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Beyond the Rows is a Monsanto Company blog focused on one of the world’s most important industries, agriculture. Monsanto employees write about Monsanto’s business, the agriculture industry, and the farmer.avatar Monsantoco Posts

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Tag Archives: Social Media

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The Story That Was and Wasn’t

It’s Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. You’re doing a Google search on genetically modified crops in Europe. One of your search results is from the U.K.’s Daily Mail web site – an announcement that Monsanto is closing wheat breeding stations in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Czech Republic. You look at the article’s date: Jan. 31, 2012.

If you oppose GM crops, you’re thrilled, and immediately use the Daily Mail’s “tweet this” feature to alert all of your Twitter followers, many of whom retweet the news to their followers. Soon, Greenpeace Europe picks it up and tweets it. Numerous … Full Article »

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Originally published
February 4, 2012 by Glynn Young

FAN2050140

Why would a farmer or rancher create a blog?

The title of this post is a question I’ve been asked several times. It seems people don’t understand what would lead a farmer to set up and maintain a blog. That sort of writing and content creation used to be the sort of thing communications professionals laid claim to. The process seemed intimidating to others. But social media changed all of that and has given rise to a new type of content – blogs, Twitter accounts and Facebook pages that represent people’s individual passions.

But why farmers would want to blog is a question I’ve heard many times, even here … Full Article »

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Originally published
October 27, 2011 by Janice Person

Photo by Becky McCray via Flicker

What Can Farmers & Small Towns Gain Through Social Media?

More than 100 million people are said to be using Twitter. With all the buzz around the service – challenges about how many followers people have, tweeted photos appearing on the big screen in major stadiums, and every business having a twitter icon on their homepage – one would have to wonder what would small town people to use the service. That was exactly what I was able to learn at the recent 140 Characters Small Town Conference in Hutchinson, KS.

If you haven’t heard of the 140 Conferences, you may be interested to hear founder Jeff Pulver’s thoughts on … Full Article »

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Originally published
September 29, 2011 by Janice Person

Michael Marlow Monsanto Agonomist

Monsanto Agronomist Helps Farmers 140 Characters at a Time

As an agronomist, Monsanto’s Michael Marlow has to be on top of the field conditions in his territory, which includes most of Oklahoma and northern and eastern Texas. It’s in his best interest—and his customers’ best interests—to know when plant diseases are popping up, when bugs are starting to move into fields and when weather is impacting crops.

But he can’t deliver those tidbits of information to everyone on a personal basis every day. That’s why he uses Twitter—a social media outlet that allows people to share thoughts in 140 characters—as one of his communication tools to update farmers … Full Article »

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Originally published
September 3, 2010 by Nick Weber

Optimism in an Out of Office Message

Friday afternoon I was trying to reach a coworker. I looked on the office instant messaging system and a rush came over me – there was an out of office message saying he was planting just outside of Corpus Christi, Texas. Immediate reaction? Pick up the phone and call to see how it’s going!

It’s a high tech version of what has happened for generations. It used to be conversations at the general store or maybe the church social. It passed from neighbor to neighbor and town to town. Now, the news gets out quickly & electronically – and for … Full Article »

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Originally published
March 30, 2010 by Janice Person

News and Views - Farmers in Field

The Perfect Week to Thank a Farmer, National Agriculture Week

As someone that didn’t grow up in agriculture (the closest I got was the 5 cow dairy farm up the street from my subdivision) I seldom thought about the importance of farming in my everyday life before I graduated college. Now that I work for Monsanto, I have had the opportunity to meet with farmers and I understand more about the challenging yet rewarding occupation these men and women have chosen.

National Agriculture Week (March 14-20) is an opportunity to connect to the people that are supplying the world with their food, fuel and fiber. Anyone who has ever met … Full Article »

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Originally published
March 16, 2010 by Kathleen Manning

Social Media Coverage of Commodity Classic 2010

California Dreamin’ with Corn, Soybean, Wheat and Sorghum Growers

The 2010 Commodity Classic Show kicks off today in Anaheim, California. Classic (as its known to hip ag-sters) is the annual meeting of the nation’s corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum growers, hosted by the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, and the National Sorghum Producers.

We have a team of Monsanto employees at the show providing live coverage to growers back home to growers who don’t want to miss out on the action.

Be sure to check out the Commodity Classic hub… Full Article »

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Originally published
March 4, 2010 by Monsantoco

Video: Social Media & Taking the Bull by the Horns

Very few of my friends or family are on Twitter. And of the few who are Twitter users, I hate to admit they’ve let their accounts go unused. I think my family and friends get a bit of a laugh out of the very concept of 140 character tweets.

When most Americans think of Twitter, they probably think of following a big name celebrity or maybe a local news source. The value of creating community and providing your own perspective is why farmers like Mike Haley are on the social media site. It’s also how I came to know … Full Article »

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Originally published
December 17, 2009 by Janice Person

Don't Be a Turkey This Thanksgiving – Thank a Farmer

If you’ve been listening to the radio lately, you may have heard some new advertisements from Monsanto that aim to raise awareness of the contributions of the American farmer. The ads articulate the positive impacts American farmers have on our economy as well as their efforts to preserve and care for the land. On Thanksgiving Day, we will also begin running television ads. These ads will feature real American farmers and echo the message of the radio ads.

Interestingly enough, we discovered that as we began to run our ads, many other people, organizations and companies were also out … Full Article »

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Originally published
November 24, 2009 by Mica Veihman

Going Down #OntheFarm Every Week

By Nick Weber

I grew up in St. Louis and now work here in our corporate headquarters. Quite frankly, I don’t get out to the farm much. In fact, I think I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve visited a farm. I’ve learned a lot from other meetings with farmers at trade shows, in the office, etc., but it’s different to have the conversation focused solely on what’s happening with them.

Before February, I relied almost entirely on agriculture trade publications, their Web sites’ message boards and the occasional mainstream media article for information about what’s … Full Article »

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Originally published
September 10, 2009 by Nick Weber