Description
Description of the innovation
Amos Venenma is a dairy farmer in East Frisia, Germany. He cultivates 116 ha and works with 160 dairy cows with grazing.
In order to increase consumer acceptance, the farmer uses several digital channels to report on his everyday life.
His videos show the daily routines on a dairy farm and his life as a farmer. He shares the videos via social media such as Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. On YouTube, his channel “My Kuh Tube” has over 53,000 subscribers. When he started the channel five years ago, he was alone and now more farmers are participating. Every week, 2 videos of farmers are published and shared over the networks.
Results obtained with the adoption of the innovation
Agricultural production is facing major challenges and is therefore becoming more and more the focus of the media. Through the use of social media and other public channels, Amos Venema has become a well-known blogger, clos-ing the gap between farmers and consumers.
The farmer describes his everyday life and work in a clear and simple way. He comments on the current agricultural policy and explains how the farms are affected. Through transparency and positive descriptions a high acceptance is created and has a positive effect on the whole industry and other farmers have been motivated to invest more in public relations.
Advantages
- Creating transparency
- Consumer acceptance
- Making other farmers aware of the importance of public engagement
Disadvantages
- be high in the public eye —> can be a popular target for hardliners
