GFP074: Farmers Using Instagram

Is social media all it's cracked up to be? It is still working for some and yet, not for others. I speak with one farmer in this podcast episode who is gaining some attention through his efforts in Social Media. I have found that in particular I have been unhappy with Facebook as a platform. You have to pay to get people to like your page, then, if you have a post that is popular or you want people to see you have to pay to reach all of your "fans". These are people who have liked you page and would like to see your update show up on their home page. In the end I'm calling shenanigans on the lot of it. Yes, it is still useful, but I have a feeling that we're in for a big shit in how people are using the internet. For me, that shift is going back to a time before Social Media. I am narrowing my scope and my efforts this year not to try and capture everyone on every platform, but to deliver a lot of value on the platforms that I remain active on. Right click here to download the MP3 In this farm podcast you will learn: My opinion on the current state of Social Media What hashtags are How to find them How to use them to get discovered What Instagram take-overs are and how they are good for all involved The benefits a smartphone can bring to the farm Interview with Colby Layton of Sandia Pastured Meats Howdy! I am Colby.  On the 14th of May, I took over as the full time Farm Manager and the President of the business. It was outside of the middle of nowhere on a warm day in the midst of the watermelon ripening season  when I was born to a cotton farming family.  Later we then moved to the city where I attended high school learning that people talk back to the teachers and other enlightening aspects of the city.  Before senior year, I enlisted as a medic in the Army and attended basic training with the medic training occurring between high school and college.  Coming from the farm and being in the military influenced my collegiate school choice.  From Texas A&M I gathered a baccalaureate degree in Animal Science, an Army commission in the Medical Services Corps branch, and a wife whom you will meet below. After Texas A&M, Kelly and I moved to the employ of Sandia Agricultural Enterprises, Inc.  SAEI was a dairy milking purebred Jersey cattle.  This land and family was a part of the former "World's Largest Jersey Dairy, the Knolle farms.  From this chapter in our lives, we determined that we would need to have a career change in order for us to obtain our own piece of the pastoral lifestyle.   In order to achieve this lifestyle, I earned my doctorate in microbiology from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.  With this new piece of paper in hand, our first child, as well as a tour in Iraq during OIF I & II, we moved to New Mexico where I performed research in biodefense areas.  This research moved us to a position in Kansas City, MO. During our first moths in KC, we searched a 60 mile radius from downtown for a large tract of land.  Our criteria included a small home, outbuildings, fencing, and a nearby country church.  We also talked with the extension agencies in both Missouri and Kansas.  From these talks and the information provided we concluded that our dream of a commodity-cattle-ranch was not feasible for us with having only limited capital.  We then reduced our land size requirements and found the place we now reside, our home. While settling into our home, we began to learn more about nontraditional, non-commodity ways of agriculture which were not included in our formal nor in our experiential education.  We are now practicing beyond organic, natural animal stewardship to directly bring you the nutritious products you deserve. Items mentioned in this farm podcast include: Sandia Pastured Meats Sandia Pastured Meats FFC Hub Page Video Resource: How to link your Instagram Account to Facebook If This Than That Farm Finance Challenge Podcast Archives Take Aways: What ways are you approaching farm marketing this season? What do you think of Social Media and has it had an impact on your farm? Farm Quote of the Episode: "There is no passion to be found playing small in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." - Nelson Mandela -- Thanks for taking the time to listen in, and let me know what you think. You can leave a comment below, send me an e-mail, reach me on Facebook , or leave a 5 star rating in iTunes if you liked the show. Click to subscribe to iTunes Support the podcast with $1 a month Past Episodes