Montana Farm Bureau leader appointed to national Promotion & Engagement Committee Joined by Yellowstone County President for Target Training in Washington, D.C.

Washington-Kris Descheemaeker from Lewistown, Montana, was recently appointed to serve on the American Farm Bureau's Promotion & Engagement Committee. The Promotion & Engagement Committee promotes the awareness and understanding of agriculture and empowers grassroots members with effective tools to connect with consumers and build trust and confidence in American agriculture.

The former Montana Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) District 3 Director said that last November when MFBF President Cyndi Johnson asked her if she would like to serve as the next chair of the state Promotion and Engagement Committee, she said yes.

"I believe in giving back to an organization that has given me opportunities to learn how to be an effective advocate for the agriculture industry. As a graduate of Montana Farm Bureau's ACE Leadership Class (Advocate, Communicate, Educate) I see the importance of speaking up and advocating for our industry," Descheemaeker said.

When a position became available on the AFBF P&E Committee, Descheemaeker was encouraged to apply and was appointed to serve on that committee, as well.

The Promotion & Engagement committee's main goal is to interact with adult consumers to help them understand where their food comes from. Descheemaeker's goal as chairman of the MFBF P&E committee will be to give committee members tools to engage with consumers and organize events that will engage those who work in food service and help them understand food production practices on the farm and ranch.

"Helping consumers understand the 'why' and putting a face to a farmer helps build trust in farmers and ranchers," Descheemaeker said. "Multiple surveys consistently rate farmers and ranchers as one of the most trusted professionals. The P&E Committee activities will help keep that trust in place."

Last week, Descheemaeker, along with Yellowstone County Farm Bureau President Jodie Drange and MFBF Director of Membership Development Rikki Swant, attended the AFBF P&E Target Training. Target Training is a premier consumer engagement conference for any Farm Bureau members passionate about sharing the story of agriculture with the public. The training offered pre-training industry engagement, motivational workshops, media training and consumer engagement planning.

Descheemaeker shared, "This year's Target Training had a workbook where we filled out an action plan after each session. It will be a great resource for planning events. We also came away with swag including a microphone and speaker to hook into a phone that will help in making social media posts."

She added that as part of media training, mock interviews are always one of the most interesting workshops. "I always learn a new tidbit, and it makes me think about the message I want to get across.

"I always find one of the most valuable aspects of attending a state or national event is the networking with other participants," said Descheemaeker. "We learn what other states are doing and share resource materials instead of reinventing the wheel."

Drange won a registration to Target Training during another Farm Bureau conference last year. "The main theme was social media and getting our story out. Target Training workshops shared how to get more engagement with our social media platforms," said Drange. "One of the tips from our media training was to stay away from negative buzz words. In addition, do not let reporters try to change what you were talking about to a narrative that you don't know much about or could shine a negative light on agriculture."

Drange hopes to apply the training to get more engagement on the Yellowstone County Farm Bureau Facebook page.

Both attendees enjoyed being at peak cherry blossom time in the nation's capital, including visiting the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and a spectacular night tour of the national monuments.