Career Insight: Agricultural Marketing Communications

With all of the possible careers students invested in agriculture can pursue, finding the right fit may seem overwhelming. Here are a few words from guest blogger Cindy Miller, senior director of producer relations and consumer confidence at United Dairymen of Idaho.

Cindy Miller, United Dairymen of Idaho

     Full disclosure: I haven’t worked in agriculture my entire career. However, I did spend a great deal of time on my uncle’s dairy farm in Wisconsin when I was growing up, which naturally primed me to work at United Dairymen of Idaho. So did my bachelor’s degree and subsequent career in public relations.

     The tools PR pros use to communicate continue to evolve, but one thing remains constant: telling compelling stories. Simply put, this is what I do here at United Dairymen of Idaho, and it’s what I’ve been doing my entire career. Communicating the important and the interesting is what brings brands to life and gives me the opportunity to connect and engage audiences.

     The foundation of our health and prosperity rests firmly with our farm families. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to share their stories, help communicate the benefits of dairy foods, and support farming throughout the state as United Dairymen of Idaho’s senior director of consumer confidence and producer relations.

     It’s an incredibly important role to play. Farming has never been easy — it’s always been a labor of love — and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make a living at it. Declining incomes, rising debt, long-term labor shortages, worsening rural poverty, and growing public and regulatory scrutiny are forcing more and more families to abandon farming.

     Meanwhile, farming and dairying are critical to Idaho’s economy. Agriculture is the fourth leading industry in the Gem State, and dairy products comprise nearly one-third of the sector’s total contribution to Idaho’s economy. We are the third largest milk-producing state in the country, and our 500+ dairy farms — all of which are family owned — contribute more than 23,000 employees to Idaho’s workforce.

     United Dairymen of Idaho was established in 1980 to help ensure these dairy farm families and workers continue to prosper. We enhance the image of dairy farming and encourage global demand for Idaho dairy products via multifaceted marketing-communications efforts, nutrition counseling, research, and collaboration with dairy processors, retailers, school nutrition and athletics staff, and other important partners.

     Although our farmers face numerous challenges, United Dairymen of Idaho is an exciting and professionally rewarding place to work. For those of you who are good communicators and passionate about agriculture, I wholeheartedly encourage you to consider a career that helps celebrate and conserve farming here in Idaho and beyond.