People Crave Information about Farming — The Trials and Tribulations of #farm365

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The great thing about social media — like Twitter and Facebook — is that it provides a megaphone for farmers, a group of people who have struggled for decades to be heard by consumers. The flipside is, of course, that technology doesn’t discriminate; a megaphone for farmers is a megaphone for everybody else, too. Which makes the initial vegan-activist backlash to the #farm365 movement somewhat expected, but it still caught many off-guard.

Andrew Campbell, the Ontario farmer who kicked off the hashtag on January 1, has learned several things from the last two months — most of it overwhelmingly positive and in-line with what he’s trying to accomplish with what has now become a truly global agriculture movement. (Editor’s note: Check out the feed below, but please note it is the “raw” feed, still littered with activist posts. If you’re using something like Tweetdeck, please remember that you can “mute” accounts).

Real Agriculture’s field editor, Bernard Tobin, caught up with Campbell at the London Farm Show to talk #farm365 and what happens next. From questions from curious kindergarten kids, to touch of nostalgia for those who are decades removed from the farm, Campbell relates his experiences with the good and the ugly side of #farm365, and adds his plug for why farmers need only commit five minutes a week to make a difference advocating for their industry.

You can find Campbell on Twitter as @FreshAirFarmer, and read his monthly column here on Real Agriculture, here.

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