A lot of people at UpHouse don’t get why I love ag so much.
Cliché as it sounds, agriculture isn’t just an industry—it’s a lifestyle. It’s one of the only spaces where the lines of work, play, family, faith and culture don’t just blur—they intertwine into something raw and deeply human. It’s the only industry where your competitor is probably also your cousin, your neighbour or the guy you towed out of the ditch last winter. It’s also messy, emotional and technical—and the stakes are high.
With that comes a whole host of unique challenges when it comes to marketing, ones that can sometimes be off-putting. There is a bar for entry of scientific knowledge, strong political acumen and valid skepticism from audiences who have a long history of being talked down to by people who’ve never stepped foot on a farm. You can’t fake authenticity in agriculture. Farmers and industry will see right through it—and they should.
So, I get why people don’t understand my love for agriculture marketing at first.
But I love ag marketing because—when it’s done right—it’s honest, gritty, and human.
It’s about listening to producers, not preaching to them. It’s about playing on strengths, not stereotypes, turning rain delays into relatable content and turning small-plot trials into big-picture strategy, even when the result takes the form of a giant seed bag.
It’s about making the complex feel clear and the essential feel exciting. You can’t do that in any other industry.
With only two years under my belt, I’m definitely no expert, but as I get ready to take a leave from UpHouse (temporarily, to finish my degree), I wanted to share some of the learnings I’ve picked up from my colleagues and clients over the past two years—my love letter to ag marketing.
Image still from BrettYoung’s TruFlex campaign video.
Our Top Ag-Marketing Tips
1. Listen before you speak
Good ag-marketing starts by engaging with producers and industry. Understand their pain points, their values, and their lived experience before jumping in. In ag, the stakes are high, and trust is everything. Listening is how you earn it.
2. Make the complex feel clear
Agriculture is packed with nuance and technical details. Good ag marketing takes complicated systems and technical data and turns them into clear, confident messaging that feels accessible (without oversimplifying or minimizing).
3. Respect the region
What works on the Prairies might not resonate elsewhere. Respect the cultural and agronomic differences across regions—and build materials that reflect local realities, not national assumptions.
4. Show, don’t just tell
Skip the stock photos and ground your messages in real people, real data and real experiences. Whether it’s featuring producer stories, sharing plot-trial results or sharing a relatable rain-delay anecdote, the details make it land.
5. Take pride in the product
Ag marketing isn’t just about flashy brands and ad campaigns—it’s about helping tell the story of an industry that feeds the world. That’s a responsibility worth showing up for with care, curiosity and heart.
National Farmers Day Wellness Campaign with Klinic
A lot of people at UpHouse don’t get why I love agriculture so much because sometimes it can feel far from our mission. “We don’t just make better marketing, we make marketing better.” But that’s true of our work in ag.
We champion transparency and clarity in marketing crop inputs, we advocate for nation-building market development, we connect producers to mental health resources and we talk to the people we’re marketing to.
I’m lucky to be part of a team that’s finding creative and authentic ways to show up for this community.
Because agriculture deserves that. Canadians deserve that. And I’m damn proud to come to work every day and play a part.
– Sam Kimelman
