Know your food – know your beef! Introducing our ag-friendly social butterfly: Amanda Brodhagen

As a way to build bridges between those making food with those who shop for it, Ontario cattle farmer Amanada Brodhagen @AmandaBrodhagen takes to Twitter, blogging and other social tools to talk about beef and the way life is from her side of the fence. Canada Beef’s Tayla Fraser meets up with Amanda to chat about young farmers like her flexing their Social muscle!

TF: Tell us a bit about your involvement in agriculture

AB: I farm with my family in Southwestern Ontario, and am proud to represent the 5^th generation of beef farmers in my family. From a very young age, I was involved in the day-to-day work on my family’s farm but also took advantage of opportunities off the farm to stay connected. I was an avid 4-H member, where I showed cattle for many years, I was also fortunate enough to participate in the International Livestock Congress Student Program. And more recently, I graduated from the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders Program where I gained hands-on mentorship in the Canadian beef industry. When I am not busy on the farm, I enjoy engaging in various agriculture advocacy and educational initiatives – after all, people want to know more about where their beef comes from these days.

TF: What’s the draw of social media for you as an ‘agriculture advocate’?

AB: For me, social media is an excellent tool to connect with other beef farmers, share information, and stay connected with other advocates.. It also serves as a unique and exciting opportunity to engage in two-way conversation with the general public who may be interested in finding out more information about how cattle are raised and cared for. It also makes me more visible and accessible to do my agriculture advocacy work – other farmers, the public, media, and government leaders – they can all see the stories I share about Canadian beef.

TF: What’s your favourite topic to tweet about?

AB: Is this a trick question? Of course my favourite topic to tweet about is anything related to Canadian beef!!! Though, I do very much enjoy sharing photos of cattle on my family’s farm, especially new born calves. I do make an effort to show as much of the farm to table experience as possible, which includes grilling beef on the BBQ.

TF: We were happy to have you on our recent Twitter chat with Hero Burger. What made you want to join the Hero Burger Twitter chat? Did you learn anything new?

AB: It was a late minute decision. I saw it pop up on my Twitter feed, and it looked like fun. I made some new beef fans on Twitter, and got some new recipe ideas to try at home. 

TF: Why should other beef farmers and ranchers consider telling their story through social media?

AB: I strongly encourage others to consider telling their story through social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and others forms. It’s an opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with the general public in an online setting – and people want to know the back-story of food these days. I feel it gives me (us) the chance to be a good source of information about agriculture – real information, from real people, right from the farm. If we on-farm are absent from the social media scene, it is a lost opportunity to be a voice in the discussions around food. We need to champion the work that we do and the life that we love. We are the heart of the Canadian beef story after all.