Monday's agriculture article: Guest post by Ryan Goodman

*Every Monday, blog author Kathy Swift share an agricultural website or article of interest with readers.  Today is a guest post written by Ryan Goodman (@AR_ranchhand)*

Here we go, it’s that time of year where we all look back on the year that has passed and look at what is to come. It has been a busy year for me. One highlight of my year is becoming more active in social media and online communications for Agriculture. Alongside staying active on Facebook and Twitter, I started a new blog, Agriculture Proud, and if you had told me the site would have over 4,000 followers on a Facebook group after only seven months, I would have laughed. The result, I have realized the power of social media in Agriculture.

Since Kathy asked me to share my favorite Ag websites, I have looked back and came up with my Top Five list, in no particular order.

·         AgChat Foundation – This organization and its accompanying weekly chat on Twitter has opened many doors for me. After joining the conversation on Tuesday nights, I have made connections with farmers, ranchers, Agriculturalists, and consumers across the States and in several different countries.

·         Beef Magazine – This website and associated e-newsletters keeps me up-to-date on current industry news, headlines, and activity. The BEEF Daily blog always offers an interesting perspective and comment on Beef and Food related topics.

·         Ag- A Colorful Adventure – Janice may love cotton, and social media may be part of her job description, but this lady always knows how to bring something new to the table. I often catch myself laughing out loud at some of her posts, but she often has something new to teach me in her posts about cotton, social media, or just loving agriculture in general.

·         Journal of Animal Science – If this makes me an Ag Nerd, so be it. I often catch myself looking for facts, figures, and ideas in the articles of this Journal. True, it is animal scientists writing scientific articles on an academic level, but I find the results useful and interesting. And it never hurts to be up-to-date on the latest ideas in the science of animal production.

·         @AgBlogFeed and #AgBlog – This feed and tag have probably become my favorite follows on Twitter. A number of people promote their Agriculture related blog posts with this tag and I have found a great number of new blogs and contacts with this feed.

Thanks Kathy for allowing me to contribute to your blog, and for your recent contribution to my Ag-Thankful post series. (I would add that series of guest posts to my list of favorites, but I do not think that would be allowed.) There are so many more great sites I left out, but I think this gives a decent over-view of my favorites.

Monday's agriculture website of interest: LIST BY GUEST BLOGGER JANICE PERSON

*For today's post, I asked blogger Janice Person (@JPLovesCotton) to share some of her favorite agricultural websites. Janice was born and raised a "city girl" but ended up taking her first job within the agriculture industry after receiving a journalism degree. Her blog, jplovescotton.wordpress.com, details her adventures within the agriculture.*

It sounds like a simple question – what are your favorite agricultural websites / online resources? When Kathy asked if I’d write it, I thought that sounded fairly easy. Then I’ve given it more thought. And still more thought. There are so many great ones.

Luckily I was reminded there is no reason to wait for perfection in blogging but rather use it as a discussion so I’m sure I’ll remember some that I can’t believe I left out of here and other readers will have ideas to add… and through that process it will definitely get better.

I’ve decided to focus on blogs that tell the stories straight from the farm itself. No filter. And while I was asked for a top 10, there is absolutely no way to rank these. My post has a stream of consciousness version.

· Martin Family Farms – I have chatted with Doug Martin a couple of times on Twitter. His blog is a way to see what’s happening in a short, easy to access format. He routinely has taught me a simple fact or two. And since he puts an occasional photo of the family up as well, it helps remind you that there are real faces to the plate.

· Dust on the Dashboard – Kansas farmer Glenn Brunkow has a way of putting his thoughts together that grab my attention with virtually every post. He will write about the things you talk about when driving around a farm in a pickup or visiting at the tailgate.

· Pond Seed Company – Fred Pond was one of my early Twitter connections I made in real life and I love how he uses his company’s Facebook page to keep folks up-to-date with what’s happening in northwest Ohio. He combines field information from his farm with various resources he finds on the internet and passes things along to farmers in his area.

