1 00:00:01,590 --> 00:00:03,670 - Today we're talking about Crisis Management 2 00:00:03,670 --> 00:00:06,960 and Communications for Farms Open to Visitors. 3 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:09,610 And with that, right now I'd like to turn it over 4 00:00:09,610 --> 00:00:12,950 to our presenters from Rutgers. 5 00:00:12,950 --> 00:00:15,623 Steve and Bill, go ahead. 6 00:00:16,860 --> 00:00:17,783 - Thank you, Lisa. 7 00:00:18,869 --> 00:00:21,080 Let me just get my slides here. 8 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:22,737 So, let's get going. 9 00:00:23,910 --> 00:00:26,050 Okay, a little bit about myself. 10 00:00:26,050 --> 00:00:27,490 My name is Bill Bamka. 11 00:00:27,490 --> 00:00:30,920 I am actually an agronomist with the Extension, 12 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:33,750 but I've got a little bit of an interesting background. 13 00:00:33,750 --> 00:00:36,427 I've been a firefighter for many, many years, 14 00:00:36,427 --> 00:00:38,600 and I used to work on super fun sites 15 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,730 and do instant response on super fun sites. 16 00:00:41,730 --> 00:00:44,080 So I come with a little bit of a different eye 17 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:46,760 when I go out to a farm and I see some things. 18 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:50,410 And the whole goal that we really have is, 19 00:00:50,410 --> 00:00:53,170 I hope you never have to deal with a crisis, okay. 20 00:00:53,170 --> 00:00:54,990 Our whole goal is to prevent the crisis. 21 00:00:54,990 --> 00:00:57,100 So Steve and I are gonna talk a little bit 22 00:00:57,100 --> 00:00:59,830 about what crisis management is. 23 00:00:59,830 --> 00:01:02,140 And there's a little bit of a lingo thing here 24 00:01:02,140 --> 00:01:02,973 that goes on a lot. 25 00:01:02,973 --> 00:01:05,770 You'll hear things called like an emergency response plan, 26 00:01:05,770 --> 00:01:08,460 incident response plan, a safety plan. 27 00:01:08,460 --> 00:01:10,810 So I just want to kinda go through some of the basics 28 00:01:10,810 --> 00:01:13,580 on what we're dealing with when we're talking about this. 29 00:01:13,580 --> 00:01:16,110 And then the biggest part of this is gonna be 30 00:01:16,110 --> 00:01:18,890 what we call a risk analysis, and believe it or not, 31 00:01:18,890 --> 00:01:21,290 that's where you wanna put most of your time in. 32 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:26,370 Okay, so let's talk about crisis management. 33 00:01:26,370 --> 00:01:28,950 So what is crisis management, okay? 34 00:01:28,950 --> 00:01:32,170 So we have what we call a crisis management plan, 35 00:01:32,170 --> 00:01:35,280 and that's how we're actually gonna describe, 36 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:39,530 think of it as a plan just for the actual crisis itself. 37 00:01:39,530 --> 00:01:42,310 How are we gonna respond to the crisis? 38 00:01:42,310 --> 00:01:43,920 Who's gonna do what? 39 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:46,250 And how we are gonna end up moving forward with it. 40 00:01:46,250 --> 00:01:49,180 So that's kind of the basics of it. 41 00:01:49,180 --> 00:01:50,650 And you don't wanna be panicking. 42 00:01:50,650 --> 00:01:52,260 Because what happens a lotta times 43 00:01:52,260 --> 00:01:56,490 when something goes awry, people make poor decisions. 44 00:01:56,490 --> 00:01:57,850 They get into this panic mode. 45 00:01:57,850 --> 00:02:02,020 So we're gonna spend a good bit of time on preparation. 46 00:02:02,020 --> 00:02:04,460 Preparation's probably the most important thing. 47 00:02:04,460 --> 00:02:07,510 One of the common ones that I do when I go out to a farm, 48 00:02:07,510 --> 00:02:10,070 I'll ask everybody, do they know, 49 00:02:10,070 --> 00:02:11,470 say poison control number. 50 00:02:11,470 --> 00:02:15,490 Do they know where the nearest hospital is? 51 00:02:15,490 --> 00:02:16,410 All those types of things. 52 00:02:16,410 --> 00:02:17,780 Where's the safety kit. 53 00:02:17,780 --> 00:02:19,600 Okay, do you have a good safety kit? 54 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:21,610 Those are the type of things that we wanna 55 00:02:21,610 --> 00:02:25,780 not have to struggle or try to find out in an emergency. 56 00:02:25,780 --> 00:02:28,510 One of the best ones I can give you is an irrigation pond 57 00:02:28,510 --> 00:02:31,080 on one of the farms that I work with. 58 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:35,090 They don't have, or originally they didn't have a rope. 59 00:02:35,090 --> 00:02:36,500 And they didn't have a Bowie or anything 60 00:02:36,500 --> 00:02:37,560 in case something happened. 61 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:38,797 So I asked them, "What are you gonna do 62 00:02:38,797 --> 00:02:40,080 "if something happens?" 63 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:41,340 They said, "I'll run to the barn." 64 00:02:41,340 --> 00:02:43,547 I said, "Are you gonna be panicking? 65 00:02:43,547 --> 00:02:44,920 "Are you gonna know?" 66 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:46,720 Seconds can actually be very important 67 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:49,220 when we're dealing on a crisis response. 68 00:02:49,220 --> 00:02:51,450 So what we wanna do is we wanna develop this plan. 69 00:02:51,450 --> 00:02:54,050 I want you to have a critical eye, walk through your farm, 70 00:02:54,050 --> 00:02:56,300 see what the potential problems can be, 71 00:02:56,300 --> 00:02:58,520 and how you're gonna react to them. 72 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:00,530 And you also, when you put this plan together, 73 00:03:00,530 --> 00:03:03,070 you wanna minimize the harm, number one, 74 00:03:03,070 --> 00:03:05,130 so life, safety and health. 75 00:03:05,130 --> 00:03:07,510 And how you gonna restore your operations? 76 00:03:07,510 --> 00:03:08,540 Okay, how am I gonna get back? 77 00:03:08,540 --> 00:03:10,190 How am I gonna recover from this? 78 00:03:11,277 --> 00:03:13,310 So the crisis, when we talk about a crisis, 79 00:03:13,310 --> 00:03:16,650 again I come from the emergency responders side. 80 00:03:16,650 --> 00:03:19,090 And a lotta times we always think of a crisis 81 00:03:19,090 --> 00:03:22,440 in terms of life, safety and health-type things. 82 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,120 But don't forget, you can have a food safety issue. 83 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,900 Okay, let's say we have visitors that come to your farm, 84 00:03:27,900 --> 00:03:30,107 and they get sick and there's a food poisoning incident. 85 00:03:30,107 --> 00:03:32,360 The next thing you know it's all over Facebook, 86 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:34,320 and next thing you're in the media, 87 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:35,790 and you're dealing with it that way. 88 00:03:35,790 --> 00:03:38,830 Or maybe your ATM, or maybe even 89 00:03:38,830 --> 00:03:41,330 your card swipe system has a breach. 90 00:03:41,330 --> 00:03:42,780 You know that could actually be a crisis 91 00:03:42,780 --> 00:03:44,020 that you also have to deal with. 92 00:03:44,020 --> 00:03:47,530 So it's not gonna be just like an accident 93 00:03:47,530 --> 00:03:48,930 or something along those lines. 94 00:03:48,930 --> 00:03:50,500 It could take many forms. 95 00:03:50,500 --> 00:03:52,730 But what we're trying to do is we wanna minimize 96 00:03:52,730 --> 00:03:54,820 what's gonna happen to your operations, 97 00:03:54,820 --> 00:03:56,960 cause it can threaten both your reputation, 98 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:00,103 your finances and your overall sustainability. 99 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,163 Especially in this day of social media, 100 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,070 things can go viral very quickly 101 00:04:06,070 --> 00:04:09,233 and that reputation can even get out there even worse. 102 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:12,910 So what I wanted to do is talk a little bit 103 00:04:12,910 --> 00:04:16,180 about safety versus emergency preparedness. 104 00:04:16,180 --> 00:04:19,180 Now we all know we've heard safety preparation, 105 00:04:19,180 --> 00:04:21,210 and we've done agritourism site visits 106 00:04:21,210 --> 00:04:23,990 where we talk about preparation for safety. 107 00:04:23,990 --> 00:04:26,130 And that's things like where are the fire extinguishers? 108 00:04:26,130 --> 00:04:27,290 I have a list here. 109 00:04:27,290 --> 00:04:29,520 Where's your fire control? 110 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:30,930 Do you have rules or signage? 111 00:04:30,930 --> 00:04:33,580 You know, no standing on wagons, those types of things. 112 00:04:33,580 --> 00:04:36,570 Well, that's actually part of your overall safety plan. 113 00:04:36,570 --> 00:04:39,600 That's looking for risks and actually coming up 114 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,920 with what you're gonna do to eliminate hazards for problems, 115 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:45,400 slip trip falls, things like that. 116 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:48,620 Do I have hand signals for my operators on a hayride? 117 00:04:48,620 --> 00:04:50,950 That would fall into the safety side. 118 00:04:50,950 --> 00:04:53,750 When we start to deal with emergency preparation plan, 119 00:04:53,750 --> 00:04:56,790 or some people might call it an incident response plan, 120 00:04:56,790 --> 00:05:00,000 or they may actually call it a crisis management plan, 121 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,550 the big thing here is developing the plan. 122 00:05:02,550 --> 00:05:06,420 What am I gonna do when it hits the fan, so to speak, okay? 123 00:05:06,420 --> 00:05:07,990 And you wanna make sure that you involve 124 00:05:07,990 --> 00:05:09,810 your entire management team. 125 00:05:09,810 --> 00:05:13,110 If you have shifts or you have a weekend supervisor 126 00:05:13,110 --> 00:05:14,370 on an agritourism operation, 127 00:05:14,370 --> 00:05:17,280 make sure everybody is on the same page. 128 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:20,770 They know what their responsibilities should be. 129 00:05:20,770 --> 00:05:22,340 And what you wanna do is you wanna make sure 130 00:05:22,340 --> 00:05:25,370 you insure both your customers and your employees 131 00:05:25,370 --> 00:05:28,040 of safety should an emergency arise. 132 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,500 You also wanna figure out your business continuity, 133 00:05:30,500 --> 00:05:31,557 how we're gonna recover from this, 134 00:05:31,557 --> 00:05:33,450 how we're gonna keep things going. 135 00:05:33,450 --> 00:05:35,590 Again, don't always think that, 136 00:05:35,590 --> 00:05:37,260 we're talking about a tragedy of things. 137 00:05:37,260 --> 00:05:39,640 Maybe like I said before, it's the ATM failure, 138 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,020 or it's a data breach, or something like that? 139 00:05:42,020 --> 00:05:44,660 Do I have backup equipment or an alternative? 140 00:05:44,660 --> 00:05:48,200 These are things that it's best to sit at your desk, 141 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:50,440 in the winter and kinda chart out 142 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:51,730 and take out that legal pad 143 00:05:51,730 --> 00:05:53,510 and write some of the things down. 144 00:05:53,510 --> 00:05:56,400 You know your operation better than anybody. 145 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:58,970 And you know where there could be potential concerns. 146 00:05:58,970 --> 00:06:02,177 You may know like, "Hey, I'm gonna have hayrides. 147 00:06:02,177 --> 00:06:04,580 "I'm gonna be in the back field," okay. 148 00:06:04,580 --> 00:06:06,807 So emergency responders pull up and you say 149 00:06:06,807 --> 00:06:08,230 "They're in the back field." 150 00:06:08,230 --> 00:06:10,180 Do they know where that back field is? 151 00:06:10,180 --> 00:06:11,970 You know the farm, they don't. 152 00:06:11,970 --> 00:06:14,000 And one of the things I often encourage people 153 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,630 on these emergency preparation plans 154 00:06:16,630 --> 00:06:18,630 is to actually pick up the phone 155 00:06:18,630 --> 00:06:20,410 and call your local fire department. 156 00:06:20,410 --> 00:06:22,307 Let them become familiar with your operation 157 00:06:22,307 --> 00:06:24,020 and what you're gonna do. 158 00:06:24,020 --> 00:06:25,370 Because one of the worst things is 159 00:06:25,370 --> 00:06:26,960 they're in the back field, 160 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:28,300 and maybe you have to get an ambulance 161 00:06:28,300 --> 00:06:29,640 or something back there. 