NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The AgChat Foundation will host its second Agvocacy 2.0 Conference, in which a select group of agriculturists will hone their social media and thought-leadership skills to more effectively tell agriculture’s story to the 98 percent of Americans not directly involved in farming.
The conference will be held Aug. 22-23 in Nashville, Tenn. Based on the success of its inaugural workshop in Chicago last year, the AgChat Foundation is expanding its program to accept up to 75 qualified applicants in 2011 — up from 50 in 2010.
Conference sessions will include both large- and small-group formats and cover social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and YouTube.
One-on-one chat and networking sessions also are planned to help attendees explore agvocacy strategies and learn to apply them to their unique situations.
Who should apply? Farmers, ranchers and other agriculturists passionate about telling their story and connecting with consumers are encouraged to apply.
“Whether you’re involved in production ag, gardening, agribusiness, Extension, commodity organizations, academia or another sector of the industry, we would love to have you apply for the Agvocacy 2.0 Conference,” says AgChat Foundation president Jeff Fowle.
“We also will be accepting up to 25 returning attendees who provide names of first-time applicants they endorse.”
Information. Anyone interested should fill out and submit the application at www.surveymonkey.com/s/agvocacy-2dot0-conference by June 24. Those selected will be notified mid-July. Attendees are encouraged to seek sponsorships from local businesses and organizations to help cover conference and travel costs.
Registration is $365 and includes a free T-shirt. More details about the Agvocacy 2.0 Conference can be found at www.agchat.org, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
Foundation details. A group of farmers created the AgChat Foundation after connecting through the now highly visible “#AgChat” community on Twitter, a weekly, moderated chat where agriculturists discuss various issues, tell their farm stories and identify ways to connect with people outside of agriculture.
The Foundation strives to educate and equip “agvocates” with the skill set needed to engage on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, LinkedIn and other social media services, giving them the knowledge to unlock new tools to effectively tell their story.
