FARM WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA HELP CONNECT YOUR FARM

After city girl Lauren Arbogast married her farmer, as she lovingly refers to her husband, Brian, she became tremendously interested in the workings of the Virginia farm she now called home and the agriculture industry as a whole. 

“I was asking no less than 800 questions a day in those early years,” says Arbogast, who was working at the time as an elementary teacher in addition to helping with the farm during nights and weekends. 

As Arbogast learned more, so did her students. She began teaching what she called Farm Friday lessons, bringing the farm to the school once a week. “After starting programs in my classroom and at the district level, I saw so many light bulb moments when kids were making connections about where food comes from,” she says. 

Instead of shelving these lesson plans, Arbogast decided to create a blog so she could share them with other students and teachers. In the four years since Arbogast launched Paint the Town Ag, her blog has evolved to include highlights from the farming operation, which includes corn, rye, two cow-calf operations, and five broiler houses. “Faith is a big aspect of my life, so that shows up, too,” adds Arbogast. “What I endearingly call the mini farmer stories and funny happenings shine through, as well.”

Arbogast is now one of many farmwife bloggers who works to share the story of modern agriculture. She has been joined by farmers who also want to do their part in this storytelling effort.

“We are firm believers in communicating in as many different ways as possible – not just to neighbors, but also to the people who reside off the farm – about where food comes from,” says Michael Yost, who heads up the communication efforts, marketing, and risk management for his family farm in Murdock, Minnesota. “We grow our crops in a sustainable manner, and we want to make sure the public understands that.”

CONNECT WITH YOUR AUDIENCE

While Yost admits his family’s website plays a small role in this effort, he believes it is critical that individual farmers communicate about their daily operations. In addition, he’s discovered that having a farm website can directly benefit the farming operation. 

“We’ve been able to retain employees and gain new ones. For us, that’s a very valuable component of having a website,” Yost explains.

By sharing the results of their hard work online, the seven employees on the corn, soybean, and alfalfa farm feel a better sense of belonging to the farm and a great pride in showcasing what they are doing, says Yost. Each member of the team is encouraged to take photos and videos of their work on the farm. Yost then shares these on the farm’s Facebook and Twitter pages as well as their website.   

Improving vendor relationships is another bonus from establishing an online presence. “We’ve had potential vendors, seed retailers, and equipment dealers come to us about being involved in some capacity,” says Yost. “This increases competition for where we buy inputs, giving us more opportunities to cut production costs.”

Other farmers, like Jim Hild and Jake Hunt, have launched farm websites to share activities with landlords. 

Hild Family Farms, a corn and soybean century farm in Illiopolis, Illinois, strives to communicate with landlords by providing maps, statistics, photographs, and emails. Hildfamilyfarms.com, the farm website, is one tool for ensuring that landlords stay connected to their tenants and their land, says Hild.

Farther west in the state of Illinois, the Hunt Family Farm also maintains a site so that landlords can stay up to date on farming activities. The website also allows the multifamily farming operation to advertise equipment that’s for sale, says Hunt, who is in charge of updating the site.

GET STARTED

Whether it’s building a farm website, blogging, or both, start with a purpose and manage your expectations. 

“Think through why you want to get involved and then get started,” says Katie Pratt, who blogs regularly at theillinoisfarmgirl.com. “Try to have a plan, but keep in mind that the plan has to involve the fact that you farm and there’s no set plan when you farm.”

There are two key things for launching a website from a farmer’s perspective, says Yost. First, you have to enjoy working on the website. Second, you need to have a dedicated person who can update the site and create content. 

“When we put together our website a couple of years ago, we realized we had to have a member of the team who was engaged and interested in photography and videos. Otherwise, it wouldn’t work,” says Yost, who relies on Aaron Zenner to take photos and videos.

BUILD YOUR OWN OR FIND A PARTNER?

Before launching YostFarm.com, Yost put together a list of a dozen different farm production websites he liked. He called up the farmers to get feedback about what worked for them and who they would recommend as a partner to build a site. In the end, he chose Kestrel Website Design, a firm that specializes in website design for agriculture and farms.

It took $2,500 to get the website up and running. For Yost, the fee was worth having an expert involved who could host the website and build a layout that served the farm’s purposes. 

If you’re a bit more tech-savvy and have time to dedicate, tools like WordPress make it easy for you to create a website or blog of your own. This is what Pratt did when she originally launched her blog before switching to a self-hosted platform.

