Andy will work with you to create a keynote, workshop or panel presentation that will fit the exact needs of your organization. As a journalist and agricultural economist, Andy is able to speak on a variety of topics related to trends and issues in food and agribusiness, and is frequently invited to deliver market outlook and trade policy talks to businesses and industry organizations.
Here are some sample topics Andy has addressed with recent audiences:
First World Problems: Feeding a world where emotion trumps science
Blog entries, Facebook updates, Tweets, and Instagram pics – there are countless ways for farmers and food marketers to interact with consumers directly via the internet. While staring down the barrel of a rapidly growing and increasingly affluent population, Andy sets the stage for effectively conveying agriculture’s story, focusing on how to communicate with the 95% of consumers open to dialogue and ignoring the 1% of consumers opposed to everything. Avoiding the dreaded “Martyr Complex,” Andy reveals strategies to maximize your influence online, and teaches you when and how to engage consumers productively.
Get Out of the Agricultural ‘Echo Chamber’
Livestock producers and farm organizations have historically utilized a production-centered perspective, but perhaps it’s time to change the way farmers and industry professionals view agriculture. Andy reflects on the lessons to be learned from HSUS interactions, Facebook incidents, and Oprah’s visit to a beef processing plant, and explains how food producers need to “YouTube-proof” their operations by adopting a food-centered, rather than production-centered, paradigm. Through stories of real examples, you’ll learn how to shift your outlook to better prepare your farm or organization to interact with the consumer.
It’s on the Internet, So It Has to be True: Bridging the Online ‘Credibility Gap’
It’s not what you say, but what they hear that matters. While surveys consistently reveal that consumers love farmers, those same consumers often hold an inaccurate perception of “modern agriculture.” Andy helps both sides of the conversation understand that they really have more in common than they think by discussing values shared by both farmers and consumers, and by explaining how farmers can better understand how consumers think, and why they’re concerned about some modern farming practices.
Words Have Consequences
In an era when words live forever on the internet and no conversation is ever truly “off the record,” Andy shares the power of words in communicating about agriculture to the media and to the consuming public. Drawing on more than 14 years experience in agricultural journalism, Andy helps audiences understand how the words they choose make a difference – for better or for worse.
Art of the Deal: Ag Trade and Market Outlook in the Era of Trump
From drought-decimated grain stocks to bin-busting crops, the grain and feed market forecast has changed dramatically over the past few seasons. Former Feedstuffs markets editor Andy Vance takes a deeper look at the ingredients of today’s market outlook for both the grain and livestock sectors. Andy describes the geopolitics and international dynamics at work in today’s truly global market, and illustrates the present trends affecting your farm or organization. You will walk away with an ability to identify the current major themes in the markets, and learn to discern the key macro themes at play beyond your own marketing strategy.
