Podcast 1

 

 

Newest post...a podcast! Some information gathered from here. USDA statistics found at NPR and Good Food World. Music is "Old Alabama" from Brad Paisley's This is Country Music album. Thanks for listening!

http://soundcloud.com/jeanette-blank/podcast-1

The Small Family Farm and Social Media

This past summer was hot. What may be a beach lover's dream is not so fun for farmers when the sun stays out for weeks at a time. That's what happened this year in the Mid-west. The drought that happened months ago is now really affecting the prices we pay at the store. Customers are quick to complain about those prices while the farmer loses a large part of their planned income for the year. But many consumers don't understand why the prices change. To help that, farmers are taking to social media to further explain this issue.

On Twitter, #drought12 is used to talk about all things drought related. Many farmers who use this post pictures of their damaged or poor crop so that consumers can see what to expect in the coming months. It is also a great way for the general public to be sympathetic to what the farmer is going through. This article shows some of the pictures that are being posted.  As one farmer mentions, this method of sharing involves the consumer on daily happenings on the farm.  With concerns about farm visitors spreading disease between multiple farms, this provides a safe way to share information from the farmers themselves.

Farmers are also using social media as a sort of virtual support group. One farmer--mentioned in the article above--uses various services to advertise the ways he's making up for his crop loses. This is a way for other farmers to think of similar solutions.

Other ways social media is being used by small family farmers include asking advice of other farmers or experts for a quick response and to reach government officials.  Besides the drought situation, advice can come in handy for something as small-scale as a pest in a field.  Government understanding is especially beneficial during years (such as 2012) that the Farm Bill is renewed, granting financial assistance for certain crops. 

 

 

 

Marketing and Agribusiness

According to Farm and Dairy, there are four categories of farmers in relation to using social media:  the hold-outs, the staunch supporters, the occasional user, and the clueless.  If the other three knew how important engagement with the consumer online is, all would be a staunch supporter.  Many in the ag industry are using social media, just like others, to creatively market their products and business.


In an interview with AgWired, Kate Beeler of AgLeader Technology, explained how social media is beneficial to the company's marketing plan. 

• Blog- share information with growers, media and dealers
• the blog includes a glossary of jargon terms
• announces new products
• international sales managers and local sales managers contribute to the posts for a variety of perspectives on ag
• Facebook page- best used to share upcoming events and when the company will be somewhere
• YouTube channel- videos explain what a product does
• one video I watch gives the perspectives of a certain product by multiple growers from all over the country, so it is more authentic to a farmer coming to this site who can say, "Wow, they're just like me."

Beeler pointed out that using social media in a business and using it effectively shows you are taking time to engage with the customer and answer questions.  Her advice was before jumping into your own plan, watch what others are sharing to get a feel for what customers respond to.  Then create a marketing plan for yourself and take time to contribute to other groups.

I checked out the marketing strategies of some of the local ag-related businesses from home that I visit regularly.  The majority of them only have Facebook pages as far as I can see, but one uses Twitter as well:

Ard's Farm Market- this is a restaurant/ice cream parlor/store/fall harvest festival location...they do a lot here!  They use Facebook to:

• Share recipes, such as Pumpkin Cheese Cake, that are related to the current season--customers are going to keep coming back to see what other recipes they'll share
• Advertise events like their annual corn maze to spread the word

Tractor Supply Company- national chain...they have a little of everything!

• Run a sweepstakes for customers--this may draw people in to join the page or keep coming back to see if they've won.  While they're at it, they might check out their products as well.
• An interesting post was a list of "don't forget what you need for fall"--a cool way to bring customers into the store to make sure they have everything

Weis Markets-

• Twitter
• Link a certain kind of food with an event coming up to encourage customers to stop in and buy the item, like Labor Day and BBQ sliders
• Give cooking tips
• Recipes for National Rice Month
• International cooking
• Facebook
• Mostly the same content as Twitter, but they post more photos, such as the Annual Fight Hunger Campaign
• Ways to save are posted as items that are on sale for the month and exclusive coupons for page fans
• A tab especially for weekly specials (and there's an app for that)

The staunch supporters are the businesses to be watching as they're the ones who will be bringing in more customers than the clueless.

Ag Education and Social Media

 

"Every time you open the refrigerator, you shake hands with agriculture."

 

Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Dean Bruce McPheron said this in one of my classes that he guest lectured in while explaining that some people think agriculture doesn't mean anything to them.  Actually, they are really seeing agriculture every day in the food they eat, furniture they use, clothes they wear and in pretty much everything they do.  They only think ag doesn't affect them because they don't see the farmers' labor (only what they see in the store or restaurant) or live where it is geographically impossible to see farm land.

 

Most Americans today are at least three generations removed from the farm.  Less than 2% of the United States population grows the food that all 100% eats.  In order to connect that gap from farmer to consumer, the ag community has turned to effective education methods, one being social media.  This is a growing trend.  Ninety-eight percent of farmers ages 18-25 have Internet access and 76% of them use social media.

 

With so many users online, social media can reach a wider range of public to teach them about agriculture. 

 

Facebook

The most common source for me to see ag in social media is on Facebook because I use that the most.  Facebook pages are common for businesses in various sectors of the industry to keep their customers updated, independent photographers who capture daily life on the farm, special interest groups, and event promotion.

 

These are some examples of those pages:

• Keeping it Real:  Through the Lens of a Farm Girl (Taking snapshots of the agricultural world as it really happens in central Illinois)                                                          
• Thank a Farmer (Highlights agricultural happenings around the US, fun pictures of farm life)
• The Arboretum at Penn State (showcases the beauty of horticulture, a part of agriculture)
• Lancaster Farming (special farming newspaper created a page to share major headlines, local farming happenings, and allows the public to share events; public can go here and learn about community events they can attend)
• Central Susquehanna Counties of Penn State Cooperative Extension  (advertises upcoming workshops and programs, and access to publications that are available for farmers AND non-farmers)
• Kraft Foods-Corporate (big time ag corporation keeps customers updated on products and features stories on where their products are grown) 

YouTube

YouTube is another source ag advocates use to educate.  From here, the public can see what farmers do on a regular day (the popular fun summer 2012 parody I'm Farming and I Grow It had 1 million views in a matter of days) or explain a farming process. 

 

Green Careers:  Sustainable Agriculture- this video follows a real farmer, shows the work he does and he explains the job description, from this we learn how busy a farmer's life is and that it doesn't just include growing the crops but also marketing and economics

 

Blogs

Blogs are a little more scattered and mostly (from what I've seen) ag businesses who are using social media to interact with their customers.  Some however give advice to farmers, follow a day in the life of a farmer or high school ag teacher, how drought will affect the food market, food facts and more.  Some examples include:

• Connecting Gate to Plate  (various ag topics)
• Alex Tiller's Blog on Agriculture and Farming
• Organic Farming Blog (This blog was created for people with a passion for farming the organic way and for those wanting to learn)  
• Off the Cob: As Harvest Speeds Up, Please Slow Down post (caution to drivers to be aware of large farming equipment they are sharing the roads with--a huge combine and small hybrid car do not opperate the same way!)

Why Social Media is Important to Education

Social media allows the same story to be told over and over to a wide audience.  With word of mouth, the real story can be twisted into whatever the sender wants it to be.  With these resources, those of us in the ag community can tell the REAL story about hard work, long hours, how food is produced and opportunities to interact with agriculture.  The best part of these sites are that they all allow for public response; someone can post a question and have immediate access to answers. 

 

 Someone who visits these pages and others like them will come away knowing a little more than they did about ag and be able to help us tell the real story before others tell it for us.