Gilmer Dairy Farm News
Dairy farmer uses the 'Net to catch consumers' interest(original story published in the FBNews, 7/28/2008 edition, a publication of the American Farm Bureau Federation)
It’s no secret that livestock care practices have been under scrutiny recently. With the help of technology, Will Gilmer, a Lamar County, Ala., dairy farmer, is working to open the communication lines and show consumers the care that goes into livestock production.
Since its inception in 2003, the Gilmer Dairy Farm Web site has added features and grown more interactive. In 2007 Gilmer started a blog titled “The Dairyman’s Blog: a closer look at what’s happening on and around Gilmer Dairy Farm.” A dedicated blogger, Gilmer posts several entries a week, reporting the experiences and efforts of a 29-year-old, third-generation dairy farmer.
“I wanted friends and family to keep up with what’s happening on the farm, but I also wanted to give outsiders an inside look at life on a dairy farm—the hard, long days and the funny moments,” Gilmer says.
Another portion of the Gilmer Dairy Farm Web interaction is the Edopt-a-Cow program. Edopt-a-Cow was designed in 2003 to spur interest in agriculture by allowing individuals or classrooms to “e-dopt” a no-fuss, no-muss pet and track their cow’s production and health. Children can select their cow from several profiles and track the cow’s progress online.
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