Ag’s messages about the safety of genetically modified org­anisms, or GMOs, and farmers’ work in conservation don’t seem to be getting through to consumers.

Why? Because farmers aren’t speaking to the consumers on their level, Damian Mason, an Indiana cattle farmer and professional speaker, told farmers last week at the Iowa Farm Bureau’s 97th annual meeting in Des Moines.

Mason said farmers exist be­­cause of consumers, who likely have a "distorted" view of agriculture. "We don’t realize how far removed consumers are from what we do every day," he said. "These...