Page 26 - CFAN_Aug2014

AGRICULTURAL MARKETING 101
TO STAY TOP OF MIND with today’s consumers, a digital marketing campaign is a must. The payoff for your agricultural operation comes when a campaign successfully moves more of the right people at the right time to purchase your products more often.
Digital marketing is different from mass marketing in that it specifically reaches out to your target audience— the people that actually have interest in your ag operation and/or product(s). For example, if you run an on-site farmers’ market in Florida, your campaign would be laser-focused on persons requiring farmers’ market information in Florida.
To direct consumers to your agricultural operation’s flagship website— the place loaded with all of your operation’s most important information— various digital tools come into play, including:
• Banner Ads. Place ads on industry-relevant websites. Choose
sites that are targeting consumers who already have your products/ services on their minds (i.e., fresh, organic produce, on-site farmers’ markets, health conscious, clean eating, etc.).
• Search Advertising. Get strategic and advertise on search engines such as Bing and Google to proactively target people already searching for information on your products.
• Facebook Page. Post product exclusives, captivating photos, farm updates, and links (blog posts, page updates, etc.) on a regular basis to drive traffic to your flagship website.
• Collaboration. Get on board with other leading industry-related websites via blogging exchanges/campaigns to feature information on your products directly on their sites.
• Video content. Run these videos before online television shows, in press releases, etc. Visuals and videos are all the rave these days.
• Cutting Edge Digital Marketing Tools. To target millennial consumers who might be in the market to purchase your products, get creative with other tools, including other social media platforms (Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Vine, etc.), SEO marketing campaigns, etc.
Promoting your agricultural products via these various outlets is important if you want to remain visible and relevant amidst the other thousands of products out there.
The philosophy is simple. Target the right people, and target them when they’re in a buying state of mind. In other words, feed
them the information that they’re already hungering for . . . literally.
This column is sponsored by Bankers South Lending & Finance.
by LEIGH ANN WYNN
BIO: Leigh Ann Wynn is the Sr. VP of business development for Bankers South. Adding mortgage loan originator to her title, Leigh Ann is actively working with the AgAmerica Lending Program by Bankers South, offering low interest ag loans. As an active member of the ag community and a seventh generation Floridian, Leigh Ann understands your ag needs and is here to answer your questions. She can be reached at leighann@bankerssouth.com or (863) 607-9500.
26 | CFAN
FEATURE | c a t t l e
What Cattle Ranch Operations Need to Know
by KELSEY TRESSLER
THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has released two new limpograss cultivars, both of which show superior traits over the current industry standard, according to UF Associate Professor and Forage Specialist Joao Vendramini.
NEW LIMPOGRASS
Cultivars
The new cultivars, Gibgrass and KenHy, are named after cattle business veteran Gilbert Tucker and forage breeder Dr. Ken Quesenberry, respectively. The cultivars feature higher nutritional value and are more efficient for the cattle ranch operation, according to Vendramini. “We believe that we can have better production and cows with better body conditions, and we can increase pregnancy rate and ultimately have more calves,” Vendramini elaborates.
Development of the two new cultivars began when the Florida Cattlemen’s Association (FCA) prioritized new limpograss plants in 2004, with concerns of genetic vulnerability. The last release of a new limpograss plant was Floralta 25 years ago. Since that time, the strain has been planted in over 400,000 acres and is the second-most common grass for grazing, according to UF/IFAS. The FCA called for greater nutritive value and the persistent quality of Floralta under
cattle for the new plants.
The UF Agronomy Department crossed
two limpograss types, Floralta and Bigalta, in 2005 and studied the resulting hybrid plants. The two chosen cultivars performed as well as or better than Floralta in the
specified categories. UF/IFAS held its release event for the two plants on August 7, with a description of the cultivars from Quesenberry and a tour of the limpograss fields.
The cultivars will be used in trial for the next year. According to Vendramini, the plants propagate by stem—which means there is a limited amount of plant material available. The FCA chose a small group of cultivar producers for 2014, and those producers will be responsible for multiplying the plant material and making it more widely available.
Vendramini expects more producers by 2015 for cattle ranch operations that are interested in incorporating the new strands into their fields. “Not just nationally but internationally, Vendramini explains. “Any cattle farm can be interested in this plant.” ag
The two chosen cultivars performed as well as or better than Floralta in the specified categories.
PHOTOS
courtesy of UF/IFAS
FloridaAgNews.com