DAIRY ADVOCACY
Dairy Advocacy Needs Everyone
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Katie’s Advocacy hen animal agriculture is besieged She has appeared on Good Morning Like most effective advocates, Katie did with negative headlines, one might America, done an interview for Oprah’s not set out to become an influencer. She become cynical and assume all consumers SuperSoul Conversations podcast and became one through process, by pursuing have a PETA mindset. But the vast rubbed elbows with the likes of NFL a passion armed with an innate ability to majority are not hellbent on destroying the Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis and Ree connect with others. industry. They are simply far removed from Drummond, a.k.a. the Pioneer Woman, Her audience didn’t start out in the agriculture and becoming more so every to promote awareness of production thousands, but rather, one-on-one. day. When farmers bridge the distance agriculture. The notion of championing between them and consumers agriculture first crossed her with communication and mind when she was farming education, headlines lose their with David and went ability to influence. Farmers back to school to earn her begin to see consumers as underg raduate deg ree in people who are curious to learn secondary Spanish education more and seek to connect with from Bloomsburg University. those who produce their food. “I found myself talking The very same tools that spread to classmates about the farm bad news are opportunity for and cows often,” Katie noted. dairy producers to spread good “They had simple, basic news. questions about agriculture A Jersey breeder who and no one to ask. Often their is rallying for dairy and agriculture every chance she A photographer captures Katie in her home surroundings for an article questions centered around issues in the headlines.” gets is Katie Dotterer-Pyle. in the Thought Catalog, an online story teller. “I spent a lot of time and She and her husband, David, energy—still do—getting to the ah-ha operate Cow Comfort Inn Dairy in Union Katie encourages everyone to consider moment, that place where I can just see Bridge, Md. The 400-cow dairy is mostly themselves as an advocate. the light bulb go off in their head and hear Jerseys or Jersey crosses. The Pyles offer “Whether your audience is five or 5,000, them say, ‘Oh yeah that makes total sense.” tours of the farm and recently established you are an advocate when you speak about Back on the farm, Katie used the Cow Comfort Creamery to sell soft serve your business,” Katie noted. “There is experience to develop a concept that could ice cream through a mobile trailer unit on room for every one of us in this effort no help visitors learn about the industry the farm and at special events. matter the size of your audience.” during tours. The theme—Cow Comfort David is the farm’s cow whisperer, “Let people know you are a dairy Inn Dairy: Where Cows Enjoy Their content to operate behind the scenes and farmer. Make a point of being known as Stay—is an analogy with which consumers make the comfort aspect of the dairy the ‘farmer’ in your circle of influence and can relate and one Katie can use broadly reality. And though Katie does her fair be willing to answer questions.” across the farm. share of farm chores, she is fast becoming “With just 2% of the population holding In the analogy, cows “check in” to the known for her ability to talk agriculture to jobs in production agriculture, we no longer inn and pay their way when they calve consumers. have a choice on whether to advocate or at two-years-of-age and then “change not. We are in this together and need to careers,” moving from milk production to stand united to ensure the future of animal agriculture is a bright one.”
