by Kelly Visser, Iowa Soybean Association agricultural awareness manager
Some days, it can feel like connecting with consumers is nearly impossible.
With each trendy diet, noisy advertisement or misinformed social media comment, it seems like the distance between the 2% who farm and 98% who don’t is widening.
In my consumer-facing role with the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) and Iowa Food & Family Project (Iowa FFP), I work to unite Iowans in conversations about modern agriculture. I work to showcase the work farmers do to raise safe, nutritious products to feed their families, neighbors and the world.
Each time I speak with a farmer, their question to me remains the same: “What do consumers really want to know about farming and how can I connect with them?” This leadership and openness are the first steps in shrinking the seemingly significant divide between consumers and farmers.
And the bridge goes both ways. More than 130,000 Iowa consumers (that’s the combined population of Iowa City, Cedar Falls and Boone!) are engaging with Iowa FFP content, activities and events. They’re hungry to meet farmers and have authentic conversations about how food is grown and raised.
Each year, Iowa FFP conducts a Consumer Pulse Survey among food purchasers in the state. Now in its eighth year, the survey gauges grocery shopping habits, food label influence and attitudes toward farming.
These objective survey findings shape Iowa FFP’s approach to connecting farmers and consumers. And best of all, these findings can help farmers answer the question: “What do consumers really want to know about farming and how can I connect with them?”
Here are three key takeaways from the most recent survey:
- Iowans are fans of farmers: 83% of grocery shoppers agreed they have a positive opinion of farming in Iowa. In fact, 9 in 10 agree that farmers are on the right track with building strong communities and providing safe foods.
- Trends aren’t that trendy: Only 3% of food purchasers shop for groceries online. Almost 9 in 10 shoppers agree they are unlikely to replace meat with imitation meat for any given meal.
- Mistrust in food marketing: Half of shoppers seek information on front-of-package food marketing (call outs like “organic,” “hormone-free” or “all natural”), with 83% finding it misleading. Since 2016, the purchasing influence of front-of-package marketing has dropped from 32% to 19%. Food quality and price of food top the list as the most important factors when grocery shopping.
The November 2019 survey had 597 responses and 307 were engaged with Iowa FFP as monthly newsletter subscribers. Respondents’ age groups, income levels, education levels and geographic regions closely follow the state’s population, resulting in a 4% margin of error. Blue Compass, a digital marketing agency in West Des Moines, conducted the survey analysis from data collected through Dynata’s business-to-consumer panel.
For additional survey insights and resources that connect farmers and consumers, visit iowafoodandfamily.com.