A group of students called the WTagchat meet to discuss agriculture and informational topics as they become more popular.
This forum is open to all students, even those that are not based in agriculture. The group was created by Reba Underwood, a junior studying Agriculture Media Communications.
“I wanted a forum where Ag students and non-Ag students can come together and figure ways to engage consumers as well as producers and those who have a farm background,” Underwood said.
Haley Sprague, a junior Agriculture Communications major, attended the lunch group which takes place every Thursday at noon in various locations.“We talked about how to get producers involved and getting the younger producers involved, which would be a good thing because they are more willing to talk about it,” Sprague said. “I love coming to these meetings because I learn something new every time I come. Talking about Ag issues one-on-one with my fellow peers is the way I learn best.”
Tanner Robertson, an assistant professor of Agricultural Sciences and Media Communications adviser, helps guide the students and ensures they understand topics during discussions.
“The idea behind WTagchat is to create a forum where we can openly discuss agriculture and informational topics as they trend and as they become more popular,” Robertson said.
One of the topics discussed was the issue of a product produced labeled pink slime which is a lean, finely textured beef. BPI is a big producer of this product, which is produced as a filler that mechanically separates the beef from the fat to make the meat 98 percent lean.
“Many school programs use this product, but have had concerns about it,” Underwood said. “It’s very healthy at 98 percent lean and has 10 essential nutrients that regular beef has.”
Media can misinterpret information which is another issue that WTagchat addresses.
“This information can be interpreted wrongly by different peer groups, which is why agriculture communications is always changing and how they address these changes,” said Robertson.
WTagchat also discussed getting the producer more involved with the issues with pink slime and informing to the public.
“One thing we recognize is that government, policy regulation and organizations are under attack, not necessarily the producers and ranchers,” Robertson said. “With that standpoint, we talked about getting the ranchers and producers more involved to help out with the issue.”
The WTagchat has a Facebook page which is welcomed to anyone who wants to join the brainstorming sessions. The group – which started with two people having coffee – is growing and is now has a dozen people joining the conversation.
“We want to encourage people from all different backgrounds to join us,” Underwood said. “We are really trying to break out, not just have Agriculture students but non-Agriculture students as well.”
