Bridging the Urban-Rural divide Using Social Media
4/6/2018
The agricultural industry in Australia has always been looking for a way to bridge the divide between pastoral life and city life. Thanks to social media the growth in urban living is not causing a disconnection to farms and rural life. Because of platforms such as Instagram and Facebook city dwellers are now more aware of where their food comes from and how it gets to their plate.
The agricultural industry in Australia has always been looking for a way to bridge the divide between pastoral life and city life. Thanks to social media the growth in urban living is not causing a disconnection to farms and rural life. Because of platforms such as Instagram and Facebook city dwellers are now more aware of where their food comes from and how it gets to their plate.
Blogging
The Northern Beef Industry has benefited from posting regular articles on the Central Station blog. This blog has connected a lot of consumers to the people and stories behind their food. On this platform, contributors have the chance to share the stories, videos and photos of station life.
Central Station was founded by Jane Sale and Steph Coombes in 2011. The blog covers the entire supply chain from the paddock to the abattoirs to the plate. The site started with only 4 to 5 women blogging from Northern Territory, Queensland, Kimberley, Pibara and Indonesia. Central Station has since grown to have over 55,000 followers on Facebook from across Australia and has even inspired a book. There are now a number of regular contributors such as Murray Grey and his sister Alicia. The Grey's are from Pilbara Working Dogs and have gained notoriety from their posts sharing their lives on Glenforrie Station. Mr Grey notes that it is very important for the industry to be telling their story proactively and that is what the platform allows.
Consumers are are more conscious than ever of where their food is coming from and what the supply chain looks like. People are interested in their food being produced in sustainable ways and they deserve to have this need met. While it may be the day to day life of the farmers or persons working in the sector it is a whole new experience for those who are not familiar with all the processes involved.
Instagram
Emma Moss is an Instagram farming sensation. She gained popularity on the social media platform when she started sharing photos in 2016 while working as a jillaroo on the Kimberley’s Nerrima Cattle Station during her gap year.
She has since her start, attracted over 14000 followers and has been featured on ABC Landline. Emma is an advocate for the Northern Beef Industry and regularly speaks around the country.
She has since gone on to study a Bachelor of Sustainable Agriculture in Queensland, but plans to return to Kimberley and continue to share the industry digitally. Ms Moss explains that creating a brand on social media allows people to see where their food is coming from and how it is produced. With 80% of the population of Australia living in urban and city areas this will be the only regular contact they will have with livestock before it reaches the supermarket.
Facebook
Jack Popawski takes his pictures from the sky. His aerial photography spans the WA region and has led to a huge following on his Facebook page Whirlybird Photography. Jack has received messages from America, London and even Brazil. While a lot of his followers on Facebook are from the country, there is now shortage of city dwellers that are curious about the station life he shares via the photography on his account.
