I love promoting and supporting the agricultural industry in a creative and impactful way!
All Roads Lead to Agriculture
Melissa Webster
August 13, 2024
From researchers to agronomists, farmers to engineers, and grocers to agri-marketers, the agriculture industry reaches all corners of the globe and takes all kinds of people to keep it running.
According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the agriculture and agri-food system employed 2.3 million people in 2023, providing 1 in 9 jobs in Canada. Per the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, 22.1 million full- and part-time jobs were related to the agricultural and food sectors in 2022, accounting for 10.4 percent of total U.S. employment.
At AdFarm, it is the diverse backgrounds and experience of our team that come together with the skills needed to power our full-service agency. Some AdFarmers were raised in agriculture, and some learned it on the job, but every AdFarmer brings a unique perspective to their role.
So let’s break it down…
Aggie or Addie?
At the core of AdFarm’s success is what we call “agness” and “adness,” a principle that underscores the dual expertise in agriculture and advertising that allows us to deliver high-impact marketing solutions tailored to the specific needs of the agricultural industry. We recently surveyed AdFarm employees to find out the composition of “aggies” and “addies” on our team.
As of August 2024, 64% of AdFarmers are addies who come from a marketing or communications background and have earned their chops in the world of advertising. A highly educated bunch, the types of courses they’ve taken in post-secondary education include:
AdFarm’s agness isn’t limited to our AgIntel team. From leadership to finance, 36% of AdFarmers are aggies with experience in agriculture, including growing up or working on farms, participating in 4-H and FFA, and pursuing post-secondary education in the agricultural field.
AdFarmers have experience in almost every type of farm you can think of, producing:
- Wheat
- Barley
- Oats
- Canola
- Soybean
- Sugar beets
- Corn
- Hay
- Forage
- Swine
- Poultry
- Beef
- Dairy
- Equine
The courses they’ve taken related to agriculture include:
Whether growing up around agriculture or just growing to love it, one thing is for sure—the passion that each member of our team has shines through. We’re all driven by AdFarm’s purpose: to be a catalyst for the advancement of agriculture.
AdFarmers understand how important agriculture is to North America and to the world. Feeding the world is no small feat, and we’re proud to represent companies innovating, researching and delivering new products and technologies to help farmers be more productive, sustainable and profitable.
Throughout the vast agriculture industry, diverse voices and perspectives are essential to its continued success—something that we’ve embraced here at AdFarm. We know that no matter what path you start on, all roads lead to agriculture.
As a foodie, I love quality ingredients and have always had such respect for the process of growing food. Working at AdFarm is such a natural connection point of my professional love of marketing, and my personal love of food.
I love working with clients from all aspects of agriculture and immersing myself in what they do. I continue to have the curiosity to learn their business from a technical perspective, but appreciate that I can take a step back from an ‘addie’ perspective and help them achieve their goals.
I have always had an affinity for agriculture from family around me raising cattle and living on a farm.
I think farming is some of the most important work that can be done; feeding the world, and AdFarm seemed like a great place to contribute to that work.
From growing up on a farm and spending eight years in a beef 4-H club, I’ve always wanted to share my love for agriculture with those around me. “Making farmers the heroes” has been a theme at AdFarm over the years and really resonates with me—dispelling misconceptions about farming and showcasing the hard work, deep care and tireless effort that farmers put in every day is something I will always be passionate about.