Connecting Ohio Growers With Consumers

Ohio families looking for the nearest place to pick their own blueberries or get the freshest fruit available can look to Our Ohio — on television, on the Internet, or in print. An initiative sponsored by the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF), Our Ohio aims to connect the state’s residents with the stewards of its land by promoting agricultural products and tourism in Ohio.

As consumer interest became more focused on the food supply, how and where it is produced, and who is producing it, OFBF became committed to forging a partnership between Ohio’s farmers and consumers, says senior vice president of communications Kurt Ely of OFBF. Our Ohio launched in the fall of 2005 with the tagline, “Grow It. Know It. Live It.”

“The response has been great,” says Ely. “Most people just couldn’t make that leap between agriculture and how it applied to them. Once we started talking about gardening and food and open spaces and the environment, all of a sudden it became relevant.”

Our Ohio

The Our Ohio initiative involves three very interactive communication vehicles that seek to promote Ohio farm products and family visits back to the farm. Its television show by the same name is produced by public television and broadcast over all 12 statewide public broadcast stations. The second season has recently wrapped up filming with its new host, Gail Hogan, an Ohio native with her own audience and plenty of broadcast background, who is also representative of the demographic OFBF wants to reach.

The Web element, www.ourohio.org, serves to connect the state’s 16-plus large metropolitan areas, its diverse population, and its very viable agricultural sector through farm locators, maps, and event listings. Visitors can find farm stands and markets, food festivals, tree farms, and nurseries, searching by county on an interactive state map.

Finally, the magazine, Our Ohio, offers interesting articles about people and places throughout Ohio. It is, however, a perk that is available only to OFBF members.

Driving The Experience

Fully funded through OFBF membership dues, Ohio producers do not have to pay for these communication vehicles that promote their products — they only stand to benefit from the publicity. And while OFBF has not conducted any formal measurements of how the Our Ohio initiative is effecting producers, the anecdotal evidence suggests that it’s a hit.

“We’re measuring our response by membership renewals, new memberships, and hearing from our producers, ‘we really like what you’re doing, we like how you’re shaping our message.’ They’re getting people who have identified with the program into their stores and farm markets and places of business,” says Ely.