Iowa Farm Bureau Federation

TO CREATE A VIBRANT FUTURE FOR AGRICULTURE, FARM FAMILIES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES.

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS - NEWS SERVICE ISSUES THE WEEKLY PUBLICATION, "IOWA FARM BUREAU SPOKESMAN," WHICH IS THE PRIMARY COMMUNICATIONS VEHICLE BETWEEN STATE AND COUNTY LEADERS AND FARMING MEMBERS PROVIDING REPORTS ON FARM BUREAU POLICY IMPLEMENTATION AND REGULATORY ISSUES AS WELL AS STATE, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURE NEWS. ALSO PUBLISHED IS A MONTHLY NEWSPAPER, "FAMILY LIVING," DISTRIBUTED TO AG-SUPPORTING MEMBERS. APPROXIMATELY 135,000 MEMBERS BENEFITED FROM BOTH PUBLICATIONS. ADDITIONALLY, A WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBER LEADERS, "THE DIRT", IS ALSO PUBLISHED BY NEWS SERVICES BENEFITTING APPROXIMATELY 850 MEMBERS EACH WEEK. THE SPOKESMAN SPEAKS IS A FARMER-FOCUSED PODCAST THAT HAS OVER 13,000 DOWNLOADS ON USEFUL FARM TRENDS AND TIPS. THE TEAM ALSO PRODUCES A SEMI-ANNUAL CONSUMER E-NEWSLETTER, "THE IOWA DISH," WITH A SUBSCRIBER BASE OF MORE THAN 45,800 SUBSCRIBERS FEATURING FARM AND FOOD NEWS. MARKETING FOCUSES ON MEMBER RETENTION AND ACQUISITION THROUGH VARIOUS MEDIUMS INCLUDING VIDEO, ADVERTISING, PRINT, RADIO, MULTI-MEDIA AND WEB MARKETING. THE TEAM MARKETS FARM BUREAU BENEFITS, SERVICES AND PROGRAMS TO THE MEMBERSHIP AS WELL AS THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND MANAGES THE ORGANIZATION'S BRAND. THEY ALSO MANAGE RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNERS AND COORDINATE PARTNER PROMOTIONS. KEY EVENTS INCLUDE FARM BUREAU'S EXHIBIT AT THE IOWA STATE FAIR AND OUTREACH EFFORTS WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA THROUGH OUR ANF PARTNERSHIP AND IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY THROUGH OUR FARM STRONG PARTNERSHIP. COMBINED, PARTNER PROMOTIONS REACHED OVER ONE MILLION CONSUMERS WITH FARMING AND FARM BUREAU INFORMATION. PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGICALLY COMMUNICATES FARM BUREAU POLICY AND AGRICULTURAL ISSUES TO KEY ORGANIZATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING: MEMBERS, EMPLOYEES, ELECTED LEADERS, MEMBERS OF THE NEWS MEDIA AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC. THE TEAM ALSO PRODUCES A WEEKLY TV COMMERCIAL, THE IOWA MINUTE, WHICH AIRS TO OVER 2.6 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS AND CONDUCTS MESSAGE AND COMMUNICATIONS TRAINING FOR COUNTY FARM BUREAU'S, TRAINING OVER 368 LAST YEAR. THE TEAM ALSO MANAGED MEDIA RELATION EFFORTS, COORDINATING 149 MEDIA INTERVIEWS RESULTING IN NEARLY 1,400 PLACEMENTS WITH 1.5 IMPRESSIONS. THE DIGITAL MARKETING DEPARTMENT PROVIDES STRATEGIC OUTREACH THROUGH ONLINE (WEB-BASED) AND SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO ENGAGE, DEVELOP, MAINTAIN AND EXPAND RELEVANT AND IMPACTFUL DIALOGUES WITH KEY AUDIENCES. OVER 153,000 MEMBERS BENEFITED FROM THESE PROGRAMS.

FIELD SERVICE - WORK WITH 100 COUNTY FARM BUREAUS AND THEIR VOLUNTEER LEADERS AROUND THE STATE TO IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS AND POLICIES THAT BENEFIT MEMBERS AND THE ORGANIZATION IN GENERAL. THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED BY DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY OF TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR COUNTY BOARDS OF DIRECTORS AND THEIR EXECUTIVE BOARDS AS WELL AS KEY COUNTY COMMITTEE MEMBERS LIKE YOUNG FARMERS AND AG EDUCATION VOLUNTEERS. THESE PROGRAMS ENHANCE LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND STIMULATE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE LEADERS FOR FARM BUREAU, AGRICULTURE, AND RURAL IOWA. THE MEMBER EDUCATION PROGRAMS SUCH AS REGULARLY SCHEDULED WEBINARS, RISK MANAGEMENT AND COMMODITY MARKETING SESSIONS AND THE TAKE ROOT PROGRAM HELPS MEMBERS ACROSS THE STATE WITH THEIR BUSINESS SUCCESSION AND TRANSITION CHALLENGES, RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DECISIONS. THE EDUCATIONAL PRORAMS ALSO ASSISTS FARMERS AND YOUNG FARMERS BEGIN NEW FARM BUSINESSES, ASSISTS FARMERS TO IMPROVE THEIR EXISTING FARM AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SKILLS AND IMPROVE NET FARM INCOME.

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS - WORK WITH VOLUNTEER AGRICULTURAL LEADERS TO INFLUENCE PUBLIC POLICY DECISIONS AT THE COUNTY, STATE AND NATIONAL LEVELS. PROVIDES INFORMATION ABOUT ISSUES AFFECTING RURAL IOWANS. OVER 156,000 MEMBERS BENEFITED.