Newest Fad In Farming: The Internet

[banana republican]

AP) Tucked away in the den of his 127-year-old farmhouse, Ed Winkle huddles over his computer. The screen's soft glow lights up his eyeglasses, reflecting messages about tractors, corn hybrids and crop insurance.

Winkle is checking the latest postings on his favorite Internet farm forum. Advice from fellow farmers around the country has enabled him to increase his corn and soybean production, better market his crops, learn how to rebuild engines and get good tires for his tractor.

Online forums, message boards and chat rooms are replacing rural coffee shops and feed mills as places for farmers to talk farming and trade tips as more of rural America goes online.

"You get the best thinkers in agriculture," Winkle said of the forums. "You're mixing such a diverse group of people — from different areas, from different backgrounds, different experiences, different ways of farming."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/10/business/main2458212.shtml

[blogslut]

1. Old news to me :)

When I cut hair in the nineties I had a lot of farmers for clients. They were surfing the net before almost anybody.

[SpiralHawk]

2. Not a fad: clean food - Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Read all about it:

"Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) offers a way for every human being to be directly involved in the care and healing of the earth, while also ensuring a supply of clean, healthy food for their families and their neighbors."

http://www.chiron-communications.com/farms.html

[MadHound]

3. As with most agricultural news, the MSM is far behind the curve

This was breaking news ten years ago perhaps, but certainly not now. But nice to see that CBS is perpetuating the myth that those of us out here in the country are behind the times:eyes:

Oh, and the 'net isn't replacing the local diner or feed mills, those are still going strong as community meeting places. The 'net is simply supplementing them, providing farmers a forum in which to talk with other farmers from around the country and around the world, just like other people.

What a pathetic excuse for journalism.