Ryan Martin is an agriculture meteorologist at Advantage Weather Solutions– a speaker at the American Farm Bureau Federation‘s 2017 Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show, but what does weather have to do with social media?
Social media is actually affecting the way farmers make decisions, especially regarding weather stories, Martin told his audience. Once you’ve seen it online, it’s hard to un-see it. Don’t get carried away by the hype, he warns.
“Everything is worse when you see it on Twitter. It is a breeding ground for pessimism,” said Martin. “These are agriculture feeds trying to give you information. You would think this is the status where nothing is going right.”
Recall post’s you’ve seen about LaNina, warnings of late frost last May, or end of the world warnings. Viral weather stories like the one about extreme conditions in Brazil have been credited with spikes and dips in the markets, even when the actual stories didn’t have the influence people believed. According to Twitter, South America is too wet, too dry, and on fire right now, but the area that received 9 inches of rainfall isn’t significant to crop production. So why has the market moved? “H*ll if I know,” Martin quips.
Weather patterns do impact supply and demand, but social media isn’t a good marketing tool, Martin reminds.
So what will 2017 bring? Listen to his full presentation to hear his predictions: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/afbf17-weather.mp3″ text=”AFBF Agriculture Meteorologist Ryan Martin”]