“As a birthday present to myself this year, I paid Jumping Jax Designs to help me switch the blog over and design a new site,” she says. The firm’s $500 redesign included a new logo, social media header, watermark for photos, and business cards.

ADD SOCIAL

Social media is a great way to spread your message to a larger audience. Don’t feel like you have to participate in every social media site, though. Choose what you like and focus on it.

“My husband will never start a blog, but he does share his farming photos on Facebook. Others who love photography may just use Instagram. Or maybe it’s Twitter or Periscope. Do what you love and what you’re good at,” says Arbogast.   

If you’re present in multiple social media spaces, don’t feel like you have to share everything on each one. “I have a different set of rules as to what I share and why I share it,” she adds. “On Twitter, I retweet and connect with the ag community to bond with and to support them. Instagram is where I look for other moms or people who like living in the country, and I make a point to connect with them. Facebook is only for my family and friends.”

If you have questions about building websites, using social media, or more, email Jessie.Scott@meredith.com

3 BIG THINGS TODAY, FEBRUARY 4

CORN, SOYBEANS LOWER IN OVERNIGHT TRADING; EXPORT SALES OF GRAINS HIGHER, BEANS DROP.

1. CORN, SOYBEANS DECLINE ON WORRIES ABOUT TRADE WAR

Corn and soybeans were lower in overnight trading on further concerns about trade after President Trump said he would impose a 20% tax on goods imported from Mexico to pay for the wall he plans to build on the border, potentially sparking a trade war.

Analysts, investors, and farm groups have expressed concern that if the 20% levy is approved and imposed, Mexico will retaliate by putting its own import tax on U.S. goods, effectively reducing the appeal of American agricultural products.  

Mexico is the U.S.’s third-largest trade partner – exports from the U.S. totaled $236 billion in 2015 while imports totaled $295 billion, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. Of that, $18 billion was agricultural products including $2.3 billion worth of corn, USTR data show.

Corn futures for March delivery fell 1¢ to $3.62¾ a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Soybean futures declined 4½¢ to $10.45 a bushel. Soy meal futures lost $1 to $341.40 a short ton, and soy oil fell 0.22¢ to 34.25¢ a pound.

Wheat for March delivery fell a penny to $4.26 a bushel in Chicago, while Kansas City futures declined ¾¢ to $4.39½ a bushel.

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2. SALES OF CORN UP SLIGHTLY WEEK TO WEEK, SOYBEANS PLUNGE

Sales of corn were up week over week, while soybean sales plunged, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Corn sales totaled 1.37 million metric tons in the week that ended on January 19, up 2% from the prior week and 63% from the previous four-week average, the USDA said in a report. Unknown buyers were the biggest purchasers at 358,000 tons. Japan bought 292,000 tons, Colombia took 171,800 tons, Mexico purchased 169,700 tons, and South Korea bought 138,100 tons.

Soybean sales were reported at 539,400 tons, a 45% decline from the prior week and a 10% drop from the average, according to the USDA. China was, as usual, the biggest buyer at 351,500 tons, Mexico was next at 167,800 tons, South Korea bought 156,300 tons, Indonesia took 21,700 tons, and Japan purchased 20,700 tons, the department said.

Wheat sales jumped to a marketing year high of 853,400 tons. Unknown buyers took 212,300 tons, Morocco bought 210,000 tons, Indonesia bought 140,000 tons, Mexico secured 84,400 tons, and China took 60,000 tons, according to the USDA.

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3. INTERMITTENT SNOW EXPECTED IN PARTS OF INDIANA, OHIO, KENTUCKY

The weather maps are mostly quiet this morning, though parts of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky all may see some snow heading into the weekend.

“Scattered snow showers will continue to produce minor snow accumulations this morning,” in parts of the three states, the National Weather Service said in a report on Friday morning. “This light snow, combined with some light snow that fell overnight, will result in icy spots on untreated roadways and sidewalks.”

The snow is expected to be intermittent through early next week, said the NWS, which is advising motorists to use caution as roadways may be slick.

source: successful farming

TIME TO MOVE ALL OLD-CROP SOYBEANS, START SELLING NEW CROP, ANALYST SAYS

Beans end the week on a rather boring note as the Chinese were absent due to their New Year’s holiday, and fresh news to trade was lacking. For the week, the front month March contract lost 18¼ cents. 

