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It used to be that folks gathered
for coffee and pie to share opinions and ideas. But in today’s
fast-paced world, pie socials are quickly being replaced by
social networks via the Internet. One of the newest fads is
blogging – online posts about any subject you can imagine, with
the opportunity for the reader to comment back and begin a
discussion. Some blog sites are personal diaries or journals
about their daily thoughts and activities –others are postings
of news information related to a specific subject. As well,
video posts are also being used to convey messages and ideas.
And, many in the livestock industry
believe blogging and videos could be a positive way to connect
with the non-ag public to help inform and educate them about the
efforts of agriculture.
Following is a sampling of some
of the sites you may visit – or promote to others – for a real
perspective on life in the beef industry.
News & Notes
The Westerner at
http://thewesterner.blogspot.com/ features issues of concern
to people who live in the West: property rights, water rights,
endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production,
wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western
history, western literature and the sport of rodeo. The site is
maintained by Frank DuBois who served as the New Mexico
Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003.
Animal welfare has become a topic
of huge concern, and to combat some of the mistruths that exist,
Advocates for Ag at
http://www.advocatesforag.blogspot.com/ is a website that
calls out misinformation on the subject. This site not only
posts current news information, but offers a commentary
explaining why each issue should be of concern to producers in
the industry.
For a comprehensive selection of
the day’s current ag news headlines,
www.thebeefblog.com, coordinated by Purdue Animal Science
and The Farm Gate at
www.farmgate.uiuc.edu, maintained by the University of
Illinois Extension both offer worthy information across a
variety of disciplines, including crop and animal sciences, ag
economics, ag engineering and veterinary medicine. Readers have
the opportunity to share their comments and opinions on each
article – to create an online discussion community.
Personal Views
Several beef industry advocates have started their own
“journal-style” blogs. These offer a glimpse at their daily
lives and often focus on how agriculture or beef is important to
them or people they know.
Two former National Beef
Ambassador’s have established popular beef blogs. Amanda Nolz
uses her blog at
www.chewingthecud.org to “celebrate life in rural America
and share respect for animal agriculture.” Likewise, Chris
Molinaro posts her experiences as a college student in
agriculture on her site
www.beefmatters.com/.
Daren Williams is a dad and
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association staff member. Through his
blog,
http:/darenwms.blogspot.com, he shares his positive views of
the beef industry and features beef recipes.
For horse enthusiasts, Victoria
Cummings – a former film and TV producer – shares her love for
horses in her diary blog called “Teachings of the horse” at
http://victoriacummings.blogspot.com/.
Facing Facts
With the younger generation, Facebook is a well-known social
networking site – and the beef industry is now using it as a
tool to reach young beef producers. The recently created Young
Producer Council through the National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association has established a site on Facebook with nearly 700
young beef producers already signing on for the discussions
about the industry through the site. (Facebook does require
signing on as a member – which is free – before you have access
to any of the Facebook sites.) For more information about the
Young Producers’ Council, visit
http://www.BeefUSA.org/ypc.
Ag also on YouTube
YouTube is another wildly popular Internet sensation. On the
site, videos can be uploaded and shared. Much of the video
footage is simply for entertainment, but many industries are
recognizing that this can also be a useful education tool.
- At www.youtube.com/BeefPasturetoPlate,
several short videos from 1 to 7 minutes in length share
comments from producers on subjects from humane treatment of
animals to celebrating earth day and even a beef recipe.
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Speaking of recipes, through the magic of online videos,
Certified Angus Beef (CAB) has made beef preparation simple
with new cooking videos available at
http://www.certifiedangusbeef.com. Scott Popovic, CAB
corporate chef, shares his secrets to success in several
online demonstrations detailing everything from braising and
sautéing to grilling and carving a bone-in ribeye. CAB home
economist Sarah Donohoe is also featured in several
segments.
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The Animal Agriculture Alliance has launched two videos on
YouTube. The first video focuses on the importance of
moderation and balance in making dietary choices. It
suggests talking to a dietitian or nutritionist about a
balanced diet and warns against adopting diets based on
political causes or trends. The second video points out that
over 90% of America's farms and ranches are family-owned. It
also explains farmers and ranchers commitment to their
animals, their land and their community.
The videos feature Brad Johnson - who grew up on a ranch and
went on to become an actor with credits including Comanche
Moon, Crossfire Trail, Flight of the Intruder and Rough
Riders. The Alliance's 60-second video on moderation in diet
was accepted as part of USDA's MyPyramid Corporate
Challenge, an effort to promote healthy, balanced diets and
to encourage youth and adults to base their food choices on
advice from nutrition experts.The Alliance's YouTube Videos
can be seen on its website at
www.animalagalliance.org.
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Livestock consultant Kathy Voth has earned attention for
several years for her research on teaching cows to eat
weeds. Now, the innovative range consultant is spreading her
message through YouTube as well.
Voth has posted several videos on the YouTube site so others
can watch and learn how to train their cows to eat weeds.
Voth says there’s even a “music” video showing work she did
this summer in Montana teaching cows to eat Canada thistle.
She also includes a review of all the weeds she has trained
cows to eat since developing the process in 2004. There are
also three interview videos with producers describing how
the training process worked for them.
View the videos at Voth’s YouTube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/kathyvoth. For more about Voth’s
work visit her website at
http://www.livestockforlandscapes.com.
The
bottom line is that the Internet is vast – and can be used for
many purposes. Spend some time surfing and you’ll find many
positive sites about agriculture. And, if you are intrigued
about establishing your own blog visit
www.smallfarmcentral.com for expertise and ideas on starting
your own farm blog. See you on the web!
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