162 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:31,030 They may not know how to get there. 163 00:06:31,030 --> 00:06:32,950 Maybe there's an easier access. 164 00:06:32,950 --> 00:06:35,010 So you wanna spend a good bit of time 165 00:06:35,010 --> 00:06:37,100 on preparing for these emergencies. 166 00:06:37,100 --> 00:06:37,933 Okay so here we are. 167 00:06:37,933 --> 00:06:39,130 Here's a typical farm, right? 168 00:06:39,130 --> 00:06:41,340 What could go wrong here, okay? 169 00:06:41,340 --> 00:06:42,440 But you gotta think about it. 170 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:45,490 If I'm putting in an agritourism operation like this, 171 00:06:45,490 --> 00:06:49,070 you've now switched from being a production farmer 172 00:06:49,070 --> 00:06:50,830 where you're just selling to the market, 173 00:06:50,830 --> 00:06:53,470 to now you're actually in the hospitality industry. 174 00:06:53,470 --> 00:06:56,660 So you are now inviting a lotta people to your farm. 175 00:06:56,660 --> 00:06:59,440 So they may not be familiar with farming. 176 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:01,530 There's an awful lot of more potential 177 00:07:01,530 --> 00:07:03,250 for problems to occur. 178 00:07:03,250 --> 00:07:05,700 So with that comes, you increase this up, 179 00:07:05,700 --> 00:07:08,550 we talk an awful lot, your duty of care has increased 180 00:07:08,550 --> 00:07:11,610 because you were actually inviting people to your farm. 181 00:07:11,610 --> 00:07:14,030 So that's why the development of this plan, 182 00:07:14,030 --> 00:07:15,470 not just the safety plan, 183 00:07:15,470 --> 00:07:18,700 but what I'm gonna do when something goes wrong. 184 00:07:18,700 --> 00:07:20,000 Make sure everybody has a role 185 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,090 and they know what they're gonna do. 186 00:07:22,090 --> 00:07:23,940 And I know right now, some of you are there 187 00:07:23,940 --> 00:07:25,457 thinking, "Stop worrying," right? 188 00:07:25,457 --> 00:07:27,203 "What could happen?" Okay. 189 00:07:28,657 --> 00:07:30,197 "They're just telling me the sky is falling, 190 00:07:30,197 --> 00:07:31,820 "Mr. Gloom and Doom." 191 00:07:31,820 --> 00:07:34,740 Well, one of the mantras that I've often been told 192 00:07:34,740 --> 00:07:35,980 and this goes through to my training 193 00:07:35,980 --> 00:07:38,890 from the fire department has met everything. 194 00:07:38,890 --> 00:07:42,630 Triple A, anytime, anywhere, anyone. 195 00:07:42,630 --> 00:07:44,600 That's when something can happen, okay. 196 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,060 So we don't plan for these things. 197 00:07:47,060 --> 00:07:48,777 It would be great if we could schedule this, 198 00:07:48,777 --> 00:07:50,200 but we can't schedule this. 199 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:53,003 So that's why this preparation is very, very important. 200 00:07:54,310 --> 00:07:55,777 All right, here's a picture I like to show. 201 00:07:55,777 --> 00:07:58,560 And this is actually a pretty famous picture. 202 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:01,990 Believe it or not, this is a corn maze, okay. 203 00:08:01,990 --> 00:08:04,690 This is the parking area for a corn maze. 204 00:08:04,690 --> 00:08:07,130 And do you yourself know how you would respond 205 00:08:07,130 --> 00:08:09,370 if this were to happen, okay? 206 00:08:09,370 --> 00:08:11,870 I'm sure when they opened up for the beginning of the day, 207 00:08:11,870 --> 00:08:14,003 they did not plan a fire here. 208 00:08:14,870 --> 00:08:16,740 If you don't know, the incident on this one 209 00:08:16,740 --> 00:08:19,480 was they decided to use a field, 210 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,130 or a fuel corn field that had been harvested. 211 00:08:22,130 --> 00:08:25,230 You notice that the color, it's pretty brown. 212 00:08:25,230 --> 00:08:26,063 Well, they decided that this 213 00:08:26,063 --> 00:08:27,743 would be a good area for parking. 214 00:08:28,580 --> 00:08:29,960 You get a corn stock stuck 215 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:31,650 underneath a catalytic converter, 216 00:08:31,650 --> 00:08:33,720 and the next thing you know you have this. 217 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,090 And you think the insurance company was happy. 218 00:08:36,090 --> 00:08:38,480 This is what the end result was on it. 219 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:42,180 Now, obviously, if you're preparing the emergency plan, 220 00:08:42,180 --> 00:08:43,190 you have professionals, 221 00:08:43,190 --> 00:08:44,920 you have fire department, you have ambulance. 222 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:47,290 Well, what are you going to do to get to this point? 223 00:08:47,290 --> 00:08:49,770 I guarantee you, the press was circling around, 224 00:08:49,770 --> 00:08:52,530 and Bill Hlybik's gonna talk about dealing with the press. 225 00:08:52,530 --> 00:08:53,363 You know, you have to, "How am I 226 00:08:53,363 --> 00:08:55,500 "gonna recover from something like this?" 227 00:08:55,500 --> 00:08:57,820 This could be a devastating incident for you. 228 00:08:57,820 --> 00:08:59,010 So you got to think ahead, 229 00:08:59,010 --> 00:09:01,450 anticipate what could happen when you're dealing 230 00:09:01,450 --> 00:09:02,950 with these type of situations. 231 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:06,360 Here's another one, right. 232 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:07,310 We have agritourism. 233 00:09:07,310 --> 00:09:10,200 How many farms have the hayride? 234 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:11,710 Okay, we get people there. 235 00:09:11,710 --> 00:09:14,450 On the safety side, we tell you to have separate loading 236 00:09:14,450 --> 00:09:15,960 and unloading zones. 237 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,470 We tell you to make sure that there's hand signals, 238 00:09:18,470 --> 00:09:19,920 that nobody's standing up. 239 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,090 In fact, Steve and I wrote a fact sheet, 240 00:09:22,090 --> 00:09:23,940 which we'll probably talk about a little bit, 241 00:09:23,940 --> 00:09:25,720 about hayride safety. 242 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:27,170 But that's your pre-planning. 243 00:09:28,220 --> 00:09:30,640 Again, it can happen. 244 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:31,737 Okay, this is one that was up, 245 00:09:31,737 --> 00:09:34,580 and I believe this one was actually up in New England. 246 00:09:34,580 --> 00:09:36,730 This was a nighttime haunted ride. 247 00:09:36,730 --> 00:09:38,870 But look what happened. 248 00:09:38,870 --> 00:09:40,170 Now you know that they've got something 249 00:09:40,170 --> 00:09:41,170 they've gotta deal with. 250 00:09:41,170 --> 00:09:43,010 The press is gonna be there. 251 00:09:43,010 --> 00:09:44,720 They're probably not gonna get shut down. 252 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,210 There's gonna be probably regulatory investigations 253 00:09:47,210 --> 00:09:48,670 on something like that. 254 00:09:48,670 --> 00:09:50,730 So what you have to do is you have to anticipate. 255 00:09:50,730 --> 00:09:51,760 Now, when I look at that, 256 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,650 I see two wagons hitched together, okay? 257 00:09:54,650 --> 00:09:56,880 So this is where you start to think 258 00:09:56,880 --> 00:09:58,387 when you're doing that pre-planning, 259 00:09:58,387 --> 00:09:59,657 "Is this the best thing? 260 00:09:59,657 --> 00:10:02,787 "Have I picked the best operator to run this? 261 00:10:02,787 --> 00:10:05,480 "Have they run this under nighttime conditions?" 262 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:07,340 When I see these haunts and things like that 263 00:10:07,340 --> 00:10:09,640 where they have a hayride at night, 264 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:11,950 a lotta times they may know the route during the day, 265 00:10:11,950 --> 00:10:13,390 but they might not know at night. 266 00:10:13,390 --> 00:10:16,420 And the other thing we often advise is stay off the road. 267 00:10:16,420 --> 00:10:18,470 You do not wanna be on the road. 268 00:10:18,470 --> 00:10:21,380 If you're talking our hayride safety, 269 00:10:21,380 --> 00:10:24,540 it talks about escort vehicles and things like that. 270 00:10:24,540 --> 00:10:26,930 But these type of incidents can happen. 271 00:10:26,930 --> 00:10:29,310 That's why I always say those three A's, right. 272 00:10:29,310 --> 00:10:31,310 Anywhere, anytime, to anyone. 273 00:10:31,310 --> 00:10:32,860 So you gotta keep that in mind. 274 00:10:34,100 --> 00:10:36,310 And I like to show this one. 275 00:10:36,310 --> 00:10:38,050 This background advertisement 276 00:10:38,050 --> 00:10:40,420 was something I actually found. 277 00:10:40,420 --> 00:10:42,950 And this is an attorney who says he specializes 278 00:10:42,950 --> 00:10:45,580 in hayride and tractor pull accidents. 279 00:10:45,580 --> 00:10:47,650 So if we start talking about maintaining 280 00:10:47,650 --> 00:10:49,990 our viability of our operation, be there, 281 00:10:49,990 --> 00:10:52,900 there are people out there who specialize in this. 282 00:10:52,900 --> 00:10:55,090 So when you say, "I don't have time for that," 283 00:10:55,090 --> 00:10:57,530 or, "It's never gonna happen to me," think about it. 284 00:10:57,530 --> 00:10:58,920 When a judgment were to come out 285 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:01,050 it's really gonna have a large impact. 286 00:11:01,050 --> 00:11:03,631 You really have to put the time into it. 287 00:11:03,631 --> 00:11:04,540 And the other thing I put on there 288 00:11:04,540 --> 00:11:06,910 is the breaking news, okay. 289 00:11:06,910 --> 00:11:09,770 You don't wanna be breaking news, okay. 290 00:11:09,770 --> 00:11:12,210 You wanna be that feature article in the Sunday paper 291 00:11:12,210 --> 00:11:13,500 about what a great place it is 292 00:11:13,500 --> 00:11:15,280 to go pick apples at your farm. 293 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:17,570 You don't wanna be known for this incident. 294 00:11:17,570 --> 00:11:19,560 And what can happen when you have these incidents, 295 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:21,400 don't forget that reputation's gonna follow you 296 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:23,000 around a long time. 297 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:24,840 And now we're in the day of social media. 298 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,220 So that's why we wanna make sure we put the time in, 299 00:11:27,220 --> 00:11:30,030 because as much as we don't think it can happen, 300 00:11:30,030 --> 00:11:32,403 there is a possibility something can go wrong. 301 00:11:34,370 --> 00:11:36,190 I put this up here just as a reminder. 302 00:11:36,190 --> 00:11:39,230 And this is actually in the county that I'm assigned to. 303 00:11:39,230 --> 00:11:42,040 They have a farm that's open to the public. 304 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,090 And signage is very important. 305 00:11:44,090 --> 00:11:45,700 You know, we're trying to remind our people 306 00:11:45,700 --> 00:11:48,500 that they're coming to a working farm. 307 00:11:48,500 --> 00:11:50,000 But as I said before, remember, 308 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,430 you are familiar with everything on that farm. 309 00:11:52,430 --> 00:11:54,370 Are the first responders, are they familiar 310 00:11:54,370 --> 00:11:55,800 with what's on that farm? 311 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:57,780 Do they know where water supplies are? 312 00:11:57,780 --> 00:12:01,500 Do they know where your pesticide storage sheds are? 313 00:12:01,500 --> 00:12:04,010 You wanna make sure you invite them to your farm 314 00:12:04,010 --> 00:12:06,460 because you're gonna be relying on people 315 00:12:06,460 --> 00:12:09,370 who may have a peripheral knowledge of your farm. 316 00:12:09,370 --> 00:12:10,890 They may ride past the road, 317 00:12:10,890 --> 00:12:13,620 especially the emergency responders, "Oh, that's a farm." 318 00:12:13,620 --> 00:12:15,830 They may not know that you have campfires 319 00:12:15,830 --> 00:12:18,400 and hayrides in the back fields, okay. 320 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:19,920 So you wanna make sure that you're open. 321 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:21,820 Not only did we talk last week 322 00:12:21,820 --> 00:12:23,470 about letting your insurance agent know 323 00:12:23,470 --> 00:12:25,710 what's going on, on that list, 324 00:12:25,710 --> 00:12:28,410 make sure you put your first responders on there. 