Animal activists accuse farmers of being secretive and I’ve just asked attendees at the Future Focused AgOz conference why they aren’t blogging their personal farm stories. Here were their responses:

• Scary
• Just want to get on with the business of farming – maybe it’s someone else’s job
• Lots of farmers don’t realise that what they do is amazing, that it’s newsworthy. There’s a perception that the daily grind is not interesting and that we may not be capable of presenting the bigger picture
• Is it worth it? Will anybody read the blog?
• The confidence they have the skills
• Don’t feel they need or want to do it
• Need to find the farmers who are interested in blogging and who will present farming positively
• A desire to maintain privacy. You’re letting them into your private place
• Uncertainty about who you are writing to
• Uncertainty of how to handle attacks.

As Lynne Strong says, there is a need for a circle of support people behind farmer bloggers. Maybe the agvocacy community needs to spread its wings beyond the net and reassure aspiring bloggers that they are not alone.