A Double Dose of Food

Last night I took multi-tasking to a new level: I participated in #FoodChat, watched the Iowa Food Dialogues (#FoodD), and of course took care of my family all at once.  Like I tweeted last night, I'm not sure I was 100% successful at it, but it worked okay.  I paid more attention to #FoodChat but tried to bounce back and concentrate on #FoodD as much as possible.  So why all the fuss and inability to prioritize last night?

It has been a long time since I have participated in an #AgChat or a #FoodChat and I felt like yesterday's #FoodThanks conversation was important to join in on.  #AgChat is a weekly online twitter chat, every Tuesday, from 7 to 9pm CST, about agriculture issues (for example, next week's is about ethanol).  This is a chance for people in all sectors of agriculture and the general public to get together and talk about these hot topics.  Then on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, the conversation changes to food and becomes #FoodChat for the night.  #FoodChat is a monthly twitter chat about food, where people in all aspects of the food chain, along with anyone interested in food, get involved in the conversation.  And last night's discussion was about Thanksgiving and the Ag Chat Foundation's #FoodThanks campaign.  Food is an important part of our lives and it is something people gather around for the holidays.  It was a lot of fun talking with others from around the country about food, Thanksgiving traditions, and how we are all giving #FoodThanks this year.  You can give #FoodThanks in whatever way you want - pin a recipe, share a photo of your favorite dish, or simply tweeting thanks and appreciation for food and all those who provide it.  I personally have already given a bag full of food to my local food pantry to help out during this time of year as part of the #FoodThanks program.  So why not just leave it at that and just concentrate and participate in #FoodChat only?

I couldn't just leave it at just participating in #FoodChat because the US Farmers & Ranchers Alliance was hosting one of their Food Dialogues, and last night it was in Iowa and a friend of mine was on the panel.  So I couldn't pass up the chance at watching the live stream of the panel of six people involved in all aspects of agriculture, talk about agriculture and its future.  Plus I had to cheer on my friend!  To tell you the truth, the reason why I ended up getting more involved with #FoodChat versus #FoodD was because I didn't really feel like there was a dialogue happening.  I don't know if that was what the US Farmers & Ranchers Alliance and the Iowa Corn Growers Association wanted, but I guess I was looking for more of a respectful dialogue or conversation about agriculture issues and not the debate that I felt was going on.  I was looking for a thoughtful discussion on GMOs, sustainability, food production and availability.  Instead I felt like people were continuing to have to take sides or rebuttal others comments.  Yes, I wasn't expecting everyone to be singing "kumbaya" at the end but I hoped that people would have found more understanding of each other.  I understand that those that put together the event wanted to get some different views on the panel, but at the same time, didn't they want some type of gain or positive influence from the event?  To tell you how bad it was, a member of the audience asked at the end "Can we all get along?"  I personally hope so.  All of agriculture has to get along so we can provide choices for our neighbors, our country and dare I say world.  Outside of the world of agriculture, consumers do see agriculture as just one industry.  But inside agriculture we for some reason like to compartmentalize ourselves.  On a positive note, I think those that were there or watching online like me were able to see that the panel was very passionate about agriculture.  I believe people that were authentic shined during the dialogue.

I was happy to multi-task last night for the purpose of food.  Food is very important to me as it is how I nourish my body and it is also what I produce all year long on my farm.  I hope this holiday season we all can gather with family and friends around and over food.  Cherish this time together and the great food we're provided.

Did you participate in #FoodChat or #FoodD last night?  What were your thoughts?  Have you ever participated in an online twitter chat or streamed a live event before?  If so, what?

Goals from #ACFR13

Over this past weekend, I attended the AgChat Foundation Upper Midwest Regional Conference in Rochester, Minnesota.  This was a great opportunity to for me to focus on my personal agvocacy.  I attended breakout sessions that gave me new ideas for my blog, as well as how to utilize my facebook and twitter accounts better.  A highlight of the conference was getting to meet a few individuals who I had gotten to know through social media, but yet had never met in-person, such as Jenny Dewey, Katie Pinke and Emily Zweber.  I also got to connect with new people, which is probably one of my favorite past-times.

A fun side-note is that Franklin County, Iowa, where I am from, had a great representation in the crowd of 75 at the conference.  There were six of us, that as we all liked to say "live, work and play" in Franklin County.  From left to right is Larry Sailer (farmer and guest blogger who loves facebook), Deb Brown (communications guru who works for Franklin County's Chamber and Tourism), Shannon Latham, Laura Cunningham and Amy Hild (all who work for Latham Hi-Tech Seeds Communications and Marketing department), and then me!

I came home from the conference with several ideas, especially for blog posts, but I thought it would be good to create three goals, as a result from attending the event.  I think all of these goals go well with the beginning of year goals I created in January.

1. Start a Facebook page for my blog.  (I actually accomplished this yesterday during a disappointing over time of the ISU Cyclones basketball game.  Thanks to Sara Broers for her recommendations for starting this.)  So be sure to "Like" my Facebook page.
2. Start a regular post segment about my pregnancy.  I realized at the conference that I am 26 weeks pregnant and really haven't talked about it except in my initial announcement post.  Well this is going to change.  I love being pregnant and am happy that I am, so why am I not sharing this with everyone?  So look for my first installment of Hump Day Bump Report on Wednesday.
3. To actually read my camera manual, front to back, all the way through.  I love taking photos and actually carry my camera's manual in my camera bag but I only use it to look up what I have want to find information about.  So I have decided in order to understand and utilize my camera better I need to read my camera manual all the way through.

The AgChat Foundation's missing statement is: “Empowering farmers and ranchers to connect communities through social media platforms" and I think that is what this Upper Midwest Regional Conference was set-up to do.  This regional conference was the first in a series of regional conferences offered by the AgChat Foundation.  The Foundation decided to start hosting regional conferences so those who were unable to attend their national conference due to location or timing, had a chance to connect and learn about agriculture in social media. 

2013 Blog Goals

Besides my New Year Resolutions, I have also decided to create some blog goals.  I hope these things will make me not only a better blogger, but that it will also build my audience and outreach.

1. Blog Regularly.  Last year I set a goal of blogging at least three times a week.  I am going to work towards that goal again this year.
2. Promote More Through Social Media.  This year I'm going to look into sharing my blog through more social media avenues and on a more regular basis.  Currently I send out one tweet and one Facebook post per blog post.  In 2013, I'd like to experiment with tweeting posts out more than once, possibly creating a Facebook page for my blog, look into utilizing Pinterest more, and share on LinkedIn when appropriate.
3. Comment On Other Blogs.  This year I am going to make a goal of commenting on three blogs per week, including commenting on a new blog once a month.  
4. Enhance SEO.  In February I will be attending the regional Ag Chat Foundation conference in Rochester, Minnesota.  One of the break-out sessions I'm looking forward to the most is tips on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  I know this is something I need to work on for my blog.
5. Utilize Followers.  This year I want to explore ways of utilizing my followers.  This could mean having guest bloggers, or guest blogging myself on others' blogs.

Here's to a great year of blogging!  Do you blog?  What are your goals for this year?

Me with Darcy Maulsby and Heather Lilienthal at the #140ConfAgIowa
Some great #AgNerd friends I have gained through blogging