YDLI Day 2: Advanced Communications Training & Reporting on Phase 2 Successes

The first full day of YDLI Phase 3, Thursday, started off with a bang - Advanced Media and Communication Training lead by media mogul Joan Horbiak, David Pelzer and Michele Ruby. The participants were immediately thrown into a real-life crisis situation, with a [fictitious] scenario dealing with an alleged animal abuse video at a neighboring dairy farm. Horbiak and company walked the group through various positive communications strategies and key messages they could use to convey their story effectively to media of all types, as well as the consuming public.

The YDLI media training session is a perennial favorite for participants, and there is a great deal of interactive practice. Many class members were called up on stage or interviewed live on camera to put their skills to use.

YDLIers practicing how they would handle an impromptu phone interview from a news reporter.

Joan Horbiak kept all of the class members on their toes, putting new skills to the test.

At the end of the session, all YDLI participants committed to a personal action plan consisting of three things they could to do proactively communicate their animal care stories, including things such as:

• Hosting an on-farm event for the community and media
• Creating a farm brochure to show how their values guide them in providing excellent animal care
• Sharing animal care videos and/or photos online
• Making contact with local newspaper editors and/or radio hosts

After lunch, the focus turned to learning about and celebrating participants' Phase 2 successes. Phase 2 of YDLI is completed in the year between the face-to-face meetings in Albuquerque and consists of a series of projects in their home communities, including consumer interviews, presentations to local groups and capstoned by a personal advocacy project. It is amazing to learn about all that this impressive group has accomplished over the past 12 months. Here are just a few examples:

• Lucas Fuess from Illinois went into an elementary school in a suburb of Chicago and educated a group of 3rd and 4th graders about nutrition and how they can make healthier snack choices including dairy products.
• Brad Groves, Missouri, had the opportunity to take a cow and calf to a Bass Pro Shops and he and his family visited with thousands of consumers about the dairy industry and benefits of dairy products in a healthy diet.
• Sarah Englebert of Wisconsin organized a dairy-themed night at her local Arena Football League team game, featuring several dairy-themed games and snacks, exposing a new audience to our industry.
• Many participants took their YDLI training back to their local 4-H, FFA, college and other agricultural groups, providing "mini-communications training sessions" and ways they could better connect with consumers in a variety of situations.

Lucas Fuess really summed up the Phase 2 experience eloquently at the end of his presentation: 

This evening features dinner and a keynote by Terry Paulson on "Leveraging Optimism to Make Change Work." Check back tomorrow to hear more about our YDLI experience!

If you are interested in receiving an application for YDLI Class 9, which will take place in February 2015 and 2016 in Phoenix, Ariz., visit the Holstein Foundation web site. Applications will be due August 1, 2014.