About our work

The National Young Farmers Coalition is a grassroots network shifting power and changing policy to more equitably resource our new generation of working farmers.

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We envision a just future where farming is free of racial violence, accessible to communities, oriented towards environmental well-being, and concerned with health over profit.

OUr theory

of Change

“YOung farmers, when resourced and trained to share their stories with lawmakers, can remake the food system to be more equitable, just, and in service to our communities and the land.”

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The power of Storytelling

• Why is storytelling important (especially in the context of advocacy work)?
• Making connections
• Personal as political
• Small scale to large scale
• Generates empathy
• Compassion across difference
• Educates and informs
• Accessible format
• Storytellers occupy a position of expertise.

Defining advocacy

• Campaigns: the strategy surrounding advocacy over time towards a specific target
• Can be policy-focused, narrative-focused, etc.
• Remember that policy is also narrative at its core!
• Important: make “asks” that demand specific, feasible action
• Communication: “branding” allows for consistency, recognizable and memorable language

Defining advocacy

• Representation: Sharing one’s own story and experience in order to represent a larger collective issue–leveraging single voices to amplify a common experience.
• Reach: Sharing the story to an audience that has the power to make change over the structural circumstances creating/influencing that experience. Inspiring more participation from public, inspiring others to take action.
• Goal: influencing lawmakers to invest in equitable changes to our farm and food system.

Defining advocacy

Different types of narrative advocacy

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• Writing a op-ed for a news source
• Making a podcast or giving an interview
• Meeting with a policy maker during a lobby day or “in district” meeting
• Organizing a roundtable
• Speaking at a rally
• Submitting a public comment
• Writing a letter/email to your MOC

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What turns a personal story into compelling testimony?

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A Good Story has a beginning middle and end

The Beginning

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• Introduce yourself, the name of your farm, your location
• State 1-2 pertinent facts about your experience that make you an expert.
• State explicitly why you are there and what action you hope the group you are speaking to will take to support your needs.

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Example: My name is Erika Rincon, I live in the Hudson Valley, I was a vegetable farmer for over ten years and for the last three years I have been a community organizer for the National Young Farmers Coalition.

I am here today because I hope that young farmers across the state will support our campaign for fair farmer housing legislation.

The Middle

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• Dig into your lived experience here. Make sure to only focus on what is relevant to your campaign.
• Depending on the setting, gauge how much information you should include. For oral testimony you may only have five minutes. For written testimony you should aim for 1-3 pages plus supporting documents if you have any.
• Try relate your experience to larger trends within your community or region. It is especially helpful to have numbers or statistics for this.

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The End

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• Make the ask!
• Don’t waiver or qualify it
• Depending on this situation, it might be useful to include a call to action or next steps for folks to take to join your campaign. Calls to action are usually included in Op Eds or at public rallies.

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Example: This year the Housing Working Group is working with XYZ legislator to introduce a new bill that will create a housing grant program for farmers. We need your support to ensure that this bill passes. To learn more about our campaign, visit XYZ.

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A few more tips

• Tell your own story
• Don’t generalize
• Practice outloud and with a friend
• If you are giving testimony or speaking at a rally, time yourself beforehand to make sure you are using all your time
• Be concise and as accurate as possible

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Questions?

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Erika@youngfarmers.org

www.Youngfarmers.org

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