Last year I wrote an article on six reasons why you should have a farm website. The main reason is because your farm is a business, and every business can be found on search engines (such as Google) when people want to learn more. If you agree this is important, then you might want to know what information you should have on your website that can help build trust in your farm and the dairy industry.
Here are the questions I would ask you if I was going to build your dairy farm’s website. You can use these as a template to build your own.
Write down the basics about the farm
What's the name of the farm?
Why did you pick this name?
Where is it located?
What is/are your name/s?
How did you get into farming?
How long have you been farming?
Do you know the history of your farm and the land?
What are your future plans for the farm?
Think about the products and services you provide
What crops are you growing?
How are you growing those crops?
What excites you the most about the crops?
What animals are you raising?
How are you raising them?
What excites you the most about your animals?
What products do you produce?
How are you producing them?
What excites you the most about these products?
Why do you farm?
How does your farming help your consumer?
What family values mean the most to you and why?
Pretend you are giving a farm tour
What would you say about these different areas on your farm?
• Business area
• Calving area
• Barn/Housing
• Cow feed
• Milking parlor
• Maternity/Hospital barn
• Employees
How can people get in touch with you?
Address
Phone
Email
Social media connections
Now I would take all of that information and divide it into different sections on the website. Combine all of this information with videos and images of the farm, the animals, the equipment, and the employees.
HOMEPAGE:
The farm name and who we are.
Why do you farm?
How does your farming help your consumer?
What family values mean the most to you and why?
ABOUT US PAGE:
This page would address these questions:
What's the name of the farm?
• Why did you pick that name?
• Where is it located?
• What is/are your name/s?
• How did you get into farming?
• How long have you been farming?
• Do you know the history of your farm and the land?
Please make sure your family values are in the text.
OUR COWS PAGE:
What breed of cow is at your farm?
How big is a dairy cow?
How much milk do they produce?
Where do they live?
What excites you the most about them?
This page could also include questions (along with your answers) that you get from consumers about the cows.
OUR LAND PAGE:
What crops are you growing?
How are you growing those crops?
How are the crops used at your farm?
What do cows typically eat?
How much food do they eat and how much is grown at your farm?
How do you manage cow manure?
What is your sustainability story?
How are you handling the manure from the cows?
This page could also include questions (along with your answers) that you get from consumers about the land.
OUR PRODUCTS PAGE:
How much milk do your cows produce?
Where does that milk go?
How can consumers be assured their milk is safe?
What steps do you do at the farm to assure its safety?
When will milk from your farm be at the store?
What excites you the most about the milk you produce every day?
Again, this page could include questions (along with your answers) that you get from consumers about your products.
DAIRY FARM TOUR PAGE:
I would encourage you to produce text or videos about each one of these different sections on the farm:
• Home/Business area/Family life
• Calving area
• Barn/Housing
• Cow Feed
• Milking Parlor
• Maternity/Hospital Barn
• Employees
BLOG PAGE:
You could also publish a blog on your website so that you can easily share farm updates or address timely issues or questions from consumers. Blogs are a great tool to effectively communicate your farm’s story.
CONTACT US PAGE:
Address
Phone
Email
Social Media Connections
If you have questions about building a website for your farm, please reach out to your local checkoff or you can ask me at don.schindler@dairy.org.
If you would like to learn more about your national dairy checkoff, please join our Dairy Checkoff Facebook Group or visit dairy.org.
The author is a Senior Vice President of Digital Initiatives at Dairy Management Inc.