325 00:12:28,410 --> 00:12:30,880 Have them come out to the farm, take a walk. 326 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:33,120 They may actually point out things to you 327 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,160 that could be a problem in terms of access 328 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:37,350 should they have to get they're. 329 00:12:37,350 --> 00:12:39,670 They wanna know maybe where your water supplies are, 330 00:12:39,670 --> 00:12:40,940 things like that. 331 00:12:40,940 --> 00:12:42,560 So keep that in mind. 332 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:44,880 That's why you're a working farm, yes, 333 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:47,960 you've now entered into the hospitality industry. 334 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:50,660 So I always talk about, not only do I say the triple A's, 335 00:12:50,660 --> 00:12:52,460 I talk about the five Ps. 336 00:12:52,460 --> 00:12:53,520 So what we usually say is 337 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:56,520 proper planning prevents poor performance. 338 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:58,300 So that's why we're trying to deal with coming up 339 00:12:58,300 --> 00:12:59,620 with a crisis management plan. 340 00:12:59,620 --> 00:13:01,750 Now that we only not only tasked you 341 00:13:01,750 --> 00:13:04,190 with doing a safety plan for your farm 342 00:13:04,190 --> 00:13:06,070 and training of your employees, 343 00:13:06,070 --> 00:13:07,410 now we actually wanna know 344 00:13:07,410 --> 00:13:09,730 how you're gonna perform under stress, okay. 345 00:13:09,730 --> 00:13:12,550 And you wanna actually share that with your employees 346 00:13:12,550 --> 00:13:14,290 to make sure that you have critical people 347 00:13:14,290 --> 00:13:16,680 that know what to do should something happen. 348 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:18,320 Do they know who to call, 349 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:21,010 for whatever type of response it should be? 350 00:13:21,010 --> 00:13:22,520 You wanna go through different scenarios 351 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:23,807 that are likely to happen. 352 00:13:23,807 --> 00:13:25,990 You're gonna have slip, trips and falls. 353 00:13:25,990 --> 00:13:27,720 That's probably something that you can say 354 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:29,070 you're gonna have all the time. 355 00:13:29,070 --> 00:13:31,200 You may have to call an ambulance, you know, 356 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:33,340 does somebody know who to call? 357 00:13:33,340 --> 00:13:34,840 Steve will talk a little bit later, 358 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,360 we've developed an incident management form 359 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:40,730 where you can actually write down all the details of it, 360 00:13:40,730 --> 00:13:42,510 because I guarantee you, when you get that note 361 00:13:42,510 --> 00:13:44,240 from that attorney on the incident, 362 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:46,670 it's gonna be six months later, maybe a year later, 363 00:13:46,670 --> 00:13:47,550 and you may not remember. 364 00:13:47,550 --> 00:13:49,490 So Steve'll talk about that a little bit. 365 00:13:49,490 --> 00:13:51,180 But these are the type of things you wanna do. 366 00:13:51,180 --> 00:13:54,203 So remember the three A's and the five Ps. 367 00:13:55,530 --> 00:13:57,000 Here we talk about, I put this up here 368 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:59,176 as pre-incident planning, okay, 369 00:13:59,176 --> 00:14:01,250 and there's a picture of the fire truck. 370 00:14:01,250 --> 00:14:03,090 These guys do this all the time. 371 00:14:03,090 --> 00:14:04,570 They actually prepare. 372 00:14:04,570 --> 00:14:06,410 They know what's in a building. 373 00:14:06,410 --> 00:14:08,370 They know where the hazards are in a building. 374 00:14:08,370 --> 00:14:10,230 They actually do assessments. 375 00:14:10,230 --> 00:14:12,690 That's part of the routine training they do. 376 00:14:12,690 --> 00:14:14,560 That should kind of be part of your routine training. 377 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:15,710 What are the possibilities? 378 00:14:15,710 --> 00:14:17,330 Where am I gonna have problems? 379 00:14:17,330 --> 00:14:20,000 Could I have a lost child incident, okay? 380 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:24,470 Do I know, do my employees know where they're supposed to do 381 00:14:24,470 --> 00:14:26,420 should a child be reported missing? 382 00:14:26,420 --> 00:14:27,930 You may not think about it, but that can turn 383 00:14:27,930 --> 00:14:30,960 into a crisis that could devolve into something even bigger. 384 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,010 So you wanna go down to these scenarios 385 00:14:33,010 --> 00:14:34,290 and do pre-planning. 386 00:14:34,290 --> 00:14:36,610 Again, I put this up here cause the emergency services 387 00:14:36,610 --> 00:14:37,850 do it all the time. 388 00:14:37,850 --> 00:14:39,670 You wanna think about doing it on your farm 389 00:14:39,670 --> 00:14:41,970 now that you're becoming a hospitality locale. 390 00:14:44,091 --> 00:14:46,610 When we talk about big thing and we do the first step 391 00:14:46,610 --> 00:14:49,150 in times for doing any crisis again, as I said, 392 00:14:49,150 --> 00:14:50,800 reduce the risk, okay. 393 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:54,120 So you wanna actually assess where all the risks are 394 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:55,910 on your property. 395 00:14:55,910 --> 00:14:58,780 You wanna make sure that you don't get a problem 396 00:14:58,780 --> 00:14:59,613 to begin with. 397 00:14:59,613 --> 00:15:01,750 So what can I do now to tweak my operation 398 00:15:01,750 --> 00:15:03,610 to avoid these things? 399 00:15:03,610 --> 00:15:05,910 You wanna make sure that you minimize your hazards, 400 00:15:05,910 --> 00:15:07,660 wanna train your staff. 401 00:15:07,660 --> 00:15:10,100 Maybe you have to reconfigure where the public can go, 402 00:15:10,100 --> 00:15:11,510 where they can't go. 403 00:15:11,510 --> 00:15:13,440 What type of safety features? 404 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:15,670 Am I gonna have designated drop-off areas, 405 00:15:15,670 --> 00:15:18,160 separate parking areas, things like that. 406 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:20,170 That little bit of planning is gonna help you 407 00:15:20,170 --> 00:15:21,430 in the long run. 408 00:15:21,430 --> 00:15:22,990 I threw this up here, just cause I'm gonna 409 00:15:22,990 --> 00:15:24,160 turn this over to Steve, 410 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,740 but this is our motley crew at Rutgers. 411 00:15:26,740 --> 00:15:29,360 And what we used to do, we had a grant years back 412 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:31,140 where we actually went out, out to the farm, 413 00:15:31,140 --> 00:15:33,590 almost like a (indistinct) like a strike team. 414 00:15:33,590 --> 00:15:35,930 We'd go out, assess where there could be problems 415 00:15:35,930 --> 00:15:38,690 with your operation, and what you may wanna do 416 00:15:38,690 --> 00:15:42,340 in terms of mitigating or reducing safety. 417 00:15:42,340 --> 00:15:44,963 So Steve, it's up to you now. 418 00:15:45,990 --> 00:15:47,350 - [Steve] All right, Bill. 419 00:15:47,350 --> 00:15:49,090 Can everybody hear me, okay? 420 00:15:49,090 --> 00:15:50,410 But anyway, thanks Bill. 421 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:56,320 We've been doing this now for 15 years, I would guess, 422 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:57,383 over 15 years. 423 00:15:58,420 --> 00:16:01,700 And this is the first time I have ever done a presentation 424 00:16:01,700 --> 00:16:04,150 from the front seat of my pickup truck. 425 00:16:04,150 --> 00:16:08,320 So kinda jokingly, I'm a high-tech redneck today. 426 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,780 I actually have a commitment after this meeting. 427 00:16:10,780 --> 00:16:14,450 And so I'm doing it from my pickup truck. 428 00:16:14,450 --> 00:16:17,730 So Bill's gonna actually drive the PowerPoint slide for me. 429 00:16:17,730 --> 00:16:20,890 So Bill, if you don't mind, hit the next slide, please. 430 00:16:20,890 --> 00:16:25,340 So Bill discussed a lot about the potential concerns 431 00:16:25,340 --> 00:16:28,430 that we might run into on our farm operations, 432 00:16:28,430 --> 00:16:32,270 particularly when we're thinking about agritourism venues. 433 00:16:32,270 --> 00:16:33,970 And I know there's a lotta folks, 434 00:16:33,970 --> 00:16:35,550 when Lisa did her poll in the beginning, 435 00:16:35,550 --> 00:16:37,290 that are actually Extension folks 436 00:16:37,290 --> 00:16:39,950 on this presentation today. 437 00:16:39,950 --> 00:16:43,520 So you've all probably seen SWOT analysis 438 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:45,890 conducted for a whole host of things. 439 00:16:45,890 --> 00:16:48,160 Well, we kind of took that SWOT analysis 440 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:50,540 and we think it's a really wonderful way 441 00:16:50,540 --> 00:16:53,560 for farmers to actually assess their operations. 442 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:56,250 And so we're gonna go through some of the key components 443 00:16:56,250 --> 00:16:57,590 of a SWOT analysis. 444 00:16:57,590 --> 00:16:59,360 I know most of you are probably familiar 445 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,520 with the strengths, the weaknesses, 446 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:03,670 the opportunities, and the threats. 447 00:17:03,670 --> 00:17:07,470 And we often think about looking at the concerns 448 00:17:07,470 --> 00:17:09,690 that are internal to our operation, 449 00:17:09,690 --> 00:17:12,240 as well as to the opportunities and threats 450 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:14,850 that might be external to our operation. 451 00:17:14,850 --> 00:17:17,540 So you could see from this graphic 452 00:17:17,540 --> 00:17:20,800 that some of our strengths might be financial stability, 453 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:24,937 might a great location, might have a strong business plan 454 00:17:24,937 --> 00:17:27,770 and a nice set of goals assigned. 455 00:17:27,770 --> 00:17:32,720 So that way, understanding what our strengths are, 456 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:35,340 we can also focus on what our potential concerns are 457 00:17:35,340 --> 00:17:36,790 for our operations. 458 00:17:36,790 --> 00:17:38,960 And so we're gonna talk about these in just a moment. 459 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:40,430 Next slide, Bill. 460 00:17:40,430 --> 00:17:45,430 So when we're looking at our operation, 461 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:48,710 thinking about it in terms of our SWOT analysis, 462 00:17:48,710 --> 00:17:49,543 these are some of the things 463 00:17:49,543 --> 00:17:52,070 that we really wanna focus our energy on 464 00:17:52,070 --> 00:17:53,730 as we're assessing our operation. 465 00:17:53,730 --> 00:17:56,320 And we're gonna talk a little bit about some ideas 466 00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:59,180 on how you could do this without having 467 00:17:59,180 --> 00:18:01,470 your inherent biases that you have, 468 00:18:01,470 --> 00:18:03,940 cause you know your farm so well. 469 00:18:03,940 --> 00:18:05,810 But some of the things that we might wanna consider, 470 00:18:05,810 --> 00:18:07,670 or might want to discuss amongst our staff 471 00:18:07,670 --> 00:18:09,890 and amongst the management, 472 00:18:09,890 --> 00:18:12,630 animal safety is a huge issue. 473 00:18:12,630 --> 00:18:15,340 We actually have some fact sheets and checklists 474 00:18:15,340 --> 00:18:18,550 related specifically to animal safety. 475 00:18:18,550 --> 00:18:20,020 Bill already mentioned an awful lot 476 00:18:20,020 --> 00:18:24,780 about emergency response and how that relates to liability. 477 00:18:24,780 --> 00:18:27,030 And I know the gentleman who's the insurance salesman 478 00:18:27,030 --> 00:18:28,240 is gonna talk a lot about that 479 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,020 when he gives his presentation next week. 480 00:18:31,020 --> 00:18:32,730 But they're merged together, right. 481 00:18:32,730 --> 00:18:34,050 If we have accidents, 482 00:18:34,050 --> 00:18:35,930 we're opening ourselves up to liability. 483 00:18:35,930 --> 00:18:38,670 So we really wanna look to our operation 484 00:18:38,670 --> 00:18:40,970 and see where these potential concerns are. 485 00:18:40,970 --> 00:18:43,070 Can you go back up again, Bill? Thank you. 486 00:18:44,750 --> 00:18:48,860 And an overarching idea is what we consider 487 00:18:48,860 --> 00:18:50,410 to be general farm safety. 