How Social Platforms Are Helping Spread the Message of Agriculture through Natural Disasters

Many may think that social media is all about influencers, politics, or other unnecessary worldly things, but it is an immediate way to stay in touch with the reality of what is going on in the world.  All thanks to people who are reporting their current experiences with photos and videos.  We are all able to have a voice that can be projected to very far parts of the world that would have never been heard without this technology we didn't know we needed.  Some may have thought businesses and industries would have never thrived on these platforms but they are doing better than ever.  This is why social media platforms have a profound effect on our lives more than ever at this moment due to being interconnected with each other at our fingertips. It is crucial for the agricultural industry to be able to voice their concerns, their livelihoods and connect with the public on this resource.  If we do not connect, we have lost a very important path to network with people we do not connect on a regular basis outside of agriculture.  It is especially important to show the effects and day to day life with what happens during a natural  disaster too or the direct effects that it has on their operation to the public. 

The Once In a Lifetime Storm

As we may have all heard or have at least seen eye witness footage of a large cold, wet and snowy front that is occurring in the midwest for the past few days.  Although, one state remains the most affected and under equipped for this winter weather. This is Texas.  

For the past week the majority of the state is facing rolling black outs, freezing temperatures, busted pipelines, a lack of water, no electricity, as well as gas stations running out of fuel and propane to the grocery stores looking like a ghost town.  Texas truly needs help. 

Photo taken from Instagram @sheaswesternlane

There has been a rise in hospitalizations of carbon monoxide poising due to people who are running their cars in their garage to stay warm since there is no electricity (if there is, it is brief) as well as outrage on Instagram has sparked since a grandmother and three children were burned alive due to their house catching fire.  It was believed that the fire had started due to the fireplace since their neighborhood did not have electricity; the authorities still do not what directly caused it. 

Photo Taken By Jacob Ford

Although, the coverage that never gets brought up on the news or on social media is about farming and ranching.  I have noticed while scrolling through my daily feed on Instagram  seeing farmers and ranchers being dishearten and saddened by the sights that they are facing with this horrendous storm.  These posts have ranged from showing the sadness of doing everything they can and still loosing a calf to the cold weather, to showing videos of ranchers trying to heat up the water troughs so the cattle can have water.  It is truly a sad sight.  There have been large Instagram Ag Influencers, courtdehoff, faithfarmingandfamily, newmexicomilkmaid, who have been highlighting the struggles that farmers and ranchers are currently facing among the cold with their livestock.  From these heartbreaking posts showcasing the realities of what is going on in the agricultural industry, there have been large accounts (20K+ followers) who have no affiliation to agriculture, reposting these realities on their Instagram story for others to see.  

 

Video Credit from Instagram @newmexicomilkmaid

What is heart warming from this sad reality is there have been other farmers and ranchers who are from colder areas, that deal with heavy winter weather on a regular basis, are giving tips to help ensure these southern ranchers are doing all that they can to help save their livestock.  These tips are what will help these ranchers get through the coming days.  It is great to see the whole agriculture community coming together to spread awareness on social media as to the trials that they face on a daily basis.  With these social media outlets many are able to access these stories that never would have made it to the 'main stream' outlets like larger news sources as well as large non agricultural related pages.

It truly is easier to be able to keep up to date as to what is currently going on in our own agricultural community due to social media, especially with natural disasters.  It always seems like everyone is always trying to either lend a hand or inform people who and where they can go to when they are in times of trouble or are needing help.  This is the beauty of the relationship/fellowship that everyone seems to have and respect one another in this livelihood.  

California Fires

We have also seen the agriculture industry come together when California had some of the worst and largest fires that we have ever seen last summer.  When the Creek Fire broke out last August so many families were reliant on others in the community to have open arms and take in their livestock and animals.  There were so many donations of hay and other feed coming into these shelters that it was so overwhelming the amount of love and support that comes from the community.  I remember that there were large western fashion influencers (30k+ followers) from Texas reposting stories about the Creek Fire and links to send donations to the fire relief.  This all wouldn't have been able to happen without social media.  

The agricultural community is resilient in all types of weather and natural disasters. There will always be a helping hand when there is a crisis going on whether this is a simple hot meal to those who have been impacted by these events or to tend to their livestock when nature strikes.  Not to mention social media plays the most important role during these challenging situations.  These stories would not reach out to the potential they have without social media.  Plus there are so many benefits to having social media during times of crisis for fundraising relief for those who are the most in need.  

~Madison Martella