Public relations work on farms

As part of the last DLG-Agrifuture Insights winter survey, we asked farm managers whether they do public relations work for their farm and, if so, what prevents them from doing so. 

Even though the survey did not go into how public relations work is defined by each individual and to what extent their public relations work is carried out, the results clearly show that a relatively high proportion of farms, over 60% in total, are already active in public relations work. Of those surveyed, 36% stated that they carry out public relations work for their farm, while a further 27% carry out public relations work for the agricultural sector. 

On the other hand, more than a third of farms (37 %) are not yet involved at all in cultivating public opinion about their farm and the agricultural sector. Here we asked what prevents farms from carrying out their own public relations work.

Lack of time is the most important limiting factor 

When asked why no public relations work is carried out, more than half of the participants (55%) cited a lack of time as the reason. The second most important reason given by the respondents (44%) is that they themselves do not want to be in the public eye. A further 27% see public relations work as a typical task of the respective associations and not of the individual farmer. Although the agricultural sector is constantly and often negatively in the public eye, a total of around 17% generally see no added value in public relations work.

Good reasons for public relations work

However, these statements are countered by two weighty arguments as good reasons for public relations work:

It has been shown time and again that individual farmers in particular are seen and perceived much more positively than agriculture per se. Above all, this results in greater credibility for the message sent out.

It has also been proven that a farmer's own public relations work on site, i.e. in the direct vicinity of the farm, can have a significantly greater impact than is possible with more general image advertising by associations. A farm's own public relations work therefore leads relatively directly to a better personal and farm image. 

Based on the results of the survey, the question may be asked whether the importance of the topic should not become a matter of course in the farmer's range of tasks - also and especially by establishing it in training.

In German-speaking regions, anyone interested in information material and support with public relations work will find a wide range of offers at www.Agrarkommunikation.de.

DLG-Agrifuture Insights – a comprehensive view on agricultural development

DLG-Agrifuture Insights is the DLG knowledge brand and platform for international trend analyses in the agricultural sector. It examines the business environment in agriculture in Germany and worldwide. For this purpose, farmers and people from agribusiness, science and consulting are surveyed annually on their assessments of the economic situation and development of agricultural businesses, as well as technology trends and innovations in the individual business sectors. A total of 3,336 people took part in the current survey in winter 2023/24, around 1,300 of them from abroad.