last sentence again and concentrate on who their target audience was: Food Bloggers. Food Writers. Chefs. Restaurant owners.

Food Influencers.

Now let’s look in a nutshell at what they found with common phrases used to describe production agriculture today, versus what the consumer hears when the message is presented;

•The farmer says: Our methods are proven and safe. The consumer hears: Your methods tamper with nature.

•The farmer says: We keep food affordable. The consumer hears: But at what expense to quality?

•The farmer says: Most farms are family-run. The consumer hears: But beholden to big processors.

•The farmer says: We care about our land and animals. The consumer hears: You will take shortcuts to be profitable.

•The farmer says: We need to produce more to feed the world. The consumer hears: You will take shortcuts to be profitable.

•The farmer says: We need a secure food supply. The consumer hears: You want subsidies.

•The farmer says: We have the safest food supply in the world. The consumer hears: Pesticides, antibiotics and hormones may not be safe in the long run.

My question is: Why didn’t they poll the people buying the groceries from day to day? Where were the mothers who make the majority of the menus? Just exactly who are the “food influencers?” The food bloggers?

 I can tell you right now, food bloggers aren’t mainstream, they are extremists; that’s why they are paid to blog. Food writers are paid to be critical.

Chefs can afford to buy the most expensive ingredients. Moms shopping at Walmart are looking for the biggest bang for their buck, not always organic, locally grown parsnips picked by caring hands in the weedless garden of a pastoral farm setting. If that’s what they wanted, these moms sure wouldn’t be shopping at Walmart!

I’d like to see a “man on the street” poll taken in the produce section at a big chain grocery store, and I want to see how many of these “consumers” know anything about difference between certified organic or naturally grown anything.

And, I want to know if they have the slightest idea about bST in milk, care anything about organic spinach or give a rip about how local the apples and pomegranates are. Remember, 80 percent of “locally grown food” has traveled an average of 150 miles to get to the “local grocery store.”

My point: Before we tell the farming community they have failed yet again to get their message of good stewardship of the land and livestock across to the consumer, let’s take a look back at the 6,000 consumers who tromped out to a dairy farm with smiles on their faces as they enjoyed ice cream in Wisconsin.

Or, how about asking the 2,000 consumers in southern Michigan how they feel about the American farmer, as they finished their free breakfast and being educated by volunteers on a farm where their children learned about manure management, farm safety and how livestock are treated.

Or, maybe we should ask the thousands of teachers across the country who annually take their classrooms out to the local farm, entrusting the farmer to educate their students how food is grown.

Remind me again – just exactly how are we failing?

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.