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Social Networking Helping To Tell Ag Story

published: June 13th 2009
by: Codi Vallery
source: The Cattle Business Weekly

It's a new spin on telling agriculture's story.

Val Wagner of Monango, N.D. was up late one night with her newborn son when a crazy idea hit - to begin twittering about her family's cowherd.

Wagner, along with her husband Mark, sits on American Farm Bureau's Young Farmer and Rancher committee. They attended a seminar in Washington, D.C. earlier this year about using modern technology and social networking tools like Facebook, Myspace, personal blogs and Twitter to tell help be an advocate for agriculture.

Twitter.com has gained quick popularity in the last year because of its quick and simple connection to others. On Twitter all you do is answer one simple question, "What are you doing right now?" and others are able to read your postings.

"I liked the idea of tweeting because I only have to come up with 140 characters, not three or more paragraphs for a blog," says Wagner of Twitter's usage. "It is easy for me to do."

Easy is a necessity in the Wagner household. With four boys under the age of six, and farming and maintaining a herd of commercial Red Angus, little time can be spent idle.

Wagner is tweeting on a regular basis on the happenings at the Wagner farm and the life of their Red Angus heifers. Eventually, one heifer will be chosen and followed through this coming fall, winter and in to next spring's calving season.

The heifers can be followed online at www.twitter.com/Cows_Life where Wagner writes from the perspective of the 27 head of young cattle.

A tweet from the heifers on May 18th read: "We're on our way to pasture! Yay! I love green grass! Although, I'm gonna miss that nummy silage I got twice a day."

Wagner admits the idea seems a little far fetched and even her husband questioned it saying few would read tweets from a heifer. But that doesn't seem to be the case as already 102 people are following the Wagner heifers' log.

"The goal with the tweets is to connect and educate with the people who are not on the farm, but are making decisions that affect the farm," says Wagner. "This let's me get on their level and offers them a chance to think about where the burger they are eating came from."

The four young boys Wagner has running around her home are also a reason for tweeting.

"Part of the reason we are so concerned about the future of agriculture, is not just for our welfare, but for the future of our sons. We find it very important that they be given the chances and opportunities we've had to succeed in agriculture, if that's the field they choose to go into," says Wagner.

What can we expect from the heifers in the coming months? Wagner says she is certain there will be a few adventurous tweets as heifers are notorious for getting out of their pastures. Local farming practices and observations will be made and in July the herd will find out who is expecting when Mark's veterinarian sister and brother-in-law ultrasound.

You can also follow tweets about the Wagner farm online at www.twitter.com/wagfarms.