The Fastline Blog

Will Gilmer, a third generation dairyman on his family’s dairy farm in northwest Alabama, is doing more than just milking cows these days. With his farm website, blog, and innovative ways to share his message, Gilmer is making a name for himself in the agriculture social media scene as someone who really “gets it.”

Gilmer has always had an interest in the Internet and computers, but in college he realized that wasn’t something he’d ever do as a career, but would always keep as a hobby. After graduating from Mississippi State University with a degree in Agricultural Engineering Technology and Business, Gilmer returned home to live and work on his family dairy farm.

 It didn’t take him long to establish a website for Gilmer Dairy Farm, as a way for people to get a look at what life on the farm was really like and keep up with the daily happenings. “I began to realize that if people weren’t raised on a farm, they really had no clue what went on,” Gilmer said.

In the early days of the Dairy’s website, there was a basic news section that Gilmer tried to update as often as he could, but it never really caught on. “We weren’t updating often enough, and I never took notes of what we did daily, so I’d end up trying to do it all from memory.” Some people might have scrapped the idea all together, but Gilmer just saw another opportunity… He started a blog. Gilmer’s site and blog combined have become an example for others to follow and have gained quite a following. “On average we have between 250 to 350 page views a day, but we have also had days where we have had 1,000 to 1,500.”

The Dairyman’s Blog chronicles life on the dairy farm, but also gives Gilmer the opportunity to talk about important issues facing farmers and the agricultural industry today. While Gilmer does occasionally post about ag news, he has no intention of becoming a news site, “There are plenty of folks out there that do a great job talking about news and issues, so there is really no need for me to mimic that.”

Instead of mimicking others, Gilmer takes his own unique approach, which allows him to cover a variety of different aspects- dairy farm life, news, issues, and even mix in a little humor every now and then. He really embraced the Internet and social media and has started to see positive results from his efforts. 

Along with the dairy website and blog, Gilmer has experimented with Facebook, and most recently Twitter. “Facebook has really helped me be able to talk to a wide audience- ag and non-ag people- about dairy stuff. And Twitter is great because I can be out on the farm, come in and check Twitter and within minutes, I am caught up on all the ag news. Not to mention the fact I can share my message with a much larger audience and much more quickly.”

Gilmer has also started a program on his website called ‘Edopt-a-Cow’ that began as, “a grand idea to get rich quick, but that hasn’t exactly worked out.”  Now the program is more geared towards being a teaching tool, more so than a moneymaker. “ I hope teachers will be able to use it in their classrooms to teach kids about cows, but also transfer it to other areas as well.”  Groups of individuals ‘Edopt” a cow, and can then track monthly updates on their cow- when she is pregnant, milk production, etc. on the Gilmer Dairy website. Gilmer hopes to continue to expand the program and add more teaching tools.

While Will Gilmer has a firm grasp on the Internet and social media, he can see why other farmers have a tough time getting involved with it all, “It’s tough you know, managing time for all that you need to do- work time, family time, all that stuff, and then still having time for the Internet. Sometimes when you come in from the farm, you just want to be done.”  However, he does suggest some small things that people can do that can make a lot of difference, “Facebook and Twitter are probably the simplest and you can easily share with other producers what you are thinking or doing with other producers and people.”

Gilmer is a firm believer in the power of social media and the Internet but he knows nothing can ever replace person-to-person discussions. He suggests other small things to help get the word out like wearing a shirt with your farm logo on it to town. He also suggests talking to your waiters while you are out to eat about food, farming, and what you do, and also leave a business card with your web address along with your tip.

Will Gilmer is just one of many farmers out there who have started integrating social media and the Internet into their daily lives. Are you a farmer using social media and the Internet to promote your farm, or do you know someone who is? Share your stories, tips or ideas and get the conversation started.

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