A PLAN to help farmers embrace social media platforms to boost their business has landed a food blogger, author and deer farmer the national Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Rural Women’s Award.
With cooking and food provenance taking centre stage these days it makes sense for farmers to communicate directly with their consumers and let them know what is happening behind the farm gate, says Sophie Hansen, Orange.
Mrs Hansen won the Rural Women’s Award and will use it to set about starting her project, My Open Kitchen, an online learning course to assist those in primary production to use social media.
“Never before has there been such an interest in where food is coming from and who is behind it,” Mrs Hansen said.
“I think social media is a great way for farmers to take advantage of that interest and communicate directly and tell people what is really happening behind the farm gate from the horse’s mouth.”
She said while social media might not be for everybody it held countless benefits for those with a branded product, those selling direct or via farmers’ markets.
“It’s a really powerful way of connecting with your consumers and telling them what is going on on the farm,” Mrs Hansen said.
“Telling them when you are facing challenges and when you are having a good time.
“When people are invested like that they are much more likely to keep supporting you and go that extra mile to find your product and share it with their friends.”
Mrs Hansen and her husband Tim run a deer farm on NSW’s Central West with about 2000 head of deer. They export product as well as selling domestically.
Mrs Hansen said using social media had helped them tell customers what they had on offer at farmers’ markets and also filled spaces in their on-farm kitchen lunches and events.
She said My Open Kitchen would work to show easy and fun using social media could be.
With applications now open for next year’s Rural Women’s Award Mrs Hansen encouraged women to enter.
“Just do it. You connect with some amazing women all over Australia and for me that was the big win.
“There is an award alumni who are very active and connected and I really think that group of women could rule the world if they wanted to.”
The Rural Women’s Award runner up was seed producer Kalyn Fletcher, Kununurra, Western Australia.
The finalists were Martina Matzner, Humpty Doo, Northern Territory; Emma Robinson, Charters Towers, Queensland; Robbie Davis, Meningie, South Australia; Rebecca Duffy, Rowella, Tasmania, and Dr Jessica Lye, Melbourne, Victoria.
Kim Chappell
As Senior Producer - Digital for ACM's regional titles I assist newsrooms in digital best practice. Before this role, I was the digital journalist with ACM's national team and prior to that, the digital specialist with ACM's Agricultural division. I started as a general rounds journalist with The Land in 2006, moving up to hold the title of chief of staff before switching to digital reporting in 2015.
As Senior Producer - Digital for ACM's regional titles I assist newsrooms in digital best practice. Before this role, I was the digital journalist with ACM's national team and prior to that, the digital specialist with ACM's Agricultural division. I started as a general rounds journalist with The Land in 2006, moving up to hold the title of chief of staff before switching to digital reporting in 2015.
