Today’s communication tools have changed the way we all expect to connect, share and learn. Consumers now expect increased access and transparency from those growing and selling the food we consume. Virtual Farm Trips offer live streaming video and interaction directly with farmers, rolled into a memorable, lasting and unrestricted experience that builds credibility with your audiences.

Getting classrooms to come to a farm is also a daunting task these days, with budgets, permission slips and safety and security concerns making old-fashioned field trips a nearly extinct concept. However, a Virtual Farm Trip brings the farm to your audience without these concerns and at a low cost to you…as low as just a few dollars per person reached!

Virtual Farm Trips also put your farmers and your organization front and center as a trusted resource and thought leader for your audiences when it comes to getting real, authentic information about agriculture.

The benefits of hosting a Virtual Farm Trip are many. Below are just some of the benefits you’ll gain through Shift•ology’s Virtual Farm Trips program:

• A proven framework and customizable program with near unanimous praise that eliminates start-up hurdles and helps you hit the ground running.
• Technological and logistical support from years of hosting Virtual Farm Trips to help you effectively connect with your audience.
• Provide unprecedented access to farms and food producers in real-time for your key audiences.
• Accommodate hundreds of participants at a time to a farm with no security or safety concerns.
• A low-cost opportunity to provide high-impact experiences, for merely dollars per person reached.
• Increased shelf-life and online search visibility through recorded Virtual Farm Trips posted to your online assets.
• An easy-to-implement agriculture in the classroom activity that is repeatable and fresh that keeps teachers coming back for more.
• Provide a platform for farmers or employees that have been through leadership/spokesperson training to use their learned skills to advocate for agriculture.
• Increase reach, effectiveness and transparency with consumers by openly connecting with a curious public.
• Create lasting and memorable impressions with today’s and tomorrow’s consumers by positioning yourself as a trusted thought leader and resource for agriculture.

Interested parties are asked to please complete the contact form below to provide and receive more information about setting up a Virtual Farm Trip program. Shift•ology Communication will then contact you to learn more about your organization and provide recommendations for a potential Virtual Farm Trip package. From there, a proposal will be submitted for your review.

Once in contract, a draft work plan is created and a kickoff meeting is held to get started on your program. Virtual Farm Trips can be held as soon as a couple months after signing up!

Shift•ology Communication provides its partners with a framework and all the support needed to get a successful Virtual Farm Trip program off the ground for your organization.

• A planning and strategy process includes a draft work plan allowing for customization to best fit your needs. We’ll determine the scope of your trips to best fit your desired audiences. Then we’ll put together a promotional plan with customized materials and promotion methods to help you reach them.
• A technology checklist is provided to make sure you have all the hardware and software required to conduct the trips.
• We’ll conduct training with your staff and farmers involved in hosting the trips to ensure all parties have a solid grasp of the program and roles.
• Agendas and visuals will be developed to outline the trips.
• Shift•ology will also handle ALL communication with those registering for your trips, and conduct individual practice sessions using the video chat platform with each registrant to prepare them for their trip.
• Live support the day of the trip is also provided to produce the program and to ensure all runs smoothly so you can focus on connecting and sharing with your audience.
• Each trip is also recorded so that it may be posted to your online assets for others to view.
• Shift•olgoy will also conduct pre- and post-event evaluations with participants and provide a final report at the end of your program to gauge its success and find areas for improvement.

• Hosts and Farmers: Shift•ology does not currently provide a hosting/moderating duties or farmers for your program. Partners are asked to provide a host (whether a staff member or another trusted person) and to line up farmers to host trips.
• Reliable Connectivity: Farm locations should have solid 4G data connectivity and/or reliable high-speed internet connections if hosting within barns.
• On-Farm Setup: Shift•ology does provide technology recommendations to help ensure solid internet connectivity on chosen farms, but does not provide on-farm setup and testing. However, Shift•ology can conduct test sessions with farms to verify if connectivity is solid enough for a farm to host a Virtual Farm Trip.
• Availability: Partners should also be prepared to be involved in planning and strategy sessions, as well as trainings.
• Promotional Channels for Desired Audiences: It is recommended that partners also have a promotional outlet/channel to get the word out about their trips, but Shift•ology can also provide services to assist with this process.

A typical Virtual Farm Trip lasts anywhere from 30-45 minutes, depending upon the age and engagement levels of your audience. Usually this involves a brief welcome and introduction, about 10-15 minutes of a farmer and moderator sharing what’s happening on the farm, and the remainder of the allotted time for questions and answers with your audience.

Although our Virtual Farm Trips are “unrestricted” – meaning participants can ask any questions or to see anything on a farm, control mechanisms are in place to verify and communicate with each registrant for your program.

In addition, the link to connect to your Virtual Farm Trip is private, and will not be shared with those who have not completed the required registration and processes associated with each trip.

While we cannot fully guarantee that somebody won’t “slip through the cracks,” we do have the ability to disconnect any unauthorized or ill-behaved participants in a Virtual Farm Trip.

To date, there have been zero incidents where any of these concerns have materialized during a Virtual Farm Trip.

Simply complete the form on this page to send us a request for more information or contact our Virtual Farm Trip Manager, Dan Toland, at [email protected] or by calling 937-688-3878.