A couple of weeks ago, Feed Yard Foodie passed its “18 month birthday”. In honor of reaching that milestone, I would like to share a few statistics and thoughts with each of you regarding the cyber journey…
Thank you for coming along with me on this adventure!
In the last 18 months Feed Yard Foodie:
- Received approximately 85,000 hits from more than 130 countries around the world.
- Created 176 posts that are archived under 14 different categories.
- Welcomed 266 regular blog site followers and 554 facebook “likes”.
A special thanks to my family–for their contributions to the pictures and the posts–and also for their patience and understanding as we opened the door to our farm and our lives…
In the last 18 months, I have learned:
- Creating a good blog post takes several hours.
- Often ideas for posts pop into my head at odd times, and sometimes the resulting post metamorphoses into something only distantly related to the original idea.
- I love taking pictures for the blog even more than I love writing the posts.
- As with every other aspect of my life, I am a creature of habit. My regular Tuesday and Thursday posts reflect that tendency.
- Maintaining a conversation with many many people that I do not know is a unique challenge.
- I love to read comments relative to my posts because they give me a glimpse into who my readers are and what inspires them.
- Explaining how I care for cattle and raise beef to each of you drives me to be a better caregiver to my animals and inspires me to constantly improve.
What questions do you have about my animals or the beef that they produce?
After 18 months of hearing me pontificate, I would like to know from you all:
- What do you like best about the Feed Yard Foodie site and my blog posts?
- What do you think that I can do better in the next 18 months?
- What topics do you wish that I would write about?
- Do you feel as though I do a good job articulating about my family and our lives on a farm? If not, what I can do to better help you understand?
- What motivates you to “like” a post or to comment?
I would very much appreciate any and all insight. Pick an above question to answer, or answer all of them 🙂
I have come to understand that “It’s not about the trailer”, rather it’s about building a relationship that is based on trust…
Please know that I value your insight, and am so very thankful that each of you has allowed me to become a part of your life over the past 18 months…
Feed Yard Foodie 
I live in a city and while I do see cattle while driving or traveling, your posts give an insight to what I see from a distance. Keep up the great work!
J,
I really appreciate your feed back, and I am so glad that you enjoy the blog. I hope that you will continue to receive insight from my posts!
All the best,
Anne
Anne,
One of your strongest qualities is starting your post about family or general issues all people can relate to and connecting it to ag. If readers (Ag or non-ag alike) can make a connection with the educational information we provide they are more likely to understand and retain the information. Yes, the way you include your family in your posts is also excellent.
I am motivated to “like” a post or to comment when I can relate to a situation you post about, have a similar experience or agree with your point of view. I also tend to comment when I feel I can add something valuable to the table.
Keep up the good work!
Robyn,
Thanks so much for your insight. I very much value your thoughts and am so thankful that you are a loyal reader and commenter.
Likewise, I enjoy your blog—your pictures are always so beautiful and inspiring.
All the best,
Anne
Do you really want me to answer any of those questions? I can’t, because I have “biased eyes”. But I will say this…a little over 16 years ago (has it really gone by that quickly) I made a prediction, I was right (more right than I even realized) and am thankful for it every day. As to the blog, I think you do a marvelous job of conveying your thoughts about everything, and always explaining things in a common sense way that all who read it, regardless of subjective myopia, should be able to reasonably understand. Always helps when the facts on on your side. You also have a better way of eloquently stating reality than I do, and I can attempt to learn from that.
Jeff,
Be careful, you might make me cry. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. I also appreciate whatever small part you played in making my husband the great person that he is. You will always hold a special place in both of our hearts.
Hopefully the Wyoming winds are not blowing you away! Give our love to Erin and the boys.
Anne
I really enjoy your blog. Your blog and Amanda Radke’s blog is the first
e-mails i read. Having been in the feed business for over 40 years makes
it easy for me to relate to you and your familys.
Keep up the great work.
Bob Gwilt
Bob,
As always, I enjoy hearing your feed back. Thanks so much for being such a loyal reader. I am glad that you can relate to my posts and enjoy them.
I will be sure and keep up the hard work–I seem to be addicted to it!