The market was under pressure most of the session on ideas that South American weather is improving and concern over potential upheaval with trade between the U.S. and Mexico. Mexico is the U.S.’s third-largest agricultural importer buying $17.7 billion worth of goods in 2015.

Bean traders are keeping an eye on how Trump and Mexico are getting along and waiting to see if he takes the same hardball approach with the Chinese who are the biggest importer of U.S. beans. Allendale released our projections for the 2017 year this week. 

We anticipate the U.S. producer will plant 6.221 million additional acres in 2017 for a total of 89.659 million acres. Allendale is using a normal linear-based trend yield estimate of 47.1 bushels per acre. (Last year’s record was 52.1.) With planted acreage of 89.654 million, harvested at 88.775, and a 47.08-bushel-per-acre yield, we project production at 4.179 billion bushels. 

That would be under the 4.307-billion-bushel record from last year. Beginning stocks will have an extra 227 million compared with the previous year.

With a slightly larger import than 2016/17, we see total soybean supply for 2017/18 at 4.633 billion, 104 million more than last year. We are using a demand number that is 82 million larger than last year (78% offset of the supply increase). We are projecting ending stocks at 443 million, just over the 420 million from last year. Stocks to use will be slightly larger at 10.6% vs. 10.2%.

Drew Lerner told us very clearly that this year’s weather was not lined up for big rains for all areas at key times this summer like last year. We are set for normal weather and mostly normal yields. Using trend yields, our models suggest the current soybean rally has completed its job. July soybean futures are seen falling to $8.67 for the presummer low. 

We project that November futures are at the highest level they will see through June. Downside is pegged at $8.84 before the summer rally. Allendale is clearly a bear for midterm pricing.

We strongly advise moving all old-crop soybeans and getting new-crop sales on the books, now.

Rich Nelson
Allendale Inc.
815-578-6161

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source: successful farming

FG to slash fertiliser price – Ogbeh

As part of efforts to boost agricultural production in the country, the Federal Government is set to reduce the price of Nitrogen Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) fertiliser from N7,500 and N9,000 to N5,000 per bag.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Chief
Audu Ogbeh while addressing journalists on Tuesday  in Abuja. According to the Minister, the exercise was aimed at making food production easier and enhance profit for farmers in the country.

Ogbeh noted that government would take delivery of the first shipment of 800,000 tonnes of NPK fertiliser from Morocco by Jan 27, adding that the blending would take place in all parts of the country to enable farmers have access to fertiliser at a very low cost.

“We expect the first shipment of phosphate from Morocco to arrive on Friday in Lagos and then the blending will be done here. We want to ensure that every blender in the country who has the capacity will blend and even those that their machines are not in order, are going to supported’’

The Minister expressed concerns about neighbouring countries who depend on Nigeria for fertilisers and assured Nigerian farmers that government would ensure that the fertilisers go round, despite demands from these countries.

“The target we have is about 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes of fertilisers per annum from  Morocco but the problem is we do not only satisfy Nigeria, our neighbouring countries also come in and take a bit. We cannot deny them entirely but we have to satisfy ourselves first.”  He said

$265 billion needed to end global poverty and hunger by 2030 –IFAD President

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has said that at least a sum of $265 billion annual investment is required to end poverty and hunger by 2030.

This revelation was made by the President of the agency Kanayo Nwanze at the ongoing UN International Conference tagged ‘Investing in Inclusive Rural Transformation: Innovative Approaches to Financing’.

According to him, the world as matter of urgency, should take urgent action to raise the estimated 265 billion dollars a year needed to achieve the first two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty and hunger by 2030.

Nwanze lamented that despite several years and efforts geared at combating poverty, about 800 million children, women and men today still languish in abject penury.

“Despite decades of commitments and considerable effort to end poverty and hunger, nearly 800 million children, women and men still go hungry every day and an almost equal number live in extreme poverty,” Nwanze said.

He stressed the need for private sector investments in rural areas, where rates of poverty and hunger was highest adding that the financing needs for development were enormous, but with potentials for development.

“Agri-food is already a five trillion dollars sector, and it is growing. It holds tremendous promise for the private sector and for producers in developing countries,” he said.

The president therefore emphasized the need to direct investments to the rural areas noting that the majority of poor and hungry people lived in rural areas of developing countries.

“Investments need to be targeted to transform rural areas into vibrant places that offer all people the opportunity to have decent jobs and lead dignified lives free of poverty and hunger”.