· Griggs, Dakota – Farm News From Our Family Fields – This blog is updated almost daily and almost always has great visuals. I think they may be the only farmers I know growing pinto beans on a broad scale. I’m intrigued to see what all they will have going on in the winter because if I was in North Dakota, I’d be a hermit, but I bet they are busy then too!

· Agriculture Proud is an effort by Ryan Goodman, a recent college graduate who’s working at a feedlot. Ryan started the project as a hashtag on Twitter so various folks could share their pride and it’s grown to include a blog and Facebook page. He does a great job of encouraging others to share.

· Wag’n Tails is a blog that Val Wagner launched September 1, 2010 after attending the AgChat Foundation’s first training conference. She’s got the innate ability to tell a story, draw pictures with words that you can’t learn at a conference but she says the how to & confidence building helped. Hearing or reading her stories of raising four boys on the family farm definitely helps me!

· FarmFresh is Kelly Whatley’s blog. While Kelly and I haven’t met, I feel like I know her. The biggest connection point is cotton but with a connection point like that, the connections grow! Yes, we know people in common, share the same excitement when pickers or planters begin to roll, etc.

· Weeks Enterprises, Inc. A Five Generation Family Farm – My friend Ryan Weeks keeps us up to date on what happens on his farm through Facebook. I love that he’s playing with video a little bit more and that you get to know his kids a bit too!

· I Love Farmers, They Feed My Soul – This was the first agricultural group I joined that grew virally and continues to grow at an incredible pace. The team – students and recent grads of Cal-Poly all of whom have an ag connection or interest – encourages people to share their stories on the page. I’ve got several of their t-shirts, etc and frequently post photos to share in the buzz of lovin’ farmers!

· Walking the Off-Beaten Path, Lana has great snippets and stories about life on the farm. She frequently will share a laugh with her readers, and is glad to have people laugh along with her as she learns a new lesson.

That’s 10 of the farmer-written or farmer-hosted pages I find interesting on a regular basis. I have a lot more and have posted a long list on my personal ag blog. If it’s okay, I’d also like to mention my company’s blog, Beyond the Rows, I contribute to on occasion.

Thanks Kathy for the chance to so this! I could go on and on about the farmers out here on the net having great conversations with other farmers and people like me who depend on them. I could go on for days!

Monday's agriculture website of interest: CRYSTAL CATTLE BLOG

Have a yearning to live the life of a cow girl but don't want to leave the comfort of your office chair? How about giving Crystal Young a follow on her Crystal Cattle blog. Crystal has a passion for agriculture, and wants to see farmers remain on the land, raising food for all of us. She also travels for work and provides commentary on her hectic life. She also blogs about her love for photography, video production, Kansas State University, turquoise jewelry, and current events in the livestock industry. She frequently travels between Alberta, Canada, Kansas, and Missouri.

Monday's agriculture website of interest: THE PIONEER WOMAN

Who doesn't like a good rags to riches story? How about the opposite? The Pioneer Woman website is the story of Ree Drummond, who proclaims she went from "high heels to tractor wheels." She worked in Los Angeles and lived the "southern California lifestyle." On a return trip to her hometown, she met her future husband, a cattle rancher, and her life has never been the same since.

Her website details her life, cooking styles, and overall appreciation for living the country life. She shares pictures of many aspects of her day, including family, animals, and gourmet creations. She has published her own cookbook (cover shown here), which took her a year and a half to finish.

Cow Art and More blog selected for "top 100" list

The Cow Art and More blog has been selected as one of the "Top 100 Great Blogs for Art Students and Enthusiasts." Our blog is specifically mentioned in the nature category as "a blog connecting art to the natural world."

The list was compiled by"Online College," an online source for those going back to school. The site provides information about online college admissions, accreditation, student loans and aid. The site also help users select the best online college to meet their needs.