GIPPSDAIRY LAUNCHED its inaugural podcast last month, receiving a great response from the dairy community.
The first DairyPod saw farm consultant John Mulvany sharing his thoughts on marginal milk with GippsDairy regional extension officer Ruairi McDonnell. As always, John was thought-provoking, challenging and sometimes controversial, which is just the way we like him.
The overwhelmingly positive feedback to DairyPod got me thinking about how times are changing in the way GippsDairy and farmers communicate.
Not long ago, How Now Gippy Cow was pretty much our only channel for getting in contact with large numbers of farmers in one hit. A phone call or letter was just about the only way for farmers to offer feedback.
Today, How Now Gippy Cow is still going strong but is complemented by social media postings that can be updated at a moment’s notice, a fortnightly eNews which you are reading now and direct emails that can be sent to discrete farmer groups without clogging up every other farmer’s inbox.
Feedback from farmers is instantaneous these days, helping us shape future decisions on communications content and methods.
Using podcasts to discuss issues in greater depth in a format that allows people to access it when it suits them, seems like the perfect way to get important information into the hands of farmers.
A farmer could climb out of the tractor with both a fertilised paddock and a better understanding of how endophytes could improve pastures, how farm management deposits could save money or, after this episode, a greater understanding of marginal milk. These are just a few of hundreds of topics we could explore in future episodes.
I’d encourage you to have a listen to the first DairyPod – it’s as easy as heading to Soundcloud or the Apple podcast app and searching for DairyPod.
· Allan Cameron
GippsDairy Regional Manager