Reframing in the Midwest.
Workshop Details
Reframing Farming: A Workshop for Midwest Farm and Food Communicators
Join us for a 1.5-day in-person workshop to learn and practice using new communication tools that will improve the impact of your messaging!
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​Are you hungry for effective ways to convey the complexities of farming with the public or people with little agricultural experience?
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​Do you want to have more productive conversations about farming practices?
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This workshop will share communication strategies developed through seven years of research from the FrameWorks Institute and The Farming and Food Narrative Project. The study focused on the public’s understanding of agriculture and effective ways to communicate unfamiliar farming topics. You will learn techniques to reframe your own materials while also connecting with other Midwest communicators to discuss challenges and work together on solutions. This experience will help you expand your network and build confidence in using new communication tools in your work.​​
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The Reframing Farming: A Workshop for Midwest Farm and Food Communicators will be held from April 29-30, 2025, at the beautiful Des Moines Botanical Center in Iowa. The registration cost is $100. Space is limited so let us know you are interested by filling out an application.​
When: April 29–30, 2025
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Where: Des Moines Botanical Center in
Des Moines, Iowa
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Cost: The registration cost is $100, which includes 1 night of lodging and meals.
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For financial assistance, contact:
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Link to Apply: https://bit.ly/3ZrenTq
Space is limited; apply by February 23​
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For additional questions on the workshop or the application process, please email Jacqueline Pohl at jpohl@iastate.edu.
About the Presenters
Michael Rozyne​
Michael is founder of Red Tomato, a regional food hub based in Providence, RI that sources from 40 mid-sized fruit and vegetable farms, and distributes primarily to supermarkets, as well as institutions such as schools, hospitals and food banks. He is manager of the Farming & Food Narrative Project, a social science research project aimed at effective communications with a public audience. In 1986, Rozyne co-founded the fair trade food company Equal Exchange, a worker-owned cooperative.
Kelsey Gosch​
Kelsey is the Program and Development Manager at Red Tomato, a regional non-profit food hub based in Rhode Island. She has been with the organization since 2020 after graduating from Wellesley College with degrees in environmental studies, economics, and engineering. She has experience working on a small Northeast farm and in a food systems planning and policy research lab.
What IS the Farming and Food Narrative Project?
Listen to Project partner and farmer Steve Groff on the purpose of the research and vision that drives our work.
Background
Resources
This project is nested within the national scope of the Farming and Food Narrative Project. Below are supporting resources to better understand the underlying research and framework that supports the upcoming workshop.
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The Landscape of Public Thinking About Farming: Mapping the Gaps between Expert and Public Understanding (2019)
Understanding the Conversation about Farming: An Analysis of Media and Field Communications (2020)
Reframing Farming: Strategies for Expanding Thinking About Agriculture (2022)
Reframing Farming and Food Narratives Webinar (2023).
The project team reviews the need for reframing agricultural narratives, shows the research process, highlights some of the dominant cultural models people have on farming, and shares FrameWorks Institute's final recommendations. This webinar served as a first step introduction for those who will attend the 2025 workshop in Iowa.
Workshop Cosponsors
Red Tomato
Practical Farmers of Iowa
North Central IPM Center
North Central Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education (SARE)
This workshop was developed on by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program with funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture (NIFA-USDA); the North Central IPM Center with funding from NIFA-USDA’s Crop Protection and Pest Management Program (grant 2022-70006-38001) and Practical Farmers of Iowa. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed within do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. Department of Agriculture is an equal opportunity provider and employer.