Who doesn’t love a good logo – and a great cause? You already know that VASWCD has launched a t-shirt campaign to support the amazing work of its Educational Foundation. And now, the shirt’s cool logo, “Good Things Happen Under the Covers,” is available to help you market your district’s programs! You can support the cause and spread the soil-health message by buying shirts for producers, directors and/or staff. And what handout, flyer or fact sheet wouldn’t benefit from this snazzy logo? Contact Maura Christian (maura.christian@vaswcd.org) to request the logo.

The conservation heroes nominated for Clean Water Farm Awards are role models for farmers. They’re also potential influencers for your marketing efforts (more on that below). To nominate a super-farmer for one of these awards, complete the new, streamlined form, which now only asks for info relevant to CWFA criteria. If your district goes on to nominate a CWFA winner for a Grand Basin Award (limit: one per river basin), you will then complete the new Grand Basin nomination form. Both forms are fillable online. Find them at the bottom of this page.    

You don’t have to be a Kardashian to be an influencer. A marketing influencer is someone who can affect a group of people’s opinion about a specific topic — and your award winners are some of the best you have! Here are two easy ways to work with them to spread the word about cost-share:  

1. Use their words – with permission. Keep a running list of statements about VACS benefits from your successful farmers and use them to add color and personality to handouts and promotional materials. Ask permission to use the quote and their name. If they don’t want their name used, ask if you can attribute the quote to “a local farmer” or “a VACS participant.” 

2. Feature them on your website. It’s one thing if we say VACS is great. It’s another thing if a farmer says VACS is great. Why not put a short question-and-answer interview with an award winner on your website? Ask what BMPs they use, how cost-share benefitted their operation and how it helped the bottom line. Add a picture, and you’re off to the races. Show the farmer the interview before posting. Pro tip: The Otter AI app will record your interview and provide a written transcript. But never record without express permission first.