IF we don't tell our story, someone else will tell it for us.
That was the message The Livestock Collective managing director Holly Ludeman delivered at a West Midlands Group sheep workshop earlier this month.
Ms Ludeman spoke to a packed out woolshed at Andrew and Todd Kenny's Rubicon Trust farm, Badgingarra, about how the supply chain could connect with the future consumer - using live export as an example.
She said there was a disconnect between people involved in agriculture and those who were not.
This was dangerous in the fact that consumers and communities are often bombarded with fictitious - or not factual - information about the industry.
"Consumers, and those more broadly in international trading type relationships, have questions about food including where it comes from, who's producing it and how.
"We know through research that people, who are not connected to agriculture, want to know how we use the land and how we treat animals."
Ms Ludeman said a space needed to be created to provide balanced information and have respectful conversations.
She said through this people could make informed decisions and sensible policy could then be developed.
"I think it is really important we talk about why and how, and that agriculture invests in advocacy, information and building capacity in the supply chain for people to do it themselves," Mr Ludeman said.
"That's what I've been really passionate about doing with The Livestock Collective over the past few years because people in the supply chain have an amazing story to tell."
Ms Ludeman said conversations would take place whether people were active on social media or not.
She said any void of information would be filled by other sectors, such as animal activists - and that social media was an obvious choice when it came to communicating with the next generation of voters or people who had never been onfarm.
"It isn't always about the content, but the discussion that was then had and questions, after a video or photo has been uploaded," Ms Ludeman said.
"You have a supply chain coming in answering those questions and that creates a lot of engagement."
Ms Ludeman said people observing these conversations were also equally important to think about.
"If they see respectful conversations from people in the supply chain, who have a lot more knowledge and are not a 'faceless' page, they are going to take that person more credibly," she said.
So how should agriculture invest in advocacy and education?
Ms Ludeman said it was important to know "who's who in the zoo".
She said there were a lot of different organisations, however, it was peak councils and policy organisations - such as Sheep Producers and Wool Producers Australia - which were setting strategic priority for the industry.
"They are the real ones that can work on policy changes and lobby government," Ms Ludeman said.
"Then at a local level we have WA Farmers, Pastoralists and Graziers' Association of WA, WA Shearing Industry Association and Livestock Rural Transporters Association of WA.
"I would encourage people to become members of those organisations because they have an important role to play."
