Consumers want to know more about agricultural production practices and the services agricultural retailers provide. To help guide its membership through these sometimes difficult conversations, ARA launched ENGAGE for Ag Leaders as a new industry-critical professional development program focused on communicating with the consumer.

ENGAGE for Ag Leaders is sponsored by Corteva and will empower participants with the knowledge and communication skills to effectively connect with consumers and other food system stakeholders. With the program's three-step process, participating leaders will be able to package their knowledge and value proposition in a way that engages the consuming population as communities are joining the conversation about how their agricultural products are produced.

Peer-reviewed and published research shows that communicating with shared values is 3-5 times more important in building trust than providing facts or information alone. Engage training goes beyond traditional message training – it gets to the core of what matters to consumers: shared values communication principles.