488 00:18:50,410 --> 00:18:53,220 And once again, we have some fact sheets and tools, 489 00:18:53,220 --> 00:18:55,680 that you can use to walk through your farm 490 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:58,880 for overall general farm safety. 491 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:01,180 And all of these other items that are on this list 492 00:19:01,180 --> 00:19:03,860 are things that we really wanna hone in on, 493 00:19:03,860 --> 00:19:05,710 frankly because these are some of the things 494 00:19:05,710 --> 00:19:08,490 that we often see lead to accidents, 495 00:19:08,490 --> 00:19:10,720 or lead to concerns and open ourselves up 496 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:12,143 to potential liability. 497 00:19:13,470 --> 00:19:15,580 So next slide, Bill. 498 00:19:15,580 --> 00:19:17,740 So what we're really trying to do 499 00:19:18,660 --> 00:19:21,830 when we're going to a farm, and as Bill mentioned, 500 00:19:21,830 --> 00:19:22,930 we did a whole bunch of these 501 00:19:22,930 --> 00:19:25,180 through many farms in New Jersey. 502 00:19:25,180 --> 00:19:28,050 And as a team, you notice Bill and I 503 00:19:28,050 --> 00:19:30,660 are both fuel crop specialists 504 00:19:30,660 --> 00:19:34,130 and have backgrounds in production agriculture. 505 00:19:34,130 --> 00:19:37,560 And so we would tend to look to our operation 506 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,280 for concerns related to the production side of things. 507 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:43,600 And a lot of folks that are starting these operations 508 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:46,196 come from similar backgrounds as Bill and I, 509 00:19:46,196 --> 00:19:48,196 and Bill Hlybik for that matter as well. 510 00:19:49,066 --> 00:19:52,190 And so we look at it through our lens, 511 00:19:52,190 --> 00:19:55,310 but we had other folks on our team that were looking 512 00:19:55,310 --> 00:19:58,250 through it through their specific area of specialty. 513 00:19:58,250 --> 00:20:00,810 And we had folks that were food safety specialists. 514 00:20:00,810 --> 00:20:03,060 We had folks that understood policy. 515 00:20:03,060 --> 00:20:04,050 We had folks that were more 516 00:20:04,050 --> 00:20:05,990 on the vegetable production side. 517 00:20:05,990 --> 00:20:10,000 So by having multiple sets of eyes look at your operation, 518 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,460 it really helps you eliminate some of those biases 519 00:20:12,460 --> 00:20:13,393 that we have. 520 00:20:14,470 --> 00:20:17,060 Brian Schilling's one of our colleagues, 521 00:20:17,060 --> 00:20:19,777 our boss frankly, often says, 522 00:20:19,777 --> 00:20:22,547 "You could walk through your farm field at midnight 523 00:20:22,547 --> 00:20:25,347 "with your eyes closed and know where every rut is, 524 00:20:25,347 --> 00:20:27,257 "and know where every possible hazard is. 525 00:20:27,257 --> 00:20:30,417 "But we have to look at our operation through the lens 526 00:20:30,417 --> 00:20:34,697 "of somebody who maybe not lives on a farm. 527 00:20:34,697 --> 00:20:38,017 "Maybe they live in a city or a suburb 528 00:20:38,017 --> 00:20:39,957 "and they're not familiar with farm operations 529 00:20:39,957 --> 00:20:41,477 "and all the possible hazards 530 00:20:41,477 --> 00:20:43,520 "that are associated with those." 531 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:45,710 So really as you're walking through your farm, 532 00:20:45,710 --> 00:20:49,023 you wanna look through the eyes of your customers. 533 00:20:49,950 --> 00:20:51,730 After you go through and identify some 534 00:20:51,730 --> 00:20:55,590 of these possible concerns, you wanna evaluate them 535 00:20:55,590 --> 00:20:59,090 and find out which ones are the most likely to occur. 536 00:20:59,090 --> 00:21:04,000 So, as Bill mentioned about the hay maze, the hayrides, 537 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:07,220 you could imagine if we had something wrong with our tires 538 00:21:07,220 --> 00:21:08,690 as we went through our farm. 539 00:21:08,690 --> 00:21:11,340 That would be a really serious potential hazard. 540 00:21:11,340 --> 00:21:13,780 So you want to evaluate and kind of rank 541 00:21:13,780 --> 00:21:17,020 where those hazards are in terms of your operation, 542 00:21:17,020 --> 00:21:18,640 and set these priorities 543 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,160 to how we're gonna manage for those. 544 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:22,620 We have to always remember, 545 00:21:22,620 --> 00:21:24,960 and a lot of us are getting into agritourism 546 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:27,753 because we are agribusiness and agribusinesses, 547 00:21:28,781 --> 00:21:31,390 So we really wanna, after we set our priorities, 548 00:21:31,390 --> 00:21:33,160 we wanna determine the most cost-effective 549 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:34,720 corrective action. 550 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:38,320 And we could spend the rest of this session, 551 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:40,530 and the rest of the classes coming 552 00:21:40,530 --> 00:21:44,000 on ways to make your farm safer, 553 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,710 or limit your exposure to liability 554 00:21:46,710 --> 00:21:48,950 while doing it in a cost-effective manner. 555 00:21:48,950 --> 00:21:51,400 We could talk a lot about this. 556 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,580 As farmers, we're very creative and we come up 557 00:21:54,580 --> 00:21:58,100 with ingenious ways to solve some of our problems. 558 00:21:58,100 --> 00:21:59,980 And I love talking to folks 559 00:21:59,980 --> 00:22:02,230 about coming up with some of these solutions. 560 00:22:03,650 --> 00:22:05,050 Another thing that's really important 561 00:22:05,050 --> 00:22:07,550 is to set a deadline for completion. 562 00:22:07,550 --> 00:22:10,370 Now, this is really important when we have 563 00:22:10,370 --> 00:22:12,950 some of our operations, Halloween, and corn mazes, 564 00:22:12,950 --> 00:22:16,140 and haunted hayrides are really popular. 565 00:22:16,140 --> 00:22:18,740 We really wanna make sure that we have the deadlines set 566 00:22:18,740 --> 00:22:20,510 before the events are occurring 567 00:22:20,510 --> 00:22:22,593 to maximize our protection. 568 00:22:23,450 --> 00:22:26,290 And implement corrective actions, 569 00:22:26,290 --> 00:22:29,730 and then reevaluate that we haven't caused another problem 570 00:22:29,730 --> 00:22:31,270 through some of our actions. 571 00:22:31,270 --> 00:22:34,100 So it's really important to constantly assess your farm 572 00:22:34,100 --> 00:22:36,390 and constantly be looking at your farm 573 00:22:36,390 --> 00:22:39,490 and your agritourism operation through that lens 574 00:22:39,490 --> 00:22:42,473 of where can we possibly mitigate some of these concerns. 575 00:22:43,410 --> 00:22:47,530 And it's often really important to repeat these inspections, 576 00:22:47,530 --> 00:22:49,380 and we really want to evaluate our progress 577 00:22:49,380 --> 00:22:51,010 as we're moving through, 578 00:22:51,010 --> 00:22:52,920 whether it's our day-to-day operations 579 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:56,180 if we're a pick-your-own or whether we're trying to focus 580 00:22:56,180 --> 00:23:00,470 on seasonality of our operations and really assess 581 00:23:00,470 --> 00:23:03,473 how effective we were in some of our mitigation strategies. 582 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:05,860 Next slide, Bill. 583 00:23:05,860 --> 00:23:08,290 One of the best ways that we came up with 584 00:23:08,290 --> 00:23:12,030 on our Extension team, we started really paying attention 585 00:23:12,030 --> 00:23:15,020 to where things were located in our operations. 586 00:23:15,020 --> 00:23:16,560 And so we came up with the idea 587 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:19,570 to actually make an agritourism map. 588 00:23:19,570 --> 00:23:22,440 And we tell people to make maps about our soils. 589 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:23,670 We tell about our fields. 590 00:23:23,670 --> 00:23:25,720 We label all our fields, and soil tests, 591 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:30,560 and all as production, you know, as production agronomists. 592 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:32,550 But it really does make a lotta sense 593 00:23:32,550 --> 00:23:36,390 to make a map of your fields and your operation. 594 00:23:36,390 --> 00:23:37,290 As you could see from here 595 00:23:37,290 --> 00:23:41,770 we had spaces on this mock-up farm where we had livestock. 596 00:23:41,770 --> 00:23:43,860 So we're very concerned about managing 597 00:23:43,860 --> 00:23:46,160 for the risks associated with livestock 598 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:49,710 in the center part of our operation in this diagram. 599 00:23:49,710 --> 00:23:51,720 So by looking at it visually, 600 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:53,900 and you could get really high-tech 601 00:23:53,900 --> 00:23:57,710 and use some of our GPS and GIS map software 602 00:23:57,710 --> 00:23:59,230 that's out there. 603 00:23:59,230 --> 00:24:01,913 There's several free shareware-type things 604 00:24:01,913 --> 00:24:06,913 that you can really have a satellite view of your operation. 605 00:24:07,100 --> 00:24:09,540 But it's a really handy way to assess. 606 00:24:09,540 --> 00:24:12,520 And just looking at our operation here, 607 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,430 we see we have our livestock and it's right next to a road 608 00:24:16,430 --> 00:24:17,970 that's coming through our farm. 609 00:24:17,970 --> 00:24:22,310 So we can start associating with how our farm is laid out, 610 00:24:22,310 --> 00:24:25,470 where we may wanna have an extra set of hands 611 00:24:25,470 --> 00:24:28,500 guiding people on the road right by our livestock. 612 00:24:28,500 --> 00:24:31,250 Or we might have a section of our farm that has a pond, 613 00:24:31,250 --> 00:24:34,603 or is very notorious for being swampy. 614 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:37,250 So by looking at our farm on the map, 615 00:24:37,250 --> 00:24:38,470 we can actually draw it out. 616 00:24:38,470 --> 00:24:41,830 And then all of our staff will be able to see 617 00:24:41,830 --> 00:24:45,370 exactly where are our areas of the greatest concern are. 618 00:24:45,370 --> 00:24:46,860 And then we can have our strategies 619 00:24:46,860 --> 00:24:48,790 associated with that map. 620 00:24:48,790 --> 00:24:49,640 Next slide, Bill. 621 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:55,300 Brian often talks about, and some of our legal partners 622 00:24:55,300 --> 00:24:57,900 will talk about attractive nuisances. 623 00:24:57,900 --> 00:25:01,160 And these are things that just by being there 624 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:03,743 attract people to wanna come to them, 625 00:25:05,658 --> 00:25:07,310 a very simple definition. 626 00:25:07,310 --> 00:25:10,580 And as you could see, having a tractor 627 00:25:10,580 --> 00:25:13,420 sitting in the middle of an agritourism operation, 628 00:25:13,420 --> 00:25:14,990 we know that we're gonna have children 629 00:25:14,990 --> 00:25:15,830 that wanna climb on it. 630 00:25:15,830 --> 00:25:17,050 We're gonna have some adults, frankly 631 00:25:17,050 --> 00:25:18,233 that wanna climb on it. 632 00:25:19,140 --> 00:25:21,180 So understanding what some of these 633 00:25:21,180 --> 00:25:24,860 attractive nuisances are, and having a strategy. 634 00:25:24,860 --> 00:25:27,927 And as you can see here, there might be a sign that says, 635 00:25:27,927 --> 00:25:30,860 "Children only if accompanied by their parent." 636 00:25:30,860 --> 00:25:32,980 You know, "Please stay off the tractor." 637 00:25:32,980 --> 00:25:35,860 You could see on the pesticide shed, 638 00:25:35,860 --> 00:25:40,750 there's a sign for, "Hazard, do not enter." 639 00:25:40,750 --> 00:25:43,460 So by understanding places where folks 640 00:25:43,460 --> 00:25:46,390 that aren't farmers would like to go 641 00:25:46,390 --> 00:25:49,230 or are gonna be curious to go to, 642 00:25:49,230 --> 00:25:52,620 we wanna have a mitigation strategy to stop people 643 00:25:52,620 --> 00:25:54,910 from coming into that area. 644 00:25:54,910 --> 00:25:59,910 Bill often tells the story of poison in a pesticide shed. 645 00:26:00,170 --> 00:26:03,720 Well, for a child who's not familiar 646 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:05,490 with an agricultural operation, 647 00:26:05,490 --> 00:26:07,640 it might look like a skull and crossbones 648 00:26:08,570 --> 00:26:09,780 from a pirate ship. 649 00:26:09,780 --> 00:26:12,860 And so it might look like something they wanna go to. 650 00:26:12,860 --> 00:26:13,710 Next slide, Bill. 651 00:26:14,690 --> 00:26:16,393 Some of our operations that, 652 00:26:17,290 --> 00:26:20,390 in this case we have some beehives, 653 00:26:20,390 --> 00:26:23,100 while day-to-day operations of bees 654 00:26:23,100 --> 00:26:24,500 might not be very aggressive, 655 00:26:24,500 --> 00:26:26,760 but we do wanna have an understanding 656 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:29,110 that there could be a potential concern. 