2017 VistaComm Photo Contest Winners

Every year VistaComm holds an internal photo contest among its associates. A different theme is chosen each year to ensure that the photos have a similar feel. This is a fun way to show off our talents, and have a little friendly competition at the same time. All of the photos go into our library of images used in various VistaComm publications, while the top photos find their way into a calendar we send to our clients each year. Congratulations to Darcy Maulsby who took home 3 out of the top 4 spots in our voting-a pretty impressive feat when you consider you can only submit 3 photos for voting!

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1ST PLACE

DARCY MAULSBY: Native grasses and wildlife habitat co-exist enhance this farm just down the road from where I live, reminding me that both conservation and production agriculture are essential components of the countryside.

 

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2ND PLACE

BURKE PERRY: My son and I had been running around the countryside trying to get some "golden light" shots of wheat harvest. We managed to track down some combines and get some nice shots. This was just a scene that appeared as we were headed home after sunset. Good end to a good day...and some really rich twilight.

 

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3RD PLACE (TIE)

DARCY MAULSBY: If you didn't know this was corn, you might wonder why this structure appears to be "buried" in the shifting desert sands. Truly a bountiful harvest here in the Iowa countryside.

 

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3RD PLACE (TIE)

DARCY MAULSBY: The fact that someone felt patriotic enough to display a flag at the end of their lane near this pasture inspired patriotism in me, too. With the bales in the background, this image reflects the independence that defines America, especially rural America.

Involving employees, and even your community, in a contest is a great way to generate photos, videos and stories that you can use in your marketing and communication efforts.

To our clients: Be on the lookout for next year's calendar, featuring these photos and more, as we head into the holiday season.

See More Here: 2017 VistaComm Photo Contest Winners

Grassroots Approach to Ag Marketing

Michigan Growers Promote Agriculture From the Ground Up

[caption id="attachment_3254" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Carole and Red Christofferson enjoy sharing knowledge about agriculture with their customers.[/caption]

Carole and Red Christofferson love their farm, and agriculture in general. The former high school teachers bought their farm 50 years ago just outside of Ludington, Michigan, on the sandy, rolling hillsides about five miles from Lake Michigan. Today, Christofferson Farms produces some of the most beautiful fruit you’ll find in western Michigan, including peaches, sweet and tart cherries, plums, apples, raspberries, blackberries and more.

Ag Marketing Starts On the Farm.

[caption id="attachment_3255" align="alignleft" width="375"] Christofferson Farms is a member of Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP)—a voluntary program that helps farms prevent or minimize agricultural pollution risks.[/caption]

The Christoffersons are active participants in the Mason & Oceana County Agricultural Trail—a group of 17 ag-related businesses and sites in the two counties located on the shores of Lake Michigan. The group’s purpose is to spread the word about this unique agricultural area that includes 1,000+ farms covering over 206,000 acres. And given the fact that only 2% of Americans live on working farms, the Christoffersons believe it’s important to share knowledge about the current state of farming.

“We love telling people about our crops and our farm,” says Carole, who has been selling fresh fruit from Christofferson Farms at the farmers market in Midland, MI, for the last 30 summers.

With the help of Red’s science knowledge from 25 years teaching high school chemistry, Christofferson Farms takes a progressive approach to sourcing and growing the best varieties. “We ordered 200 trees to plant next spring,” says Red, who will turn 80 in January.

The Christoffersons have three employees—all of whom have been with them 20 years. Their young grandson is now part of the farm venture, growing and selling pumpkins and squash with guidance from his granddad. So when local residents or tourists stop by the farm to pick berries or fruit, they’re getting the products of a true family farm.

Year-Round Commitment to Agriculture.

Though it’s a very busy growing season at Christofferson Farms from about April through September, Carole and Red enjoy relaxing winters in Yuma, AZ. But it’s not a total break from agriculture. Yuma is known as the “winter lettuce capital of the world,” supplying 90% of the nation's leafy vegetables between November and March. “We just really enjoy following ag,” says Carole, who serves on a committee promoting agriculture in the Yuma area.

Click here for more information about Christofferson Farms.

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Whether it’s a small family orchard or a major regional cooperative, VistaComm’s ag journalists like Jane Wooldridge really know…and love…agriculture. Want to tap into this ag marketing expertise? Contact VistaComm today at 800-657-8070 to start the conversation.

Article Source Here: Grassroots Approach to Ag Marketing

Why I Love Road Trips

[caption id="attachment_298" align="alignright" width="300"] Burke Perry, Senior Journalist[/caption]

So, let’s get this out of the way right up front. This is not an impartial, detached analysis of the value of road trips in the marketing business. I absolutely love them. Not a little bit. A lot. Especially in the spring, summer and fall. During an upper Midwest winter, maybe not so much.

In my opinion, our clients conduct their business in some of the prettiest locations in the United States. Yes, I’m partial to farm country and small towns.

If you have the opportunity to drive (yes, opportunity—I hate flying), you have the chance to detach from the daily routine, observe the countryside, watch for unexpected photo opportunities and, in my case, eat food that can significantly shorten your life expectancy (Yes, officer, that is a giant tub of cheese balls). I rely on GPS, but I still carry my Rand McNally Atlas—brand new 2017 edition.

But enough about the personal benefits. What do road trips deliver from a writer’s—and a company’s—perspective?

To me, there’s value in getting my face in front of our clients. It shows we care enough to stop in. It lets me see the country they cover, meet them and the people they work with, see what’s changing in their part of the world…and what’s just the same as the last time.

Sure, you can talk about growing conditions and new employees over the phone. But there’s something about face-to-face contact that tends to bring out the best in people. That’s how you uncover the little nuggets of personal information that take a story from average to exceptionally readable.

Where stories are born

I recently had the opportunity to make my annual visit to a client in Montana. Although I flew there (that’s another story, and another reason I hate to fly), I did get to tool around some of the most gorgeous country on earth for several days.

On these trips, I’m constantly impressed with how friendly and courteous our clients are—and how knowledgeable. They know their stuff, and really appreciate it when you show a genuine interest and do a decent job of communicating their message. In time, you can become a little like a member of the staff.

Then there are the stories. Like the retiring location manager I visited on my Montana junket. Though he was a Montana native and had been working at the cooperative for 20 years, there was a lot more to his story. He’d been stationed in the Mediterranean while serving in the Navy, built sailboats in California, worked as a commercial crab fisherman in Alaska, and was planning to spend his retirement years mining gold in the Sierra Nevadas.

Would I have gotten all that over the phone? Maybe. But having the chance to sit down with him in the place he’d worked for two decades just might have added something to the narrative. I know it did for me.

Life is basically a collection of stories. We all have our own. Organizations have theirs, too. None of these stories take place in a vacuum, but in the context of an environment and a community. Visiting those places helps us to understand and communicate those stories more completely and accurately. And it’s stories—not words—that capture peoples’ attention.

So, here’s to the wondrous inefficiencies of the road trip, and the chance it offers to place ourselves into the context of the stories we’re writing.

Learn More Here: Why I Love Road Trips