From Experiments to Accolades:
LIVE Virtual Farm Trips become award-winning staples for agriculture education
By Dan Toland
As Shift•ology’s Director of Virtual Experiences and manager of our Virtual Farm Trips (VFT) program, I’ve had the pleasure of working with groups across the country to plan and produce live trips and see virtual programs grow and thrive. I recently connected with two of our Virtual Farm Trip-hosting partners on an episode of our Shooting the Shift podcast to chat about their experiences, and how they’ve produced some award-winning events. Both recently received first place awards from the National Agri-Marketing Association for their live Virtual Farm Trips, going up against some of the best agricultural marketing, PR and communication work nationwide.
Below is an overview of our conversation.
When Brooke Williams and Krista McCoon first partnered with Shift•ology to host LIVE Virtual Farm Trips for students, winning awards was the last thing on their minds.
“We initially just wanted to extend our reach and thought, ‘Well there’s a farmer down the road, let’s talk to him,’” said Williams, director of communications for American Dairy Association Indiana (ADAI).
McCoon, the coordinator for San Joaquin County (California) AgVenture, a nutrition education program for all the county’s third graders, just wanted a virtual alternative to an in-person event during the COVID pandemic. She was confident she could host Virtual Farm Trips to share the wide variety of specialty crop farms in the county, but was met with some skepticism by a farmer calling virtual events “stupid” and a board member who insisted on conducting all education events in-person.
“I said show me a farmer that will allow us to have 14,000 students on his cherry farm,” said McCoon. “It’s not going to happen, but I can do that with a virtual trip.”
Their initial success was a harbinger of what was to come, as LIVE Virtual Farm Trips became fully integrated into their annual programming.
“We saw such success from the very beginning, and it changed everything. It was a mindshift that opened doors and it became so much more simple,” Williams said.
All of a sudden, instead of having to ask teachers to let them into the classroom, the teachers were coming to ADAI, which now hosts multiple live trips per semester to a variety of dairies across the state.
What started as a pandemic necessity for McCoon, turned into a pandemic silver lining, as San Joaquin AgVenture now hosts three live trips per year in addition to a large in-person event for the county’s third graders.
“We weren’t planning on Virtual Farm Trips being a part of our bread and butter,” said McCoon, “but after the success we saw, we found it as an opportunity to make it more of an overall part of our program with more points of contacts, with not just local students but those across the country.”
Simple LIVE Virtual Farm Trips just work.
In a world where YouTubers are more popular than primetime television actors, the impact from hosting live virtual trips can be tremendous. This is one reason why Shift•ology doesn’t “overproduce” or script our Virtual Farm Trips…because it’s what students like, watch and trust, and what can be so influential.
“Our farmers will be stopped in public by somebody who says, ‘Oh, my son saw you on YouTube. Thanks for doing that,’” said McCoon, who has become somewhat of a celebrity herself when students who watch her trips see her in person. “I have been hugged multiple times from behind by a student who recognizes me and classes want to take pictures with me. I get to see how happy they are to meet the farmers in real life who were on their big screens at school. It really resonates with them, and they are much more likely to soak in the information and put it to use.”
But it’s not just the kids.
“I’ve also been stopped at Costco and Famous Footwear by teachers who are literally regurgitating our information,” said McCoon, who is amazed by the number of teachers who register year after year, trip after trip, and keep coming back for more. “They want more content, and we’re happy to provide it to them,” she said.
Williams agreed.
“We could send videos to classrooms day-in and day-out, but kids aren’t going to go home and say their teachers showed them another video,” she said. “They want to see and learn from our farmers, and have the opportunity to ask them questions. Those little things make a big difference, make learning more fun, and make such a big impression. You want them to walk away with a story to share, make a connection to agriculture and why it’s important. You just can’t fake any of that stuff.“
The shining proof is on their shelves.
If they weren’t convinced before, the shiny trophies sitting on shelves in Williams’ and McCoon’s offices serve as a reminder to those who doubted the value and impact of LIVE Virtual Farm Trips.
“We couldn’t imagine going into the future without hosting virtual tours every year,” said Williams. “Everybody has a story to be told, and this is one of the most creative and effective ways to do it.”
“I would now be flogged in the streets if I decided not to continue these tours because of the results we’ve seen,” said McCoon. “This is the closest way of getting the kids to the farm without taking them there. And that’s the bottom line.”
Brooke and Krista shared some insights about what has made their virtual trips a success:
- Working with farms and farmers that have unique stories to tell, and who have a great connection, both literally from a technical standpoint, and from a personal perspective to provide energy and speak in a relevant manner to the students
- Hosting rehearsals to ensure they are covering all their bases, knowing how things will look and feel the day of the event, working out any kinks and fully prepare their farmers
- Supporting their farmers on-site, with prompts, props and tech assistance to give them comfort and confidence.
- Preparing their visuals, including “Plan B” content in case something doesn’t go the way they plan
- Being a flexible and mindful moderator on the fly during a live event to fill gaps, keep energy high and keep farmers calm
- Working with a manager/producer, such as Shift•ology, to help take logistical and technical burdens off of their teams, and ensure trips run smoothly
Sometimes though, there’s also a little luck involved and it all just comes together with great planning and preparation, an enthusiastic farmer, beautiful weather, fantastic visuals and engaging conversations that make for an outstanding event.
And that’s what we strive for with each event for all of Shift•ology’s virtual partners.