Twitter can be a great place to connect with different people and experts to learn something new, or gain perspective on a different part of the world. By taking advantage of what Twitter has to offer, you can see what people are talking about and get updates on findings, ID assistance, pictures, methods, and newsworthy updates. Below are 5 accounts and 3 hashtags worth following.
UNL_CropWatch (@UNL_CropWatch
)
What we like about following them:
- Events- keeping up to date on different events hosted by UNL
- Picture updates from Nebraska
- Articles of relevant in-season issues. Here is one on corn borer scouting
“NE soil moisture levels drop. Top: 3% very short, 27% short, 66% adequate, 4% surplus. Subsoil: 1% very short, 15% short, 79% adqt, 5% surp” -UNL_CropWatch
Daren Mueller (@dsmuelle)
What we like about following Daren:
- Picture updates, more specifically soybean diseases seen throughout the state of Iowa
- Research project updates and information on trials he is working on
- Updates on Field Days and Clinics
“How does corn residue affect SDS of soybean? We hope to find out this summer. #ISUCrops #soybeancheckoff #NCSRP” -Daren Mueller
RL (Bob) Nielsen (@PurdueCornGuy)
What we like about following Bob:
- Shares extension updates across the Midwest, for example the Chat ‘n Chew Cafe
- Pictures from plots and fields toured throughout Indiana
- Shares and tags timely agronomy focused articles
“Rapid growth syndrome: Tightly wrapped whorls eventually open, revealing yellow-green inner leaves for a few days.” – RL (Bob) Nielsen
KStateAgronomy (@KstateAgronomy)
What we like about following them:
- Unique weather updates pertaining to heat units, harvest predictions, and general growing season updates
- Updates on crop quality and growth
- Alerts and information on irrigation, harvest, and newsworthy articles
“Stripe rust ratings from KSU! See which varieties were most resistant in 2016 plots in KS. ksu.ag/1W44ML4“ -KStateAgronomy
Nicole Weber (@NicoleWeberAg)
What we like about following Nicole:
- Uses #scout16 when tweeting and sharing pictures
- Multiple crops: wheat, carrots, proso millet, etc.
- Good information and tips, not just pictures
“Finding onion thrips at threshold in the transplants in Alliston. Remember to pull the leaves apart to look #scout16″ -Nicole Weber
Hashtag [hash-tag]: used on social media websites preceding a word with a hash mark (#), used within a message to identify a keyword or topic of interest and facilitate a search for it -dictionary.com
Traditionally we see hashtags used in personal tweets, not necessarily having any meaning or merit; #unneccessarilylonghashtags is a great example. It can be easy to forget the usefulness of hashtags that we see used during tradeshows, conferences, planting, harvest, NBA playoffs, US Open, and #Cubstalk. Using hashtags before keywords or phrases in a tweet allows the post to be searchable; clicking on a hashtag to see all tweets using that hashtag. You can also search hashtags in Twitter by entering it into the Twitter search bar.
At this point in the year, hashtags worth keeping track of and using are:
- #grow16
- #scout16
- #fromthefield
Randomly throughout the day, we like to check in on these. It gives us a really easy format to scroll through and see what is happening right now in the ag industry. Two of the best are #scout16 and #grow16. They are relevant to this year and often chronicle unique field findings. Using and reading through the tweets in these hashtags also allow a chance to ask questions or look for other instances. #fromthefield is a more widely used hashtag showing more field activities from spraying to baling, cultivating (yes, some of us still cultivate), specialty crop harvest, and sometimes there are just neat photos of sunrise or sunset.