657 00:26:29,110 --> 00:26:31,610 And bees, obviously we can have folks 658 00:26:31,610 --> 00:26:33,490 that are allergic to bee stings. 659 00:26:33,490 --> 00:26:35,820 And so we wanna have a strategy associated 660 00:26:35,820 --> 00:26:39,527 with the potential hazards that we might run into. 661 00:26:39,527 --> 00:26:41,660 And this is another classic one. 662 00:26:41,660 --> 00:26:44,163 We've all been to farms and we've seen beehives. 663 00:26:45,006 --> 00:26:47,150 We know they're generally kinda docile 664 00:26:47,998 --> 00:26:50,720 and they're not gonna swarm on you in general circumstances, 665 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:52,317 but if somebody runs up to 'em and says, 666 00:26:52,317 --> 00:26:54,120 "Oh, there's honey in here," 667 00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:56,270 and we can have an attractive nuisance 668 00:26:56,270 --> 00:26:57,650 that could cause harm. 669 00:26:57,650 --> 00:26:59,120 And so we wanna have a strategy 670 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:00,780 for how we're gonna deal with, 671 00:27:00,780 --> 00:27:03,160 if somebody is bitten by a bee 672 00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:05,530 and if they are actually allergic to it, 673 00:27:05,530 --> 00:27:09,240 what's our strategy for how we're gonna get first aid 674 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:11,150 to them as quickly as possible. 675 00:27:11,150 --> 00:27:12,560 Next slide, Bill. 676 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:15,113 This is another really important one. 677 00:27:16,790 --> 00:27:20,090 Folksy, whether this is just a regular pond, 678 00:27:20,090 --> 00:27:22,250 but you could see the sign saying no swimming. 679 00:27:22,250 --> 00:27:24,770 And we're actually fencing people out 680 00:27:24,770 --> 00:27:26,750 from getting to the pond. 681 00:27:26,750 --> 00:27:29,480 This could just as easily be a slurry store 682 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,210 from a dairy operation. 683 00:27:31,210 --> 00:27:34,150 And it could be liquid manure and a slurry. 684 00:27:34,150 --> 00:27:36,220 And somebody might think it's the pond 685 00:27:36,220 --> 00:27:37,890 and try to get into it. 686 00:27:37,890 --> 00:27:41,830 So doing everything we can do to make everybody know 687 00:27:41,830 --> 00:27:44,020 that this is an area where we they're not welcome, 688 00:27:44,020 --> 00:27:48,200 or we do not want them to go into is really important. 689 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:52,190 And you picked up on so many of these types of concerns 690 00:27:52,190 --> 00:27:53,540 as you're walking through your farm, 691 00:27:53,540 --> 00:27:55,740 thinking about what somebody that's coming 692 00:27:55,740 --> 00:27:58,040 to the operation for a day might see. 693 00:27:58,040 --> 00:27:59,710 Next slide, Bill. 694 00:27:59,710 --> 00:28:02,453 Having a plan for weather is crucial. 695 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:06,800 We talk about, particularly when we're thinking 696 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:10,020 about the Halloween season, where it's trying everything, 697 00:28:10,020 --> 00:28:12,360 we're making so much of our income 698 00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:14,520 during a very short window. 699 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:17,480 And weather's gonna play a tremendous role. 700 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:19,460 we've had a couple seasons where we've gotten lucky 701 00:28:19,460 --> 00:28:21,770 in New Jersey where we've had beautiful weather. 702 00:28:21,770 --> 00:28:25,030 But we've also had some really bad breaks 703 00:28:25,030 --> 00:28:28,600 from a certain seasonality type of operations 704 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:31,810 where the weather plays a tremendous concern 705 00:28:31,810 --> 00:28:32,880 and a tremendous influence 706 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:35,290 on the profitability of our operations. 707 00:28:35,290 --> 00:28:37,760 So this is twofold in a lot of ways. 708 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:40,680 First and foremost, for the safety of our visitors, 709 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:43,960 how are we gonna notify them that there's a storm coming? 710 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:46,090 Are we having certain staff members 711 00:28:46,090 --> 00:28:48,240 that are monitoring the weather? 712 00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:52,260 We do that an awful lot in my area 713 00:28:53,300 --> 00:28:55,610 to see what storms might be coming, 714 00:28:55,610 --> 00:28:59,050 to see what concerns and how we might alert the customer 715 00:28:59,050 --> 00:29:00,510 that there's a storm coming. 716 00:29:00,510 --> 00:29:02,630 You could imagine being out in the middle of the field 717 00:29:02,630 --> 00:29:06,020 with metal equipment and metal tile roof buildings. 718 00:29:06,020 --> 00:29:10,140 We have a lotta concern for our customers, 719 00:29:10,140 --> 00:29:12,950 our clientele getting hurt by weather conditions. 720 00:29:12,950 --> 00:29:16,740 Also, it's really important to have a strategy 721 00:29:16,740 --> 00:29:19,320 from the business aspect of our operation. 722 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:22,520 If it pours down rain, have we incorporated 723 00:29:24,550 --> 00:29:28,220 inclement weather activities that we can still 724 00:29:28,220 --> 00:29:30,660 try to maintain some of our profit margins 725 00:29:30,660 --> 00:29:33,800 and have customers coming and still participating 726 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,130 in our events, even if it is bad weather. 727 00:29:36,130 --> 00:29:37,180 Next slide, Bill. 728 00:29:37,180 --> 00:29:39,490 Real quickly, I just wanted to draw your attention. 729 00:29:39,490 --> 00:29:44,310 This is our agritourism training and development. 730 00:29:44,310 --> 00:29:47,550 This is a grant that (indistinct) for our colleagues 731 00:29:47,550 --> 00:29:49,556 or were involved in. 732 00:29:49,556 --> 00:29:52,690 And you can go to the agritourism.rutgers.edu 733 00:29:52,690 --> 00:29:56,360 and we have a whole host of supplemental materials. 734 00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:58,230 They're a series of guides, 735 00:29:58,230 --> 00:30:01,913 a series of fact sheets that you're welcome to download. 736 00:30:02,990 --> 00:30:07,160 We're kind of famous or infamous for our checklists. 737 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:09,610 We spend a lot of time going through and making checklists 738 00:30:09,610 --> 00:30:11,480 for a lot of the main types of activities 739 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:13,470 that we might see on a farm. 740 00:30:13,470 --> 00:30:16,980 So please feel free to go and visit this website. 741 00:30:16,980 --> 00:30:19,930 And I think we have something for most types of operations. 742 00:30:19,930 --> 00:30:21,360 Next slide, Bill. 743 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:22,860 This is just an overview of one of them. 744 00:30:22,860 --> 00:30:26,480 This is a general farm safety assessment checklist. 745 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:28,840 I'm not gonna belabor going through it, 746 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,720 but all you simply do is answer the question yes or no. 747 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:34,400 You give it a priority ranking, 748 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:36,820 because remember we wanna assess how important 749 00:30:36,820 --> 00:30:39,910 some of these concerns are to our operation. 750 00:30:39,910 --> 00:30:42,210 And we left a place for comments. 751 00:30:42,210 --> 00:30:46,820 Now, take this simple checklist, and then go to the table 752 00:30:46,820 --> 00:30:48,930 with our management team or with our family, 753 00:30:48,930 --> 00:30:51,890 depending on your operation and come up with strategies 754 00:30:51,890 --> 00:30:53,830 to mitigate some of these concerns. 755 00:30:53,830 --> 00:30:55,087 So it's a good way just to go out there 756 00:30:55,087 --> 00:30:58,840 and look and see if you do have some of these concerns. 757 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:00,690 And a lot of 'em as you're going through your farm, 758 00:31:00,690 --> 00:31:03,620 you'll realize are really practical 759 00:31:03,620 --> 00:31:05,900 and common sense-type concerns. 760 00:31:05,900 --> 00:31:07,450 But sometimes we don't think about them 761 00:31:07,450 --> 00:31:10,200 because we're used to be on our farms every day. 762 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:11,880 Next slide, Bill. 763 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:13,710 This is the fact sheet that Bill mentioned 764 00:31:13,710 --> 00:31:17,120 about keeping passengers safe on hayrides. 765 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:20,090 Again, it's just another set of eyes looking 766 00:31:20,090 --> 00:31:23,980 and drawing some attention to some of the typical concerns 767 00:31:23,980 --> 00:31:25,730 that we've seen as we're going through 768 00:31:25,730 --> 00:31:27,850 and looking at different hayrides. 769 00:31:27,850 --> 00:31:29,430 Next slide, Bill. 770 00:31:29,430 --> 00:31:33,400 So we've done everything that we could possibly do 771 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:36,500 to mitigate all the concerns that we might have. 772 00:31:36,500 --> 00:31:39,820 We're gonna stop having accidents on our farm, right? 773 00:31:39,820 --> 00:31:41,450 Well, absolutely not. 774 00:31:41,450 --> 00:31:44,210 We're still gonna have incidents occur. 775 00:31:44,210 --> 00:31:49,210 We've all probably have stories of some simple accidents. 776 00:31:49,910 --> 00:31:51,680 Some folks have faked accidents. 777 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:53,780 There's all kinds of concerns where 778 00:31:53,780 --> 00:31:56,510 we certainly live in a litigious society. 779 00:31:56,510 --> 00:31:59,030 So we really wanna have not only 780 00:31:59,030 --> 00:32:00,770 our safety of our clients at heart, 781 00:32:00,770 --> 00:32:03,010 but we also wanna protect ourselves 782 00:32:03,010 --> 00:32:07,738 from any types of future actions that might come against us. 783 00:32:07,738 --> 00:32:12,030 So while we're dealing with an incident, 784 00:32:12,030 --> 00:32:13,880 a lotta times, and Bill already mentioned this, 785 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:16,030 we don't think about what's gonna happen 786 00:32:16,030 --> 00:32:18,460 a year or two years down the road. 787 00:32:18,460 --> 00:32:21,060 So we came up with a guide. 788 00:32:21,060 --> 00:32:23,580 Bill, you can go to the next slide, please. 789 00:32:23,580 --> 00:32:26,210 We came up with this incident report. 790 00:32:26,210 --> 00:32:27,973 And it's a very simple, 791 00:32:29,083 --> 00:32:31,253 you could certainly make it more in depth, 792 00:32:32,170 --> 00:32:35,400 but this is a great tool for you to have on hand 793 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:38,460 at your operation, or for you to share with your clientele. 794 00:32:38,460 --> 00:32:41,590 And it goes through just some of the real specific concerns 795 00:32:41,590 --> 00:32:43,030 about the incident. 796 00:32:43,030 --> 00:32:46,043 So somebody got hurt, and you just put a bandaid on them 797 00:32:46,043 --> 00:32:49,270 and they said they're fine, and then they leave. 798 00:32:49,270 --> 00:32:51,310 You could be open to a lawsuit 799 00:32:51,310 --> 00:32:54,630 up to two years into the future. 800 00:32:54,630 --> 00:32:56,910 So are you gonna remember what happened at that incident 801 00:32:56,910 --> 00:32:59,080 when you might have hundreds and thousands 802 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:00,730 of people coming in through your operation 803 00:33:00,730 --> 00:33:03,540 and maybe have dozens of accidents 804 00:33:03,540 --> 00:33:06,440 through a multi-year agritourism venue? 805 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:07,840 Probably not. 806 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:09,450 So this is a really handy tool. 807 00:33:09,450 --> 00:33:12,260 It just gives you some very specific information. 808 00:33:12,260 --> 00:33:15,370 The person's contact information. 