Recognising that this can be a difficult balancing act, Meat Business Women is set to host a masterclass on strengthening relationships with farmers, boosting engagement with sustainability programmes, and communicating with credibility.  

‘Inside Track: Engaging your supply chain on sustainability initiatives’ will hear from Pinstone director Hannah Lloyd, and Sarah Haire, head of agriculture at Dunbia, who will share key insights on driving positive change. 

How do farmers respond to sustainability messaging? 

Pressure is rising for farmers to produce more food with less land and resources, whilst enhancing the natural environment. Yet farmers are facing tight margins and high input costs amid global instability and the loss of the BPS.   

As a result, engaging the sector on sustainability goals can be a tough ask.  

During the masterclass, Hannah Lloyd will delve into findings from https://www.pinstone.co.uk/pinstone-pulse-insights research, which explores how farmers think and feel about sustainability, and the language that pulls them in and pushes them away.  

The findings show that for farmers, the messenger is as important as the message. The most trusted voices are advisers, trade mediaand fellow farmers – though social media, influencers and Google are becoming increasingly important. 

Language also has a direct impact on engagement – 65% of farmers said too much corporate jargon such as net zero or climate emergency, is a turnoff, and ‘regen ag’ is a divisive term.  

Farmers are more likely to engage with phrases such as ‘farming with nature’, ‘sustainable farming’ or ‘productivity’.  
Another take-home from the research is that farmers are more likely to engage with businesses that are willing to stand up for them. 

Plain, practical comms tailored to the audience was identified as key for driving change. Crucially, sustainability initiatives must make sense for the farmer’s bottom line, and communications should reflect this. 

Hannah will explore in the masterclass how the findings can be leveraged to ensure communications are credible and create trust and engagement, not resistance. 

Learnings from Farm Green  

Sarah Haire will present learnings from the launch of Dunbia’s Farm Green sustainability initiative, and how it is driving positive change and impact across its supply chain.  

Farm Green aims to transfer knowledge and inspire the farming community to reach shared sustainability goals. 

She will cover what approaches have successfully engaged farmers and changed behaviours – as well as what hasn’t worked, drawing on examples from some of their work around carbon foot printing. 

Event details 

The event is aimed at those working across the meat, food and agricultural supply chain, including sustainability, procurement, communications, marketing, ESG and farmer engagement roles. 

The one-hour virtual masterclass takes place on 15th July from 1-2pm. It includes a Q&A and is free to members of Meat Business Women.  

To book visit: MBW I Inside Track: Engaging your supply chain on sustainability initiatives  

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