Getting a bit lonely

[mag]

Been posting for a while on this forum and to date really no debates or questions being asked, I am beginning to wonder if any one is interested in having a chat or asking a question in general that any one of our members can answer, so come on lets have a few debates, surely there must be a topic that is of interest to you.

Or does anyone want any information regarding anything to do with agriculture at all???, don't be shy participate, that's what these forums are set-up for....................... :thumb

[Dave]

As the administrator it is frustrating to say the least! If you weren't here mag it would be like a ghost town :D.

This site itself receives reasonably good traffic (actual figures vary but we currently have over 20,000 visitors a month). There are very few agricultural forums online anywhere, and hardly any that are Australian-based. We have 100 members (and growing) yet we seem to have trouble getting people to post in the forums.

I'm not sure why people are so reluctant to share information and interact. I know broadband etc. is not widespread in the bush yet but many farmers I know are very active on the internet and use email nearly every day.

If you are viewing AgLinks Forums as a guest:

Join today! (http://www.aglinks.com.au/forums/register.php) :beer

As an aside, many of our forum discussions rank well in search engines and bring in additional visitors. As an example, search for "mulesing australian sheep" in Google and we are up the top somewhere. That's one positive thing :thumb.

[wato]

This problem of getting people in the Ag industry to share information is one that has baffled me for some time. As the owner/admin of another australian based agforum. I'd certainly like to hear any ideas on how to get people to divulge more information. If we are worried about other people in the industry getting an advantage I feel that the industry is doomed to a slower growth than would otherwise be possible. We all do some of our own on farm research but are reluctant to share the results good or bad. But seem happy to purchase the same information from other sources.
Cheers Ian.

[mag]

That’s true wato, I find it a rather perplexing issue, I just check in every now and then and post as I feel and check for any comments every now and then. But most rural producers are takers rather than givers so we all just have to live with it, you can’t change the nature of the beast.
give my regards to andrewm...

:beer

[Peter Bailey]

hi guys, i check in on your forum every now and then but i see that it is dificult to get people to contribute.

with this in mind i decided that i should join and help out where i can.

My Background is:
I have studied Ag Science. have been an agronomist in victoria for a few years, i have around 10 years seasonal experiance as a grain sampler and these days I work for a GPS Guidance company in WA with around 6 years experiance from sales and support though to my current position as a project manager.

Given my current role i have some bias towards brands that i have had good experiance with and i have a particular intrest in what farmers want in terms of electronic equipment in machinery. I also have a strong personal intrest in precision farming practices such as variable rate and tramlining.

so if you would like me to contribute I would be more than happy.

[Dave]

Welcome to the forums wato and Peter :thumb.

We are always pleased to see new members, so if you have anything at all to say then feel free to post messages. There are lots of agricultural issues worth discussing and everyone has an opinion, so let's hear yours :D.

Thanks for stopping in and hopefully we see you around.

[clancey]

Getting a proper debate going is a common problem in agriculture. When I was trading grain, I was severely criticized by the industry for dealing with problems directly instead of going through industry associations. This yearning for consensus and one voice stills debate and discussion. The fact there is such a yearning is obvious from support for marketing boards.

There is a similar unwillingness to challenge common assumptions in agriculture. This may derive from the fact rural communities are sparsely populated. If you challenge common wisdom you risk being ostracized. As a result, this industry becomes reserved even when participating in relatively anonymous forums. What if our true identity is discovered?

I have even noticed an amazing intolerance for differing views. I offer a subscription based service for agriculture and one of my customers refused to renew a subscription because I published some corporate news from the Canadian Wheat Board. He hates the CWB and will not tolerate anything which does not support his viewpoint. He is not going to be participate in any debate. He will just move on after posting a single, vile response.

At another level, agriculture is really struggling in developed nations. The cost of participating in our economies is more than many/most of us can make from agriculture. Perhaps we are withdrawing from all discussion out of depression, guilt, feelings of failure, and/or making busy.

[mag]

perfectly stated

[Mick]

Hey Guys,

My wife is interested in getting online and talking to other women who face the same hardships as she has had to put up with, and as yet we are unable to find anywhere for her to do this. perhaps if the women get into it, then they might get their husbands motivated to contribute also.

[Dave]

Mick, there are a few women that have registered as members although they are not what I would call 'regulars', which is surprising given the integral role most women have on the average family farm.

Word of mouth is one of our best methods of referring the site on, so if you know of any farming families that would be interested in this site please feel free to tell them about it :thumb.