Salisbury-based agricultural communications specialist, Kendra Hall NSch 2022, has published her Nuffield Farming report entitled, ‘Building Public Trust in British Farming Through Increased Transparency of Livestock Production’. The report was sponsored jointly by AHDB and the Dartington Cattle Breeding Trust.
During her Scholarship, Kendra travelled to Australia, Canada, Denmark, the USA, and the UK. Her objectives were to understand whether public trust in the agricultural industry is being prioritised and explore methods to improve transparency and engage with the public.
In her report, Hall says, “The British public generally trusts farmers, sees them as experts and believes they care about their animals and the environment. However, a growing number of consumers are seeking food products that align with their values and want more information about how their food is raised.”
Hall believes transparency is needed across sectors and systems, especially in intensive systems that are less understood, but hesitancy to open farm gates is understandable.
“If the gates stay firmly shut, the animal agriculture industry risks appearing secretive. And if the industry stays quiet when faced with tough questions, others will gladly fill the void with their own narratives. Livestock agriculture is at serious risk of losing its social license to operate.”
During her travels and research, Kendra uncovered several common threads. These include a dedication to authenticity and honesty by showing the ‘warts and all’ of food, as well as the need to understand and listen to the public, and develop a long-term strategy which measures trust and meets targeted audiences where they already are.
Hall believes shared values are also important: “A commitment to sharing values, not facts, when engaging with audiences and abandoning the idea that we must ‘educate the public’.
“It is imperative that all of British agriculture – not just livestock farmers – embrace these principles as a first step toward protecting our social license to operate. If done effectively and authentically, we can add value to British produce and ensure that our industry can evolve in step with society, securing its future for generations to come.”
Key findings:
- Transparency is not an option for retaining Social License to Operate (SLO) – it is absolutely necessary for the long-term success of livestock agriculture and is simply step one toward securing SLO long term
- If we really truly believe in what we do, we have to be brave enough to talk about it – warts and all
- We must commit to listening to public concerns about how food is produced and be prepared to change accordingly
- Shared values – not education – are key to gaining public trust
- Farmers cannot do this alone. The agri-food supply chain needs to work together and support those who choose to engage with the public by providing information about public sentiment, upskilling and providing resources for engagement