In 2006, University of Georgia student Cameron Prince used the website “Facebook.com” to unite agricultural college students like himself.

Using one of Facebook’s applications, Prince created a group and titled it, “And He Takes the Tractor Another Round!” He based the title on the country-western song, “Amarillo Sky” by Jason Aldean. He says, “I created the group to serve as a forum for people to discuss their passion for agriculture.”

Prince originally invited about 80 of his “Facebook friends” to join the group, and encouraged them to spread the word. Today, Prince’s group has more than 20,000 members, displays almost 5,000 photos and features as many as 80 user videos.

What is Facebook?
Lost in some of the lingo? Here’s a brief overview of the popular online phenomenon. According to the makers of the free networking website, Facebook is “a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and co-workers.” Harvard students Mark Zuckerburg, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes founded Facebook in February 2004. Although originally used by college students, Facebook today invites anyone with a valid e-mail address to join. New members create an account and select a network(s), which can include a city, a school (high school or college/university), a workplace, a region or all of the above. Users connect with each other and build a list of contacts by using the application, “Add As a Friend.”

Facebook provides a number of other applications that allow users to upload and share photos and videos, to post links or notes and to participate in an online marketplace, where they are able to buy and sell items ranging from used textbooks to apartment leases. Users can also join or create a “group,” which share common interests or shared ideas. One of the more popular groups, “The Largest Facebook Group Ever,” has more than one million members. Group topics range from political views to napping and just about everything in between. Within these groups, users are able to post items and to connect with new people.

The relevance for producers
Although this website is not likely to become the homepage for some of the older generation of dairy producers, Facebook holds a multitude of opportunities for young producers already interested in the website and its many features. Producers can use Facebook to connect with other producers and promote the dairy industry.

By forming and joining agricultural groups, producers are able to meet and interact with others involved in the industry, not only within their state but nationwide and even worldwide. A group called “4-H Alumni” currently enlists more than 14,000 members and was created in order to reconnect the organization’s past members with each other. To achieve a similar purpose, the National FFA’s group of almost 7,000 Facebook members unites FFA chapters across the nation.

Prince feels his group is so popular because many youth who share his agricultural background also have many of the same interests.

He says, “I think the popularity of the group can be attributed to the fact that it provides people with an opportunity to discuss agriculture. Also, the photos that people are allowed to post are very unique. My personal favorite photos are those of the early-model tractors that have been restored.”

By joining these groups and posting positive images of the dairy industry, producers can connect with people who share similar ideals and who are promoting their industry in a new way to consumers. Producers have the opportunity to associate with other users, including classmates, neighbors and co-workers, who might be receiving negative information about the industry. Anti-agriculture groups also use Facebook to solicit support for their organizations.

Supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) are two examples of special interest groups using Facebook to disseminate their messages. HSUS has almost 7,000 members and has posted videos about downed cows at livestock auctions. A branch of PETA, called “peta2,” is aimed at recruiting high school and college students, and the Facebook group now has nearly 12,000 members across the world. A user named Ryan Huling, of Norfolk, Virginia, posted a video to the group called “Meet your Meat.” The video, originally from the PETA website, has spurred many comments from young people such as: “I don’t know if I can ever eat meat again after watching that.” Huling, along with co-administrator of the group, Pulin Modi, also of Norfolk, Virginia, have also posted links to other websites, including www.meat.org, which claims to be, “the website the meat industry doesn’t want you to see.”

Luckily, young farmers and producers like Penn State sophomore Jennifer Rassler are helping to set the record straight. In April of this year, Rassler celebrated Earth Day by creating a video using her digital camera and Windows’ Movie Maker program. She videotaped the fields of her family’s 500-head dairy farm in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, while she discussed conservation practices her family uses to help protect the environment. She then posted the video to YouTube, a website that allows users to upload and share video clips, and to Facebook.

Rassler says, “I was seeing so many negative images of agriculture, and I wanted to be one of the people that stood up to present a positive image. On Facebook, my friends who aren’t involved in agriculture were able to view the video.” Rassler received positive feedback from the video, and classmates told her it was very educational. To view Rassler’s video, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGZz-9vw0Q4.

The potential obstacles
Rassler admitted she had some trouble figuring out how to use her camera with the movie program. She sees this lack of technological knowledge one of the reasons why more producers aren’t taking advantage of the positive uses for Facebook. Rassler was able to learn how to use the equipment, and she recommends that producers find friends familiar with the technology and ask them for their assistance. Rassler also believes some producers may not be using Facebook for promoting the industry in order to avoid the possibility of negative feedback and harassment from anti-agriculture groups.

“I didn’t get very specific in my video. I didn’t want someone who was looking for a problem to come and put my farm under a microscope,” Rassler says.

As a National Beef Ambassador, Rassler is adept at fielding difficult questions from anti-agriculture organizations. She says the key is to remain calm and not to take comments personally.

Taking the risk
Despite the ways in which producers may be subjecting themselves to harassment from critics, both Rassler and Prince believe it is important for producers to take that chance in order to promote the industry to open-minded Facebook users.

Rassler says, “We’re not going to change everyone’s minds, but we need to put the correct information out there for the people who are looking for it.”

Prince agrees, “Facebook is a highly visited website, especially highly visited by young adults. With access to millions of people online daily, it can only help producers to make [their] presence known.” PD