A Foot in the Field and a Hand on the Keyboard: Building Awareness Among Farmers.

Getting information to farmers can be a challenge. Social media can be a key component of disseminating agronomic information. Delivering information live from the field is a good way to show farmers exactly what is happening in their field. It also helps gain credibility with farmers and agronomy professionals. I have employed videos recorded from the field, pictures taken from the field and complete descriptions of what I am finding in emails and social media. Facebook and twitter are great formats to deliver 'immediately needed’ information to farmers. This year’s spring and summer the topics included: snowfall on wheat in May, stripe rust moving into the wheat, test weight and protein in wheat and corn holcus spot infestations. In addition, #WeedsWeek and #QuestionOfTheDay (in honor of corn pollination) were held. Both included trivia contests with prizes being awarded for correct answers. These type of events help increase user’s interaction with the facebook page and twitter account. Finally, I have found a great way to get farmers interacting with the facebook page is to ask for rainfall reports. At times, there can be over 60 reports posted from across a 3 county area.