809 00:33:15,370 --> 00:33:17,370 Are there any witnesses? 810 00:33:17,370 --> 00:33:21,910 Did the individual either accept or reject medical care? 811 00:33:21,910 --> 00:33:24,263 Did they go to the hospital and what happened? 812 00:33:25,770 --> 00:33:28,420 Really important to understand 813 00:33:28,420 --> 00:33:30,890 that you keep this in a file someplace 814 00:33:30,890 --> 00:33:34,790 where if you're ever called to bring it out again, 815 00:33:34,790 --> 00:33:37,597 you'll have it in a place where you can go to and say, 816 00:33:37,597 --> 00:33:39,227 "Okay, here's the person's name. 817 00:33:39,227 --> 00:33:40,157 "Here's the incident. 818 00:33:40,157 --> 00:33:41,667 "This is what we've done. 819 00:33:41,667 --> 00:33:44,257 "Here's the witness's name. 820 00:33:44,257 --> 00:33:47,587 "And they refused medical care at the scene." 821 00:33:49,130 --> 00:33:51,850 It's a really great tool to protect yourself 822 00:33:51,850 --> 00:33:54,570 and for you to go back into the future 823 00:33:54,570 --> 00:33:56,177 and actually look and see, 824 00:33:56,177 --> 00:33:58,417 "Wow, we get an awful lot of sprains 825 00:33:58,417 --> 00:34:00,769 "or ankle sprains on the farm. 826 00:34:00,769 --> 00:34:01,602 "You know, our corn maze. 827 00:34:01,602 --> 00:34:04,157 "Maybe there's something we can go back and do 828 00:34:04,157 --> 00:34:06,047 "to make the trails smoother 829 00:34:06,047 --> 00:34:08,657 "or put grass in between the rows of corn, 830 00:34:08,657 --> 00:34:11,890 "or come up with a strategy to mitigate some of that." 831 00:34:11,890 --> 00:34:14,037 But anyway, that's all I have. 832 00:34:14,037 --> 00:34:15,450 I just really wanted to introduce you 833 00:34:15,450 --> 00:34:18,800 to some of the tools that we have at our disposal. 834 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:21,260 So Bill, take it away. 835 00:34:21,260 --> 00:34:24,950 - Okay, let me see if I can bring my slides up here 836 00:34:24,950 --> 00:34:26,810 and we'll get started. 837 00:34:26,810 --> 00:34:29,300 Thank you, Steve and Bill, that was fantastic. 838 00:34:29,300 --> 00:34:31,650 Can everybody see my slides? 839 00:34:31,650 --> 00:34:33,020 All right, so I'm gonna give you some tips 840 00:34:33,020 --> 00:34:35,350 for positive communication with the media, 841 00:34:35,350 --> 00:34:38,110 as well as some of these same tips you can use 842 00:34:38,110 --> 00:34:41,060 for working together with your customers 843 00:34:41,060 --> 00:34:43,350 and explaining some difficult situations 844 00:34:43,350 --> 00:34:46,250 that you may encounter on the farm. 845 00:34:46,250 --> 00:34:48,370 So just to give you a little bit of my background, 846 00:34:48,370 --> 00:34:52,413 I've been working on our family farm my entire life. 847 00:34:53,260 --> 00:34:56,280 We have 120-acre farm in Chesterfield, 848 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:58,230 which is the northern part of Burlington County 849 00:34:58,230 --> 00:34:59,420 in New Jersey. 850 00:34:59,420 --> 00:35:02,410 And we do everything from vegetable production, 851 00:35:02,410 --> 00:35:03,610 to hay and straw, 852 00:35:03,610 --> 00:35:06,163 which we're actually baling straw today. 853 00:35:07,140 --> 00:35:10,020 My past, I've worked a lot with growers, 854 00:35:10,020 --> 00:35:13,620 helping them to better communicate with media, 855 00:35:13,620 --> 00:35:17,070 helping them to prepare for working together 856 00:35:17,070 --> 00:35:22,070 to really try to put a positive educational component 857 00:35:23,870 --> 00:35:26,230 to any type of interview that they have, 858 00:35:26,230 --> 00:35:27,940 so that they're learning about farming, 859 00:35:27,940 --> 00:35:29,730 and learning about what we do on the farm, 860 00:35:29,730 --> 00:35:33,803 and not just focusing on a particular crisis issue per se. 861 00:35:34,660 --> 00:35:37,840 My background is I have developed shows in the past 862 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:40,273 for New Jersey Network PBS. 863 00:35:41,150 --> 00:35:42,810 We've developed a lot of programming 864 00:35:42,810 --> 00:35:45,580 for cable access programs. 865 00:35:45,580 --> 00:35:47,840 And as with my colleagues that are here, 866 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:50,680 we've done a lot of newspaper articles, radio, 867 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:54,600 numerous interviews, and help growers in our area 868 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:58,420 prepare for mock interviews on difficult subjects, 869 00:35:58,420 --> 00:36:03,260 whether it be E.coli or using GMOs on the farm 870 00:36:03,260 --> 00:36:04,620 or any of these topics 871 00:36:04,620 --> 00:36:07,920 which can be sometimes very controversial. 872 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:10,110 And I do have a team of people I'm very fortunate 873 00:36:10,110 --> 00:36:12,780 that work with me on producing media, 874 00:36:12,780 --> 00:36:14,860 and they do a good job, 875 00:36:14,860 --> 00:36:17,570 and I'm thankful for the team that I have. 876 00:36:17,570 --> 00:36:19,080 As with any television station, 877 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:22,393 it takes a crew to produce some of these media, 878 00:36:23,410 --> 00:36:25,540 these really nice media pieces that you see. 879 00:36:25,540 --> 00:36:27,675 So you gotta respect that. 880 00:36:27,675 --> 00:36:31,490 So part of what we talk about is really 881 00:36:32,510 --> 00:36:35,390 how can you really reach out 882 00:36:35,390 --> 00:36:38,890 and promote your expertise with the media? 883 00:36:38,890 --> 00:36:43,320 Because when you are able to put on a front 884 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:47,100 where people are confident of your expertise, 885 00:36:47,100 --> 00:36:48,943 you can promote your website. 886 00:36:50,090 --> 00:36:52,370 You're actually promoting your entire farm 887 00:36:52,370 --> 00:36:53,590 if you have a good interview. 888 00:36:53,590 --> 00:36:57,180 So when you come across knowledgeable about farming, 889 00:36:57,180 --> 00:36:59,600 about production, when somebody asks you 890 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:02,130 about what you're using on the farm, 891 00:37:02,130 --> 00:37:05,560 it might go off on a tangent talking about pesticide use, 892 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:07,680 and you steer it in the direction of how you're using 893 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:09,660 integrated pest management. 894 00:37:09,660 --> 00:37:11,330 So you need to educate the media 895 00:37:11,330 --> 00:37:16,000 about agricultural practices, and that will enhance support 896 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,310 for the entire agricultural community. 897 00:37:18,310 --> 00:37:20,070 And if you have an incident on your farm, 898 00:37:20,070 --> 00:37:22,150 like Steve and Bill were talking about, 899 00:37:22,150 --> 00:37:25,380 you need to be able to deal with that directly 900 00:37:25,380 --> 00:37:27,150 and be able to answer questions 901 00:37:27,150 --> 00:37:28,640 of how you're remediating that 902 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:31,520 or how you're taking positive action on your farm 903 00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:34,610 to prevent the same type of accident from occurring. 904 00:37:34,610 --> 00:37:37,540 And a lot of those comments that Bill and Steve had 905 00:37:37,540 --> 00:37:39,080 were right on the money. 906 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:40,290 Make sure you're documenting 907 00:37:40,290 --> 00:37:43,073 and you have that good information from the whole team. 908 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,840 So you're providing that positive, educated voice 909 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:50,680 for agriculture when people are coming out to your farm, 910 00:37:50,680 --> 00:37:52,940 and you're challenging a lot of the negative press 911 00:37:52,940 --> 00:37:54,659 that's already out there. 912 00:37:54,659 --> 00:37:57,150 And we're gonna talk about that in a moment. 913 00:37:57,150 --> 00:38:00,120 So one of the things that we really need to do, 914 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:02,070 is when we're trying to get media attention. 915 00:38:02,070 --> 00:38:04,300 or whether we get it whether we like it or not 916 00:38:04,300 --> 00:38:07,490 when people come out, it's all about the relationships 917 00:38:07,490 --> 00:38:10,040 that we develop with the media and with our customers 918 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:12,320 when we're communicating with them. 919 00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:16,330 You need to have interest and passion in what you do. 920 00:38:16,330 --> 00:38:17,730 You need to have enough knowledge 921 00:38:17,730 --> 00:38:21,740 where you feel comfortable explaining things to reporters, 922 00:38:21,740 --> 00:38:24,410 or find a person who does feel comfortable 923 00:38:24,410 --> 00:38:26,040 talking with reporters. 924 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:28,220 And you develop a sense of trust, 925 00:38:28,220 --> 00:38:31,880 and the fact that you're dependable and a go-to person 926 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:35,210 that the media can come to, to answer questions. 927 00:38:35,210 --> 00:38:37,840 And that's gonna help you in the long run 928 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:40,840 If you don't represent agriculture, 929 00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:42,120 and you don't take the time 930 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:44,860 to learn how to communicate with reporters, 931 00:38:44,860 --> 00:38:46,040 someone else is going to, 932 00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:48,320 and they may not say the right things. 933 00:38:48,320 --> 00:38:50,190 They may go negative, and we're gonna talk about 934 00:38:50,190 --> 00:38:54,700 how that can have a very negative impact on your farm. 935 00:38:54,700 --> 00:38:58,933 So by reaching out and connecting with media, 936 00:38:59,830 --> 00:39:02,640 you're actually connecting the community 937 00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:05,030 and your customers with your farm, 938 00:39:05,030 --> 00:39:07,950 whether you're using social media websites. 939 00:39:07,950 --> 00:39:09,420 But it's really like a funnel. 940 00:39:09,420 --> 00:39:12,180 Everything that you do can be a positive attribute 941 00:39:12,180 --> 00:39:14,700 to bring people back to your farm, 942 00:39:14,700 --> 00:39:18,050 and you wanna have a good looking social media site 943 00:39:18,050 --> 00:39:20,230 so that when reporters go on there, 944 00:39:20,230 --> 00:39:22,880 they see a lot of great information, 945 00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:24,563 it's easily accessible, 946 00:39:25,506 --> 00:39:27,690 and that's the funnel that you're bringing them into. 947 00:39:27,690 --> 00:39:28,690 And then they're gonna call you 948 00:39:28,690 --> 00:39:30,110 and they may wanna do a story, 949 00:39:30,110 --> 00:39:32,520 and if you have a lot of good information on there 950 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:34,570 about the different community groups 951 00:39:34,570 --> 00:39:37,940 that you're working with, you may be working 952 00:39:37,940 --> 00:39:39,740 with Farmers Against Hunger programs 953 00:39:39,740 --> 00:39:41,880 or whatever they may be, 954 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:45,870 or working with feeding the local food pantries, 955 00:39:45,870 --> 00:39:49,340 whatever it may be, you know, providing food for them. 956 00:39:49,340 --> 00:39:50,980 These are ways that you can reach out 957 00:39:50,980 --> 00:39:53,380 and really connect the community and reporters 958 00:39:53,380 --> 00:39:54,213 with what you're doing. 959 00:39:54,213 --> 00:39:57,460 So there's a lot of opportunities to connect 960 00:39:57,460 --> 00:40:00,000 the positive things you do on the farm 961 00:40:01,050 --> 00:40:04,060 and in your business in general with the media. 962 00:40:04,060 --> 00:40:07,240 So one of the things I say is always have 963 00:40:08,128 --> 00:40:11,850 a interesting title or topic that you can discuss 964 00:40:11,850 --> 00:40:14,880 that's very timely for what's going on right now 965 00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:15,993 to bring people in. 966 00:40:17,890 --> 00:40:20,200 When we had COVID, a lotta people, for instance, 967 00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,270 were trying to grow their own food. 968 00:40:22,270 --> 00:40:23,417 Well, one of the things you could do, 969 00:40:23,417 --> 00:40:25,360 and some farmers did, was they actually did 970 00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:27,680 some educational series online, 971 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:29,340 and they got people interested 972 00:40:29,340 --> 00:40:32,730 and they also developed online outreach 973 00:40:32,730 --> 00:40:34,430 through their businesses where they could do 974 00:40:34,430 --> 00:40:37,410 most of their sales online. 