Youth In Agriculture Yes, in the USA, the median age for farmers and ranchers is about 57. Getting new, young people into agriculture is important as the large number of baby boomers continue to retire. So how do you connect young people to the varied aspects of agriculture? This #AgChat conversation provides approaches and ideas to engage, connect, and support young people for a future in agriculture.
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February 26th, 2013 – AgChat on Youth in Agriculture
February 26, 2013 By
February 19th, 2013 – FoodChat on Heart Healthy Foods
Are You Eating Well? Food and Health are strongly related. With February being Heart Health Month, it is only natural to have a conversation about food, agriculture, and health.
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February 19, 2013 By
February 12th, 2013 – AgChat on Mardi Gras and Farming in South
Celebrate The South Mardi Gras falls on this AgChat, bringing focus on New Orleans, food, and farming in the south. What are some of the geographical differences in farming in the south compared to the north? This AgChat brings together a conversation about the celebration of food and culture during this Carnival season.
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February 12, 2013 By
Tipping Isn’t Just for Cows: 5 Beginner AgBlogging Tips
1.) Determine your goals: Like most endeavors a road map to your destination will increase your chance of arrival. Just as a map helps us travel, a list of goals will help your blog become successful. On paper, brainstorm a list of accomplishments for
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your blog. Then choose three achievable goals, set a date for completion and begin your journey. Remember to hold yourself accountable for these goals by reassessing your blog on those completion dates.
2.) Link to other blogs: The world wide web is just that. A web of conversations. Conversations which rely on hyperlinks to keep everyone connected and the conversation functioning. They are beneficial to the blogger because the recipient blog will likely see that you’ve linked to them and out of curiosity check out your blog. They may even providing you with a fresh channel of readership by linking to your blog.
3.) Comment, comment, comment: As you comment on other people’s blogs remember that you are increasing your blog’s visibility. This occurs by driving traffic to your blog and increasing your search engine ranking.
4.) Be unique: Re-visit your blogging goals. Most likely you are blogging to help connect people from the gate to the plate. So are many others. What will set you apart from the rest? If you have another hobby, be sure to introduce your readers. For instance, you may be a scrap booking farm mom, a fisherman farm dude or a bike racing, dairyman. Employing your past times will also increases the chances of creating a solid connection with your reader. Your reader will appreciate the higher value of your blog and become a loyal visitor.
5.) Be conversational: At times you may feel stumped and in a writing slump. Its happens easily and to many more people than you think. A great exercise is finding a quiet place to sit. Then begin breathing in and out ten times. Next, imagine yourself sitting down at the kitchen table with a friend over coffee. Think about how the conversation may begin to roll. Concentrate on conversing, not lecturing or teaching. As you consider what is being said begin to outline your upcoming post in your mind. Once you’ve collected your thoughts, you should hopefully find a renewed energy to write.
We are always looking for great ways we can help new bloggers. What are some of your best tips?
February 8, 2013 By
February 5th, 2013 – AgChat on Ag in Winter
Burrr Winter time may be cold up north but that does not mean agriculture activities stop. This conversation shares some of what farmers and ranchers do during the “off” months.
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February 5, 2013 By
