Have You Talked to a Farmer Today?
Posted on | February 6, 2009 | 1 Comment
There’s a growing movement of using social media as a strategy for connecting those intimately involved in agriculture and rural development.
For instance, FarmOn.com is …
” … an online web service that connects producers to the information, resources and planning they need for innovative and sustainable practices for the … farm business. FarmOn.com also connects consumers directly to producer products as well as the resources and information they need to actively understand where or how their food or other products have been produced.”
While online social media is really just a shift of focus towards how audiences use the internet and find value on the web, can agriculturally-focused sites like this provide economic (and other) leverage for the independent farm?
Why not?! A social network can demonstrate a farm’s activities to a variety of people. Or profitably connect those working in agri-business. Or access and/or leverage information collected by those within the network.
The timing seems right … interest in sustainable agriculture is growing and the “farm” is viewed as an exotic location for agri-tourism. Organic foods are now mainstream products. Eating local food has been made attractive to the average consumer. And with books such as ‘The 100 Mile Diet’ and recent uncertainties about imported products, people are more concerned about where their food comes from.
FarmOn.com is just one example which seeks to reinterpret the social infrastructure of a traditional industry.
The quaint notion of a farmer contentedly tilling his soil has changed. Farms today are large-scale, sophisticated businesses. And many young farmers view agriculture as a creative, profitable pursuit.
Tapping into the advantages afforded by social media can only help this industry grow.
Related Posts:
Comments
One Response to “Have You Talked to a Farmer Today?”
Leave a Reply
About
Community development, growth and communication in the rural-urban fringe landscape.
Subscribe to my feed
Search
Connect With Me
Recommended Reads
Support
August 25th, 2009 @ 1:08 pm
[...] … it’s a busy week … so feel free to catch up with me at FarmOn.com – an online agricultural social networking community – where I’ve noted how Farmer’s Markets are Big Business and how programs in the [...]