975 00:40:37,410 --> 00:40:39,700 So by doing a little bit of both, 976 00:40:39,700 --> 00:40:42,910 and then bringing the media in to advertise the fact 977 00:40:42,910 --> 00:40:45,360 that they're reaching out to their customers 978 00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:49,260 very actively during a time when most things were shut down, 979 00:40:49,260 --> 00:40:52,180 we're actually taking that proactive approach 980 00:40:52,180 --> 00:40:55,160 to bringing customers in, bringing a community in, 981 00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:56,470 and showing that you care 982 00:40:56,470 --> 00:40:59,100 when the community needs it the most. 983 00:40:59,100 --> 00:41:02,200 So, when you get to the actual story, 984 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:04,660 you've gotta give reporters what they're looking for. 985 00:41:04,660 --> 00:41:08,120 But at the same time, you wanna make their job 986 00:41:08,120 --> 00:41:10,400 somewhat easy, but you gotta make sure 987 00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:12,470 that you get your point across, 988 00:41:12,470 --> 00:41:15,050 and you gotta be careful of being led down a path 989 00:41:15,050 --> 00:41:16,930 where you don't want to go either. 990 00:41:16,930 --> 00:41:19,770 So you wanna make sure that you're covering the topic, 991 00:41:19,770 --> 00:41:21,623 but keeping a positive spin on it. 992 00:41:22,570 --> 00:41:24,920 And you also wanna, you know, 993 00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:27,760 keep it focused on how you're helping the community, 994 00:41:27,760 --> 00:41:30,590 or how you're helping your customers as well. 995 00:41:30,590 --> 00:41:34,450 And the things that you do within your farm operation 996 00:41:34,450 --> 00:41:37,600 that are really trying to resolve the problem 997 00:41:37,600 --> 00:41:40,050 that they're bringing up within that particular 998 00:41:40,050 --> 00:41:41,820 piece of media. 999 00:41:41,820 --> 00:41:43,740 So one of the most important things 1000 00:41:43,740 --> 00:41:47,910 is to really portray you're professional, 1001 00:41:47,910 --> 00:41:52,500 you're gonna respond timely, get back to the reporter. 1002 00:41:52,500 --> 00:41:54,780 Because like I said before, if you don't do that story, 1003 00:41:54,780 --> 00:41:56,180 someone else is going to do it. 1004 00:41:56,180 --> 00:41:57,700 And these guys have tight deadlines 1005 00:41:57,700 --> 00:42:00,350 when they need to come out and report on whatever 1006 00:42:00,350 --> 00:42:02,320 that hot issue is, whether it's E.coli, 1007 00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:05,780 or there's something else going on with drought conditions 1008 00:42:05,780 --> 00:42:07,500 or whatever it may be. 1009 00:42:07,500 --> 00:42:11,840 But you always need to remain professional at all times. 1010 00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:14,800 No matter what the reporter says, be respectful, 1011 00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:17,670 even when it's very difficult sometimes. 1012 00:42:17,670 --> 00:42:20,090 And we'll talk about that in a second. 1013 00:42:20,090 --> 00:42:23,210 So that professionalism, and making sure 1014 00:42:23,210 --> 00:42:24,043 that you have someone 1015 00:42:24,043 --> 00:42:26,850 on your staff that can reach back out quickly, 1016 00:42:26,850 --> 00:42:29,370 and be on camera, and feel confident 1017 00:42:29,370 --> 00:42:32,023 about what they're saying is extremely important. 1018 00:42:32,950 --> 00:42:35,100 So what typically I will tell growers to do 1019 00:42:35,100 --> 00:42:37,220 is to prepare two or three key points 1020 00:42:37,220 --> 00:42:39,570 that they wanna get across and find out 1021 00:42:39,570 --> 00:42:43,010 from the reporter themselves where exactly 1022 00:42:43,010 --> 00:42:44,730 do they wanna take the story. 1023 00:42:44,730 --> 00:42:46,470 Because many times, you know, they'll interview you 1024 00:42:46,470 --> 00:42:48,610 for 20 minutes or a half hour, 1025 00:42:48,610 --> 00:42:51,120 and they use 30 seconds or 15 seconds, 1026 00:42:51,120 --> 00:42:53,000 or sometimes less than that. 1027 00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:55,750 So you gotta make sure you get your key points across 1028 00:42:55,750 --> 00:42:57,280 in different ways. 1029 00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:00,680 You may have to use short examples or short stories 1030 00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:02,390 that are right to the point. 1031 00:43:02,390 --> 00:43:04,800 But keep things as simple as possible. 1032 00:43:04,800 --> 00:43:06,480 And don't use any kind of jargon 1033 00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:09,300 unless you explain what that farm jargon is, 1034 00:43:09,300 --> 00:43:12,400 so that they understand exactly what you're trying to do 1035 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:14,023 or trying to get across to them. 1036 00:43:15,230 --> 00:43:17,690 You wanna listen carefully. 1037 00:43:17,690 --> 00:43:21,090 You wanna speak clearly and slowly. 1038 00:43:21,090 --> 00:43:22,790 If there were any mistakes that you make, 1039 00:43:22,790 --> 00:43:24,930 you wanna go back and correct those mistakes 1040 00:43:24,930 --> 00:43:28,340 to make sure that what you say is accurate, 1041 00:43:28,340 --> 00:43:30,370 and you wanna have a relaxed confidence 1042 00:43:30,370 --> 00:43:32,310 the whole time that you're speaking, 1043 00:43:32,310 --> 00:43:34,540 so that you know the subject, 1044 00:43:34,540 --> 00:43:36,870 you don't wanna be cocky about the subject, 1045 00:43:36,870 --> 00:43:40,620 but you want to portray that you have the knowledge 1046 00:43:40,620 --> 00:43:42,960 to answer any question that they may have 1047 00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:45,910 that's within your realm of expertise. 1048 00:43:45,910 --> 00:43:47,330 And that's important to remember. 1049 00:43:47,330 --> 00:43:48,723 So don't try to fake it. 1050 00:43:49,630 --> 00:43:53,400 Answer questions that are within your realm of expertise. 1051 00:43:53,400 --> 00:43:55,560 And always stay positive. 1052 00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:58,280 We've had many situations where, 1053 00:43:58,280 --> 00:44:00,900 here we have a situation where one of my farmers 1054 00:44:00,900 --> 00:44:02,000 was interviewed. 1055 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:04,600 Actually he ended up being in many publications 1056 00:44:04,600 --> 00:44:07,330 across the country because once he was interviewed, 1057 00:44:07,330 --> 00:44:09,980 and they realized he was a great person to interview, 1058 00:44:12,650 --> 00:44:14,540 he was probably in about six or seven 1059 00:44:14,540 --> 00:44:18,330 different major newspapers and several journals as well. 1060 00:44:18,330 --> 00:44:21,760 But what he did was he took this negative situation 1061 00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:24,330 and put a positive spin on it 1062 00:44:24,330 --> 00:44:27,130 of how he was addressing the problems 1063 00:44:27,130 --> 00:44:29,800 that were out there on his particular farm. 1064 00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:32,850 But when The Times got ahold of it, 1065 00:44:32,850 --> 00:44:35,683 the first story he did was not so positive. 1066 00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:39,797 They came out saying, "Facing a feudal harvest. 1067 00:44:39,797 --> 00:44:42,870 "Local farmers fear the problem ahead." 1068 00:44:42,870 --> 00:44:46,080 So what we had to do as we sat down with this grower 1069 00:44:46,080 --> 00:44:48,567 and we talked to him, "Okay, let's figure out a way 1070 00:44:48,567 --> 00:44:51,287 "to turn that negative into a positive 1071 00:44:51,287 --> 00:44:53,383 "of how often you're testing your water, 1072 00:44:54,617 --> 00:44:57,887 "how our food supply is some of the safest food supply 1073 00:44:57,887 --> 00:45:00,210 "anywhere in the world." 1074 00:45:00,210 --> 00:45:02,610 Because if you complain and you spend your time complaining 1075 00:45:02,610 --> 00:45:04,520 about the issues that you face, 1076 00:45:04,520 --> 00:45:06,490 people are gonna shop somewhere else. 1077 00:45:06,490 --> 00:45:09,330 And we found this out in the past the hard way 1078 00:45:09,330 --> 00:45:11,877 that growers will get on the media and they'll say, 1079 00:45:11,877 --> 00:45:13,817 "Okay, we're having a problem because of drought. 1080 00:45:13,817 --> 00:45:16,350 "We expect all these losses," or what have you. 1081 00:45:16,350 --> 00:45:17,330 Well, to be honest with you, 1082 00:45:17,330 --> 00:45:19,877 the customer is not going to then say, 1083 00:45:19,877 --> 00:45:22,740 "Oh, well let's go out and shop with this farm." 1084 00:45:22,740 --> 00:45:24,437 They're gonna say, "Well, I better go somewhere else 1085 00:45:24,437 --> 00:45:27,740 "because it sounds like their quality is compromised." 1086 00:45:27,740 --> 00:45:30,010 So you've got to put a positive spin on this. 1087 00:45:30,010 --> 00:45:31,210 And I've had some of my growers, 1088 00:45:31,210 --> 00:45:32,827 even if there's a drought condition they'll say, 1089 00:45:32,827 --> 00:45:35,187 "Well, you know what, the berries are even sweeter 1090 00:45:35,187 --> 00:45:37,270 "because we can control the water." 1091 00:45:37,270 --> 00:45:38,947 Or, "Because there's a drought 1092 00:45:38,947 --> 00:45:42,017 "we can actually control disease problems easier 1093 00:45:42,017 --> 00:45:44,300 "because we can irrigate when we want to." 1094 00:45:44,300 --> 00:45:47,600 So there's always a way to take that negative story 1095 00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:50,910 and put a positive spin on it so that it helps you. 1096 00:45:50,910 --> 00:45:54,070 You're not lying, you're actually admitting 1097 00:45:54,070 --> 00:45:55,600 that there's an issue there, 1098 00:45:55,600 --> 00:45:59,160 but you're saying because of this, as farmers, 1099 00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:00,610 farmers are very resilient. 1100 00:46:00,610 --> 00:46:02,930 They can solve problems in real time. 1101 00:46:02,930 --> 00:46:06,310 And I can tell you as a farmer, that things break. 1102 00:46:06,310 --> 00:46:07,680 we're very good at breaking things 1103 00:46:07,680 --> 00:46:09,710 but then we've gotta be good at fixing them. 1104 00:46:09,710 --> 00:46:11,800 So you wanna make sure that you're ready 1105 00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:15,840 to fix that problem when that reporter comes to visit you, 1106 00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:19,700 so that you can put a positive spin of what you're doing 1107 00:46:19,700 --> 00:46:22,920 to alleviate some of these issues that are in front of you. 1108 00:46:22,920 --> 00:46:25,633 And really it's important to educate journalists. 1109 00:46:26,500 --> 00:46:28,170 Provide information that helps them 1110 00:46:28,170 --> 00:46:29,810 understand farm practices. 1111 00:46:29,810 --> 00:46:32,170 When they start asking about pesticides, 1112 00:46:32,170 --> 00:46:35,200 and are you organic or whatever it may be, 1113 00:46:35,200 --> 00:46:37,140 what you need to do at that point 1114 00:46:37,140 --> 00:46:40,790 is you need to make sure that you're providing information. 1115 00:46:40,790 --> 00:46:44,360 If somebody gets off on a tangent with pesticide use, 1116 00:46:44,360 --> 00:46:48,370 I immediately will ask the grower or get the reporter 1117 00:46:48,370 --> 00:46:50,020 to start talking about how that grower 1118 00:46:50,020 --> 00:46:52,260 is using integrated pest management, 1119 00:46:52,260 --> 00:46:53,093 how they're working together 1120 00:46:53,093 --> 00:46:55,363 with the New Jersey Ag Experiment Station. 1121 00:46:56,290 --> 00:47:00,200 And they talk about how they can stage those applications 1122 00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:04,190 and really cut down on overuse of any type of pesticide, 1123 00:47:04,190 --> 00:47:06,560 be it organic or conventional. 1124 00:47:06,560 --> 00:47:08,703 If people have issues with animal rights, 1125 00:47:11,103 --> 00:47:12,820 you can show 'em areas where you're doing 1126 00:47:12,820 --> 00:47:14,620 and taking good care of the animals. 1127 00:47:15,921 --> 00:47:18,480 And you talk to them very respectfully 1128 00:47:18,480 --> 00:47:21,910 to explain the procedures that you use on the farm. 1129 00:47:21,910 --> 00:47:24,650 And that's how you educate these journalists 1130 00:47:24,650 --> 00:47:27,010 so they understand how much you care 1131 00:47:27,010 --> 00:47:29,300 about what you do on the farm. 1132 00:47:29,300 --> 00:47:32,240 And the same thing goes for when you have an accident. 