Who Are These Users?

Twitter appeals to a variety of subcategories of people within the agriculture field. It serves the purpose of informing and connecting people who had originally relied on seemingly archaic forms of communicating. Many farmers know each other personally – they know each other’s wives, sons and daughters, and the roles each of these relations fill on the farm or in the office respectively. The family dynamic of farming is evident also online, where people will boast their familial titles in their Twitter bios. This seems to be most prevalent amongst farmers but can also be found in the bios of agri-business professionals. The family dynamic has thus been imposed on to the digital sphere in a bizarre hybrid of communication between hundreds of people framed as a conversation between neighbors. The hashtag #OntAg accounts for over a thousand unique users, but conversation threads include a variety of inside jokes and user-specific commentary.

There’s a second (word) in the realm of Ontarian agricultural Twitter. Agri-business representatives, agriculture students and agriculture scientists use the medium not only to discuss new methods of crop management but also to discuss agricultural policy. They can discuss larger global and international issues that impact the farming community in Ontario. NATO, for example, spurred a massive conversation online.