The Alliance’s small but mighty team is continually working to further bridge the communication gap between farm and fork. Not even a global pandemic was able to slow us down! Since 1987, we’ve made many strides to connect the animal agriculture community, engage key stakeholders who have an influence on consumer choice, and protect animal agriculture from misinformation campaigns that tarnish trust in our food supply.
Looking Back
The end of April 2021 brought our last fiscal year to a close and wrapped up our strategic plan for 2019 through 2021. Here are a few of our most memorable highlights:
- In January 2019, we released our first-ever Sustainability Impact Report highlighting the continuous work the agriculture community is doing to reduce its environmental footprint while contributing to a sustainable food system.
- The Alliance debuted a new website with an updated Resource Center and refreshed and incorporated Alliance blog in November 2019! The website not only featured a fresh look and improved navigation but also new and updates resources and farm security materials to help members and supported bridge the communication gap between farm and fork.
- We’re frequently in contact with restaurant, retail, and foodservice brands who are facing pressure from activist groups, so we host regular webinars to touch on hot topics. During our April 2021 event, we had more than 120 registered attendees!
- We hosted our first Virtual Summit in 2020 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing together more than 500 registered attendees from across the farm and food communities! Our 2021 Virtual Summit topped that with nearly 600 registered attendees!
- Shortly following, we launched the Animal Ag Allies program to empower farmers, ranchers, and practicing veterinarians to be outspoken advocates online and in their communities. We’ve had 93 participants complete the program in its first year!
- More than 1,000 college students and 61 clubs participated in our College Aggies Online program during our previous strategic plan, reaching more than 13.8 million people online and in their campus communities!
Looking Ahead
Even though we’re proud of the progress made, we know there’s more work to be done. The Alliance team is already busy at work to achieve our newest goals outlined in our new strategic plan to guide our efforts over the next five years! Along with this new plan comes a new mission statement that incorporates why we do the work that we do:
We safeguard the future of animal agriculture and its value to society by bridging the communication gap between the farm and food communities.
This new mission statement will serve as our guiding principle as we focus on reaching the goals outlined in the plan:
Connect:
- Connect across industry sectors to provide a unified voice in addressing threats to animal agriculture.
- Connect farmers, ranchers and leaders across the agriculture sectors to share ideas and experiences.
- Increase awareness of the Alliance within the agriculture community.
- Grow membership with a focus on expanding diversity of membership and ensuring representation of all sectors of animal agriculture and the food community.
Engage:
- Correct the record and change the narrative around animal agriculture’s value to society, focusing on the areas such as animal welfare, sustainability, and responsible antibiotic use.
- Expand and amplify engagement efforts to key influencer audiences.
- Empower and develop new voices to join the dialogue around animal agriculture.
Protect:
- Take proactive steps to defend the animal agriculture community from activism.
- Alert and arm members with crisis management tips and facility security resources.
- Expose the true objectives and ulterior motives of activist groups.
The Alliance team is excited to see what these next five years have in store as we continue to connect, engage, and protect the agriculture community!
