More than 100 high school and college students learned how to spread a positive image about agriculture on campus this weekend.

The Agriculture Education Club and Collegiate ISU FFA Chapter hosted an Agvocacy Day on campus Sunday, the unofficial kick off to the Iowa FFA Convention that will be on campus until Tuesday.

“Be the Voice” was the theme for this year.

“’Be the Voice’ means we want to teach students to see that they have to get a positive message about agriculture out to the general public,” said Cody Smith, sophomore in agriculture and life sciences education and president of the Agriculture Education Club.

Having the Iowa FFA Convention take place on campus also serves as a recruiting tool for students interested in the College of Agriculture and Life Science. 

The event cost $5 for each college student and $10 for each high school student to attend, and the event doubles as a fundraiser for the club. Students listened to speakers who covered a range of popular topics in agriculture like women in agriculture, water quality issues, pork and beef industry, social media and sustainability.

The event was set to appeal to students within the College of Ag and Life Sciences, but didn’t limit itself to just agriculture communications or society students — rather it attracted students from the agronomy department, animal science and agriculture studies.

Students had the opportunity to network with companies that brought booths to the event and learn about internships available.

Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Wendy Wintersteen greeted the participants of this event and welcomed the visiting high school students to the ISU campus, and she talked about the opportunities at Iowa State.

“It’s our responsibility for consumers to understand the science, and you first need to find that shared value to find common ground with consumers,” Wintersteen said. 

The role that social media plays in getting the message out was a topic most of the speakers touched on.

Greg Peterson, the oldest of the Peterson Brothers who host YouTube Channel Peterson Farm Bros, and who helped spread agriculture awareness through song parodies like “I’m Farming and I Grow It” on YouTube, said some people get their exposure to agriculture information through social media or movies, which don’t always get it right.

“People are getting their information from the media and movies, where the information isn’t always accurate,” he said. “It’s our job — everyone who is connected to agriculture — to go out and tell the truth about agriculture and help educate.”

The first video he created has more than 6 million views and has seen viral success. Since that video, they’ve done interviews and new videos to use their platform for advocating for agriculture. 

He showed some examples of their YouTube videos and talked about the concept behind developing, filming and sharing their personal story.

Speakers encouraged students to advocate and share their own story, because they’re the only one who can tell it. 

After the keynote speaker, students were able to travel to the breakout session of their choice. Some of the breakout sessions were lead by the National Pork Board, Monsanto, Food Resource Bank, the Iowa Department of Ag and Land Stewardship, Iowa Beef Council, and FarmHer.