Farmers across the United States are starting to reap the benefits of social media by utilizing it for personal and agriculture-specific purposes. The National Journal Online reports that The Center for Rural Affairs (CFRA), a Nebraska-based rural advocacy group, started seriously investing in social media less than six months ago, but they already have more than 700 fans on Facebook and nearly 300 followers on Twitter. "We've had way more success than I anticipated," said Brian Depew, rural organizing and outreach program director at CFRA.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, active in social media for nine months, has engaged an even bigger share of the farming community. With 4,000 Facebook fans and nearly 2,300 followers on Twitter, the Farm Bureau created a social media committee to design rules of use.

Leading the pack on Twitter is the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, who has about 100 more followers than its national counterpart, despite only officially announcing their social media presence in June (they'd been tweeting unofficially since last November). "We know that we can't reach the people we need to reach by just posting up on our Web site and hoping they find it through Google or a search engine," said communications specialist Dan Toland, who spearheaded the group's social media effort. "It's not all about the people coming to us, but reaching out to our members."

How else do you think the agriculture sector can benefit from social media?


Ag Groups Find Voice In Social Media