1133 00:47:32,240 --> 00:47:34,190 You know, Steve was talking about earlier 1134 00:47:34,190 --> 00:47:37,050 taking the time to fill out the accident report, 1135 00:47:37,050 --> 00:47:39,230 taking the time to care about what happened 1136 00:47:39,230 --> 00:47:41,610 to the individual, to stop what you're doing 1137 00:47:41,610 --> 00:47:44,000 to have that emergency protocol together. 1138 00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:47,093 Knowing how to respond is extremely important. 1139 00:47:48,160 --> 00:47:49,670 They have a lot of great references 1140 00:47:49,670 --> 00:47:53,110 that you can turn to for that checklist. 1141 00:47:53,110 --> 00:47:54,940 And if you're in doubt of the subject area 1142 00:47:54,940 --> 00:47:57,730 and you don't feel comfortable, you don't wanna go there. 1143 00:47:57,730 --> 00:48:00,910 So what you do is you refocus that interview 1144 00:48:00,910 --> 00:48:03,520 to an area where you do feel comfortable, 1145 00:48:03,520 --> 00:48:07,140 on a topic that you're very familiar with on the farm. 1146 00:48:07,140 --> 00:48:10,120 Or you'll stage that, if they're doing the interview, 1147 00:48:10,120 --> 00:48:12,530 try to stage it where you can demonstrate something 1148 00:48:12,530 --> 00:48:14,990 or show for instance, drip irrigation, 1149 00:48:14,990 --> 00:48:17,480 or somewhere where you have IPM traps. 1150 00:48:17,480 --> 00:48:21,030 So you can take the conversation right to a visual 1151 00:48:21,030 --> 00:48:23,770 right next to you, and you can explain exactly 1152 00:48:23,770 --> 00:48:27,060 how you're resolving the problem that they're talking about, 1153 00:48:27,060 --> 00:48:29,410 that I'm using integrated pest management, 1154 00:48:29,410 --> 00:48:32,610 that I'm using drip irrigation, even during a drought 1155 00:48:32,610 --> 00:48:34,890 that I can properly irrigate my crops 1156 00:48:34,890 --> 00:48:36,730 then I can get adequate yield. 1157 00:48:36,730 --> 00:48:38,410 So you always look at those things 1158 00:48:38,410 --> 00:48:41,350 and you look at how I can quickly turn that negative 1159 00:48:41,350 --> 00:48:44,263 into a positive when you're being interviewed. 1160 00:48:45,240 --> 00:48:48,230 You want to add interesting facts here and there 1161 00:48:48,230 --> 00:48:50,250 disbursed in with what you're talking about. 1162 00:48:50,250 --> 00:48:52,530 So it may be something that 1163 00:48:52,530 --> 00:48:54,520 people out there didn't expect. 1164 00:48:54,520 --> 00:48:56,530 And sometimes those little tidbits 1165 00:48:56,530 --> 00:49:00,330 are what they include in the piece, the final edits. 1166 00:49:00,330 --> 00:49:02,330 And remember everything is on the record 1167 00:49:02,330 --> 00:49:04,350 when you're speaking with a reporter. 1168 00:49:04,350 --> 00:49:07,100 I was out with several specialists one time, 1169 00:49:07,100 --> 00:49:10,480 during one of the E.coli crisis interviews, 1170 00:49:10,480 --> 00:49:13,440 and the one specialist thought that they 1171 00:49:13,440 --> 00:49:17,550 had turned off the recorder and they had not, of course, 1172 00:49:17,550 --> 00:49:20,970 and actually that piece made it onto the news. 1173 00:49:20,970 --> 00:49:23,200 So even though somebody... 1174 00:49:23,200 --> 00:49:25,820 You think the cameras are turned off always, 1175 00:49:25,820 --> 00:49:27,700 when you're with the reporter, 1176 00:49:27,700 --> 00:49:30,130 assume that they're gonna take down, 1177 00:49:30,130 --> 00:49:31,940 they're gonna use whatever you say to them. 1178 00:49:31,940 --> 00:49:33,040 They're not your best friend. 1179 00:49:33,040 --> 00:49:34,840 They're a reporter, and they're trying 1180 00:49:34,840 --> 00:49:38,020 to write a story and make it interesting. 1181 00:49:38,020 --> 00:49:40,440 So anything that you feed to them 1182 00:49:40,440 --> 00:49:42,950 can be used within that story. 1183 00:49:42,950 --> 00:49:45,840 So assume that the microphone is always on, 1184 00:49:45,840 --> 00:49:47,753 and that information can be used. 1185 00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:52,600 So some journalists can be very aggressive. 1186 00:49:52,600 --> 00:49:54,250 You know, they keep asking the same question 1187 00:49:54,250 --> 00:49:58,080 until you give them the answer that they want. 1188 00:49:58,080 --> 00:50:00,800 So you have to be very careful of that 1189 00:50:00,800 --> 00:50:04,260 and be prepared to refocus and take that 1190 00:50:04,260 --> 00:50:05,870 in the direction where you wanna go 1191 00:50:05,870 --> 00:50:07,620 in a very polite manner, 1192 00:50:07,620 --> 00:50:09,220 even though they may ask you three 1193 00:50:09,220 --> 00:50:11,600 or four times the same type of questions. 1194 00:50:11,600 --> 00:50:14,700 Don't go down a rabbit hole of negativity. 1195 00:50:14,700 --> 00:50:17,440 Because once you do that, that's the piece they want. 1196 00:50:17,440 --> 00:50:18,960 That's what you're gonna see on the news. 1197 00:50:18,960 --> 00:50:23,083 Always keep things positive, and that's very important. 1198 00:50:24,330 --> 00:50:26,120 So, one of the things that we do 1199 00:50:26,120 --> 00:50:28,060 and I think it's really paid off over the years 1200 00:50:28,060 --> 00:50:31,890 is our farmers and our group in Extension, 1201 00:50:31,890 --> 00:50:33,900 we actually like to learn more about 1202 00:50:33,900 --> 00:50:35,640 the reporters in the area. 1203 00:50:35,640 --> 00:50:39,120 And certain people that we work with on a regular basis 1204 00:50:39,120 --> 00:50:41,850 will actually come back to us all the time, 1205 00:50:41,850 --> 00:50:44,500 because they know they're gonna get good information, 1206 00:50:44,500 --> 00:50:45,850 that we're gonna bring 'em out to growers 1207 00:50:45,850 --> 00:50:48,860 that are well-spoken, that can speak very clearly 1208 00:50:48,860 --> 00:50:51,110 on many of the issues that we face. 1209 00:50:51,110 --> 00:50:54,410 So I go out of my way to be very respectful 1210 00:50:54,410 --> 00:50:57,060 and very cooperative with reporters. 1211 00:50:57,060 --> 00:50:59,030 And so we develop that relationship, 1212 00:50:59,030 --> 00:51:00,500 and it goes a long way 1213 00:51:00,500 --> 00:51:03,790 in terms of helping local agriculture. 1214 00:51:03,790 --> 00:51:07,140 And a lotta times we can work together with other events 1215 00:51:07,140 --> 00:51:11,300 and other organizations to help diversify our outreach. 1216 00:51:11,300 --> 00:51:14,340 And having presence at other events that are going on 1217 00:51:14,340 --> 00:51:16,720 in the community is a good way to do that. 1218 00:51:16,720 --> 00:51:18,640 So we can actually share the limelight 1219 00:51:18,640 --> 00:51:20,120 for the benefit of our cause, 1220 00:51:20,120 --> 00:51:22,840 so that when we're doing agritourism, for instance, 1221 00:51:22,840 --> 00:51:25,410 we can emphasize how we're cooperating 1222 00:51:25,410 --> 00:51:27,660 with these other groups within the community, 1223 00:51:28,820 --> 00:51:32,510 garden clubs, school groups, church projects, or whatever. 1224 00:51:32,510 --> 00:51:33,700 But, you know, sharing that, 1225 00:51:33,700 --> 00:51:36,550 not just looking for the notoriety yourself, 1226 00:51:36,550 --> 00:51:38,473 but sharing in some of that glory, 1227 00:51:40,829 --> 00:51:43,000 with some of your stories that you have at the farm 1228 00:51:43,000 --> 00:51:44,920 is gonna go a long way to connecting you 1229 00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:46,750 with a lot more customers, 1230 00:51:46,750 --> 00:51:49,100 and a lot more people throughout the community. 1231 00:51:50,130 --> 00:51:53,640 And you need to enjoy, try to enjoy working with the media. 1232 00:51:53,640 --> 00:51:56,850 Select the right person to represent the story. 1233 00:51:56,850 --> 00:51:59,510 Make sure that they're knowledgeable on the subject matter. 1234 00:51:59,510 --> 00:52:01,833 Be prepared with a consistent message, 1235 00:52:02,980 --> 00:52:05,010 If you have that specific topic 1236 00:52:05,010 --> 00:52:07,450 you wanna make sure you repeat it several times, 1237 00:52:07,450 --> 00:52:09,820 in several different ways throughout that interview, 1238 00:52:09,820 --> 00:52:13,360 so that it gets into the final cut in the editing room. 1239 00:52:13,360 --> 00:52:15,180 Don't get trapped by certain questions. 1240 00:52:15,180 --> 00:52:17,110 Take your time, take a breath, 1241 00:52:17,110 --> 00:52:19,980 answer that question at your own pace, 1242 00:52:19,980 --> 00:52:23,110 and be ready to provide any good stories 1243 00:52:23,110 --> 00:52:25,780 but they have to be very short, very concise. 1244 00:52:25,780 --> 00:52:28,160 And most of all have fun when doing it 1245 00:52:28,160 --> 00:52:30,350 because it can be fun and it can really help you 1246 00:52:30,350 --> 00:52:31,803 with your farm business. 1247 00:52:32,920 --> 00:52:35,650 And now during some crisis, it's not fun, of course 1248 00:52:35,650 --> 00:52:37,160 when you've got a crisis. 1249 00:52:37,160 --> 00:52:39,900 If there is a way that you can say what you're doing 1250 00:52:39,900 --> 00:52:42,700 on the farm and how you're addressing the crisis, 1251 00:52:42,700 --> 00:52:44,300 that checklist, my goodness, 1252 00:52:44,300 --> 00:52:47,670 you really are doing everything you possibly can do. 1253 00:52:47,670 --> 00:52:49,270 So you keep it positive. 1254 00:52:49,270 --> 00:52:51,583 - That's great advice, keep it positive. 1255 00:52:52,970 --> 00:52:55,500 We are running outta time here. 1256 00:52:55,500 --> 00:52:59,010 So just wanna move on to the final slide here 1257 00:52:59,010 --> 00:53:01,480 and mention that next week 1258 00:53:01,480 --> 00:53:04,020 we're gonna be talking about liability insurance 1259 00:53:04,020 --> 00:53:05,670 for farms open to visitors 1260 00:53:05,670 --> 00:53:08,300 and it's gonna be during the noon hour. 1261 00:53:08,300 --> 00:53:10,940 And we are gonna have Steve Farnham 1262 00:53:10,940 --> 00:53:12,640 who is here with us tonight 1263 00:53:12,640 --> 00:53:14,800 and is also an insurance agent 1264 00:53:14,800 --> 00:53:16,440 with many years of experience 1265 00:53:16,440 --> 00:53:18,880 working with farms open to visitors. 1266 00:53:18,880 --> 00:53:21,910 And then we've got another session planned 1267 00:53:21,910 --> 00:53:24,240 the following week, June 1st. 1268 00:53:24,240 --> 00:53:27,678 These are all Tuesdays in the evening seven to eight. 1269 00:53:27,678 --> 00:53:30,470 There we'll be talking about cultivating 1270 00:53:30,470 --> 00:53:33,330 farm and food safety for visitors. 1271 00:53:33,330 --> 00:53:35,910 And we're gonna be seeing some videos. 1272 00:53:35,910 --> 00:53:39,133 Best practices on two different farms in New Hampshire. 1273 00:53:40,150 --> 00:53:42,380 All of this information is on our website 1274 00:53:42,380 --> 00:53:45,000 and we'll send out an email afterwards. 1275 00:53:45,000 --> 00:53:46,650 And also on our website, 1276 00:53:46,650 --> 00:53:49,690 you have the opportunity to sign up 1277 00:53:49,690 --> 00:53:53,420 for a safety assessment to have someone visit your farm. 1278 00:53:53,420 --> 00:53:54,910 Chadley, would you like to talk 1279 00:53:54,910 --> 00:53:57,150 about that for just one moment? 1280 00:53:57,150 --> 00:53:59,070 - Yeah. I'll make it really quick. 1281 00:53:59,070 --> 00:54:01,770 Bill hit it on the head, I think, 1282 00:54:01,770 --> 00:54:04,380 with having visitors on your farm, 1283 00:54:04,380 --> 00:54:08,160 you turn into a hospitality business. 1284 00:54:08,160 --> 00:54:09,470 I'm the one that's visiting farms. 1285 00:54:09,470 --> 00:54:12,690 Fortunately, I earned my first professional stripes 1286 00:54:12,690 --> 00:54:14,640 from the hospitality industry. 1287 00:54:14,640 --> 00:54:18,200 So I love walking through the guest experience 1288 00:54:18,200 --> 00:54:21,610 and trying to envision potential hazards 1289 00:54:21,610 --> 00:54:26,170 and opportunities to make the area safer and more fun. 1290 00:54:26,170 --> 00:54:29,610 So, Lisa, I believe, will be sharing in the email 1291 00:54:29,610 --> 00:54:31,340 the link to sign up. 1292 00:54:31,340 --> 00:54:34,090 Oh, and Carrie just put it in the chat for me. 1293 00:54:34,090 --> 00:54:36,490 So if you'd like to sign up for that, 1294 00:54:36,490 --> 00:54:39,100 I'm available at your convenience. 1295 00:54:39,100 --> 00:54:42,300 Please fill out the form or reach out via email. 1296 00:54:42,300 --> 00:54:45,350 And yeah, hope to see you soon. 1297 00:54:45,350 --> 00:54:46,810 - With that, I wanna thank everyone 1298 00:54:46,810 --> 00:54:48,460 for joining us today, and especially 1299 00:54:48,460 --> 00:54:50,430 thank Bill and Bill and Steve 1300 00:54:50,430 --> 00:54:52,800 for that excellent information. 1301 00:54:52,800 --> 00:54:54,930 Hope we'll see you next Tuesday again. 1302 00:54:54,930 --> 00:54:55,763 Take care.