A few seats left for ACN’s Fall Workshop in Kansas City Nov. 17
By Katie Knapp, ACN board member and workshop committee chair
In November’s issue of The Furrow, I finally published an article [https://www.deere.com/en-us/publications/the-furrow/2026/november/nice-see-you] I pitched in 2020. The general idea back then was to highlight the changing reasons for attending shows and meetings in-person now that so much information can be found online.
Needless to say, running a story about the benefits of being in a room with people you don’t normally get to shake hands with, or even hug, quickly became not the best idea.
I resurrected the pitch this year and finally dove into the research. I bring this up today because, while I wrote it for farmers, the principles hold true for you and me just the same. And—there are a few seats left at next week’s professional development workshop.
Like farmers, we can now find nearly everything we need to do our jobs online at whatever hour of the day or night we like, but doing some of it in community with others is a critical piece to success.
Here’s what I wrote:
[University of Minnesota researcher Jean] Larson explains why this is easier said than done.
“When a farmer who has been alone on a tractor for weeks walks into a crowded room, the brain must do an immediate and exhausting U-turn to adjust to overlapping conversations, bright lights, and background noise,” Larson says. “The sympathetic nervous system can misinterpret this sudden rush of data as a threat and make the person feel physically tense, irritable, or a sudden urge to leave.”
Larson adds, “Social interaction is a cognitive skill, a muscle. When it isn’t used regularly, it temporarily atrophies.”
This fact along with all the online options means opting out has never been easier. But the researchers suggest you go anyway.
“When you are physically present—whether at a field day or in a conference room—the brain integrates touch, smell, sight, sound, and temperature into what neuroscientists call ‘sensory coherence,’” Larson says. “That full integration strengthens emotional depth and long-term memory in ways a screen cannot replicate.”
[Ag mental health specialist and Illinois farm wife Adrienne] DeSutter says, “You might save a couple hours attending a meeting online, but getting out around humans every once in a while might save you a couple years.”
Many of you noted in your responses to the recent membership survey that networking and professional development are what you value most about belonging to the Ag Communicators Network. So, take advantage of the day-long workshop other board members and I planned for you next week.
There is also an online attendance option because we know travel budgets are tight, but the facts remain. It is good for you to see other people and to be seen.
Register now and see you Nov. 17: https://agcommnetwork.com/event/fall-2026-regional-meeting/
Katie Knapp owns The Ag Photographer and is a contributor to The Furrow magazine.