In his landmark book, “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” anthropologist Jared Diamond lays out some fundamentals as to why certain civilizations advanced—even to the point of conquering neighbors—while others never did.

In addition to the primary importance of early agricultural success to build upon,, says Diamond, one of the top reasons for such advancement was communication—the ability to pass along knowledge of what worked and what didn’t. Good communication is part of a winning formula, whether for a civilization or an association.

That’s true of Farm Bureau success, too.

Communication is key: the ability and initiative to inform members and receive input from them have been crucial to Farm Bureau success in advancing favorable legislation and halting or modifying not-so-favorable legislation, in sharing knowledge about important events, court cases, promotion ideas, and even about fundamental truths about agriculture.

Grassroots
At the core of Farm Bureau’s information efforts is Grassroots, the award-winning monthly tabloid newspaper from N.Y. Farm Bureau. New York’s largest-circulation farm publication, Grassroots provides timely news about farm politics, environmental issues affecting agriculture, trade and immigration issues, and news about county Farm Bureaus and their activities. Members can place a free classified advertisement each month, too, the value of which more than returns the price of membership every time it appears.

www.nyfb.org
Web sites are so commonplace and inexpensive and easy to operate these days that it is easy to overlook them as a cornerstone of any communications effort. But not to be overlooked is the fact that the N.Y. Farm Bureau Web site experiences thousands of visitors per day. It is of vital importance in informing the world about Farm Bureau and in providing an avenue for the public to contact Farm Bureau.

Farm Bureau on radio: Weekly Farm Report
Every Tuesday, New York Farm Bureau’s communications consultant, Atticus Communications, records and distributes a five minute focus on a timely topic affecting New York agriculture. It is sent to more than 50 radio stations across New York. They can also be heard on the N.Y. Farm Bureau Web site: www.nyfb.org.

Leader Letter
It was so popular, we expanded the circulation! That’s right. Leader Letter used to be sent only to elected and appointed leaders of N.Y. Farm Bureau and county Farm Bureaus. But we had so many requests from people who wanted to receive it, we expanded the distribution.

Sent by e-mail for timeliness, Leader Letter focuses on up-to-the-minute happenings at the state capitol and nation’s capitol and offers guidance to members on how their own communications can affect the outcome. Typical stories would identify key bills by number, summarize their content and likely impact, and tell the reader whom to contact.

If you are not now receiving Leader Letter, but would like to, send an e-mail requesting it to Amy Whittaker at AWhittaker@nyfb.org.

E-Alerts
Similar to Leader Letter, Farm Bureau’s e-alerts send an alarm to members, advising them that an extraordinarily important and timely issue needs their attention now. If you sign up for Leader Letter, you will receive e-alerts automatically. Often these alerts are sent out to disseminate facts to head-off potentially destructive rumors about sensitive decisions, events, or accidents.

E-Lobby Center
To be as effective as it is, Farm Bureau communication isn’t all directed at members.

Much of it needs to come from members.

Voting is important in a democracy such as ours, and in this day and age you best not wait until voting day. As a member of N.Y. Farm Bureau, you can weigh-in any time on specific pieces of legislation or even to provide general guidance directly to your elected officials through our Web-based e-lobby tool.

Go to www.nyfb.org and find the e-lobby information in the upper right corner. It’s easy to use.

Other newsletters
New York Farm Bureau also produces two other newsletters, in addition to our county Farm Bureau newsletters that may be of interest to you.

Legal Affairs
Farm Bureau’s Department of Legal Affairs produces an occasional newsletter addressing important court cases and decisions impacting agriculture. It also announces new publications, short courses, or lectures offered by our Department of Legal Affairs. If this is of interest to you and you would like to be added to the distribution list for this newsletter, please call 800- 342-4143 or e-mail LAvella@nyfb.org to request it.

Ag Education
New York Farm Bureau’s Foundation for Agricultural Education also produces an occasional newsletter. If educating the public, especially school students and teachers, about agriculture is important to you, make sure you receive this newsletter by contacting Sandra Prokop. Call 800-342-4143 or e-mail sprokop@nyfb.org to request it.