Phone2Action created to advocate easier
As a farmer and Minnesota Soybean Growers Association (MSGA) board member who is very passionate about policy and policy issues, myself, along with the Advocacy action team and staff, discovered Phone2Action, a quick and easy tool that allows farmers to get involved at the touch of their fingertips.
With the hectic, busy schedule of farming, the ag community has been having a difficult time getting our message to reach politicians and key influencers. The Phone2Action mobile tool is simple and easy. We can use this tool to contact elected officials via emails, phone calls, tweets or on Facebook. We can contact our elected officials and engage with them at the local, state and Federal level. This tool can even be used to enroll and engage farmers in MSGA programs, events and services.
Our first major campaign focused on telling our elected officials that farmers care about water quality and are practicing conservation because having our inputs in the water does nothing for the crops in our fields. By texting SpeakUp to 52886, advocates were able to send emails about this very topic to elected officials in the Minnesota House of Representatives, the Minnesota Senate and Gov. Mark Dayton more than 100 times in just a few short days. Is that a mouth-dropping number? No, but we’re just getting started, and we’re confident farmers and ag advocates will catch on to this new tool.
With upcoming legislative and federal issues, we will be able to notify our members to take action in a quick and easy fashion and be able to have our voices heard even if you are planting, spraying, working in the shop or practically anywhere that you have your smartphone. We work hard on your behalf and will continue to work hard. The Phone2Action tool will allow us harness your voice to continue to keep the pressure on as we look to the next legislative session.
The Phone2Action tool gives us that grassroots ability to stand up for what is affecting our farms and reach out to those making legislative decisions. We need your involvement. Your voice matters.
If you are interested in getting involved simply text SpeakUp to 52886. You’ll receive a text back with a link. Click the link, fill out your name and address, and press send. Make sure to fill in your physical address; this is how the app determines your elected officials. MSGA will never share or sell your information to third parties. If you have further questions about the tool, please call 888-896-9678 or email info@mnsoybean.com.
Theresia Gillie is a soybean farmer from Hallock, Minn. She is Vice President of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association and is chair of the Advocacy action team. Theresia can be reached at theresia.gillie@gmail.com.
