Workforce Wednesday: Meet an Agricultural Communicator
Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation | Courtesy of Rachel Gerbitz
Agricultural communication is a wide net that covers a variety of career paths. Agriculture communicators may work as public relation specialists, journalists or even communication directors.
Rachel Gerbitz is the Director of Sustainability Communications and Partnerships with the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.
“My role is to tell the agriculture story,” Gerbitz said. “I contribute to the industry by highlighting the good and equipping farmers with the tools that they need to share their story themselves as well.”
Her role at WFBF is specifically to help communicate how farmers are implementing and maintaining sustainable practices on their farms. She helps bring transparency to the work being done on farms across Wisconsin.
“Our farmers are so hardworking and so important to our society and our economy,” Gerbitz said. “We rely on just 2% of the world's population to produce 100% of the world's food. So, it's really important to communicate and foster that trust and transparency for Wisconsin farmers.”
Communications was a natural choice for Gerbitz. She said she always gravitated more towards reading and writing than math classes.
“I thought journalism and communications would be a good career fit for me,” Gerbitz said. “It was really important to me to keep that connection to agriculture and keep learning and growing in the ag space and learn how to communicate those complicated farming and scientific terms to consumers and to the general public that might not understand what farmers are doing every day on their farms.”
Gerbitz earned a Bachelor of Science in Dairy Science and Life Sciences Communications from University of Wisconsin Madison. While attending school, she held several internships within the communications field. She says she was always working to improve her communications skills.
While she hasn’t been required to earn additional certificates, Gerbitz said she maintains a system of professional development and improvement. She has taken several courses through LinkedIn Learning. She also earned an agriculture and marketing certificate from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Gerbitz said she loves her career as an agricultural communicator because she is passionate about sharing the stories of Wisconsin farmers.
“As an agricultural communicator I get to work with the most resilient inspiring and innovative group of people that you will ever get to meet,” she said.
Gerbitz interviews farmers, produces videos, writes press releases and much more as part of her daily tasks.
“There is no such thing as an average day in communications,” Gerbitz said. “No two days are alike, and that's something I really like about my job. I really enjoy that variety and the opportunity to meet with people throughout the industry and talk with farmers to share their stories.”