All the best,
Anne
Anne,
I don’t always comment, even when I really enjoy a blog, but I do always read them. (That reminds me that I really should have commented on your last blog. I loved AG’s poem. It was short, to the point, had a really nice meter and said everything it needed to. Having grown up in Wyoming, I could really relate!) A lot of times, I feel that others have already said everything that needs to be said. I enjoy seeing what others have commented as well as what you have posted. I really appreciate the photos and videos and keeping up with what your family is doing. I appreciate the information on the various aspects of farming and raising cattle (as basically a city person). The information on the “pink slime” business was eye opening to say the least. You also inspire me when you talk about setting goals and always trying to improve rather than settling for good enough.
Carol,
I always enjoy hearing from you, and appreciate you sharing your thoughts. I will pass along your message to AG–it will make her smile.
Thank you for your feed back on the blog–and for being such a loyal reader!
I hope that you have had some good rides this fall and enjoyed the weather. I am lamenting the fact that I have been so busy at the feed yard the last 60 days that my relaxing “horse time” with Dandy has been few and far between…I am hoping to remedy that in the next few weeks as we settle into a more normal pace at the feed yard.
Take care,
Anne
Congratulations on 18 months of blogging success, Anne! I think you do an exceptional job of intelligently relating why you farm and explaining the issues. You dedication and love for what you do shine through and builds bridges with people who are far removed from farming. Keep on keeping on 🙂
Aimee,
Thanks for your thoughts. I very much appreciate your feed back, and will do my best to “keep on keeping on”.
I enjoy your point of view and your posts on EverydayEpistle. It is one of the few blogs that, in spite of my chaotic life, I make sure that I take the time to read regularly.
All the best,
Anne
I love your blog and have gone back and read it from the beginning. I have asks a few questions and you answered them in a very informative way. Thank you. It is good to see animals treated well and someone that really cares for these cattle. Thank you again. Ellie K
Ellie,
I was hoping that I would hear from you! It has been a little while and I am so glad to hear that you continue to read and follow. Please continue to ask questions when you have them—questions from you all always help to give me some insight as to what I should blog about.
I do care for my animals very much and I am glad that it shows so clearly in my writings.
All the best,
Anne
It took a while to get through BQA2011 Executive Summary then organize my thoughts (Mission Impossible). Please do a series of blogs on BQA. I honestly believe expanded recognition of BQA would benefit each aspect of cattle industry, tell the story and go a long way towards reassuring consumers.
Great thought Dr. Haake. I will most certainly do that. Look for a focus on Beef Quality Assurance in next week’s posts.
All the best,
Anne
Anne. Unfortunately, I only have a few ideas at this point. Here they go. 1) You need to do a taste test on different beef types via how they are grown, throwing a few steaks of your own in for good measure. At minimum, you’ll need to explore their flavor on gas, electric and charcoal stoves. It will all have to be very scientific using a chart or something. I know you’re into that stuff. (Matt will have to help you. In fact, make him your taste tester.) 2) Use more Ivy League words like ‘pontificate,’ if just so Mom and Dad know they got their money’s worth. 3) Explain to the world why we should have steak for breakfast. 4) Explore why some folk want to release the beef back into the wild instead of eating it. (That might be fun to chart, the success rate of a bovine in the wild.) 6) Government regulation anyone? 7) Why is U.S. beef the best? 8) Important farming bills moving through Congress that we should all call our Congressmen and Senators about (…when the gridlock ends). 9) Interview other ranchers and feedlots about how they run their operation different than Will Feed, Inc. Make sure you interview a crusty old-timer that doesn’t like smart “What is she do’n” females. 10) Does beef work in pancakes? I’ve always wondered. 12) Does beef taste better after listening to several months of Mozart and Bach? Have you tried it? Why not? 13) Why is swimming less stinky than Cross Country? Whoops. Wrong blog. 14) I always love your steak cooking recipes. They’re delicious …when will you post them? 15) You need to feature a cut of the month. Make all of us go out and buy it and try it. You can then say things like, “November posts are brought to you by spare ribs.” That’s kinda cool when you think about it. ~ Bill