You must invest money to make money. The Indiana Soybean Alliance proved once again during the recent Indiana State Fair that it knows how to invest checkoff dollars wisely to accomplish an important task: reaching consumers with a positive message.

If a consumer walked away from the Glass Barn at the 2021 Indiana State Fair with a free ISA hat, or if he or she emailed a picture of themselves in a goofy getup to friends, does it mean soybean consumption went up next week? No, it probably didn’t — at least, not for that reason.

Does it mean that visitor might think twice before buying the next negatively slanted story about agriculture? Some of them just might. And if they think twice, it means they are at least thinking. If what they hear in a biased media report doesn’t match up with what they learned during their visit talking with farm folk, it may prompt more questions.

If science is truly on agriculture’s side, as it usually is, an informed consumer has more chance of reaching the sensible, rational conclusion than one who has never heard a farmer’s side of the story.

Learning environment

One or more ISA directors may have scratched their heads when they first heard what the staff wanted to do at the Glass Barn for 2021. They wanted to clear out the entire center section and make room for a giant combine, or at least a reasonable facsimile of one. From what I saw, it was a gamble worth taking.

The idea was simple. Attract interest, especially from families with kids. Let them climb into the cab and experience a video that made them feel like they were operating the combine in a soybean field. To help reach more people, install a second simulator — just the cab — at floor level, playing the video.

People waited in line to get into the cab. But they were also intent on playing Beango, a game that required them to find certain facts at various displays within the building. The displays that were originally in the center of the building? They weren’t discarded — just moved and modified to fit along the walls. It’s an exhibit packed full of information.

What intrigued me was walking into the rear of the combine. Instead of straw walkers and rotors, there was a lighted, electronic display board that showed how the insides of a combine work. Opposite was a detailed display board of the history of agriculture, particularly the history of soybeans. Some of the clues visitors needed to complete their Beango cards and win a prize were on the timeline.

“This is hard,” one visitor mumbled, with a game card in his hand. But he didn’t quit — he kept going until he found the answer on the timeline.

What a novel concept: learning and having fun at the same time. Apparently, it just takes some imagination, simple incentives like a free hat or other small prize, willing volunteers, and a lot of fortitude to gamble on turning a major exhibit upside-down.

Congratulations to all the ISA staff, board members and farmer-member volunteers who made this interactive experience with consumers possible. It’s a formula that works.

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