Imagine planting and harvesting your crops with the click of a computer mouse. Imagine talking with your neighbors instantly online. Imagine a marketplace that always buys your crops for more than it cost to produce them.

No, it is not a dream or some future Utopia; it is the world of virtual farming, one of the newest applications in the world of social media. If you are not involved with Facebook, then you have no idea what I am talking about and will be completely lost for the rest of this column.

Your time would be better spent turning to Section C and looking through the classifieds that deal with the real world of agricultural production.

If, on the other hand, you have been sucked into the new world of social media, then you are part of a phenomenon that can help teach consumers about farming in a whole new way.

Facebook, like most things connected to the Internet, started out as a simple way to network with friends. Now there are all kinds of applications that range from the silly to the sublime. There are fan pages, quizzes and a bewildering number of games. One of these games, which is quickly becoming popular, is Farm Town. As the name implies this is a farming game that also incorporates the societal aspects of a rural community.

With this game, you can plant a field, harvest that crop, sell or store that crop, buy animals and purchase fences, buildings and trees. You can earn money by working on other people’s farms, communicate with your neighbors, and more. It is all very simple and all very safe.

There are no diseases, no deaths, no market crashes, no hail storms or droughts, and no bank foreclosures. Yet the game is engaging and, if you are not careful, rather addictive. Like farming, it can get into your blood.

As research for this column I asked members of my family to start playing the game. This has led to some strange changes at our house. Dinner table conversations gravitate to who is planting what and when certain crops will be ready for harvest.

I have heard phrases like, “I will get to my homework in a minute after I plant my corn,” or “Dinner will be ready after I harvest my strawberries.” This game has sound effects, so the house is filled with the sound of clucking chickens and grunting pigs, a fact that is causing our dogs no end of confusion.

In addition to farming, the game incorporates the social aspect of a rural community. You have to choose people to be your neighbors. These are people with whom you communicate, to whom you give gifts, and on whose farms you can work. While visiting the marketplace, you can meet and talk with people from all over the world who are also playing this game. To my surprise, a number of noted agricultural leaders are playing this game and are part of the social network of Farm Town.

Besides being a fun game that will build web traffic for its creators, Farm Town has the ability to introduce people to some basic agricultural concepts in a fun and engaging way. Playing the game, you learn that crop production has seasons and cycles.

You learn that someone has to plant and harvest the crop. You see how selling the crop generates revenue, and that planting the next crop requires the purchasing of seed. You learn that if you don’t fence your livestock they wander all over and sometimes get lost.
These are concepts that, if they are grasped by consumers, will begin to give them an understanding and appreciation of modern agriculture.

More importantly, it does this in a way that is not threatening, preachy, or argumentative. It is fun, and works for adults and young people.

The program has some faults including that it is not very realistic, not scientific, and that the animals are far too cute and stereotypical. You can also not plant soybeans. I think this is a major oversight and needs to be corrected immediately.

There are different levels of the game that you progress through as you gain more experience. With each new level, you can plant new crops and purchase new kinds of livestock. I would like to see the game developers add some new features to the higher levels.
Things like confined animal feeding, biotechnology, and conservation tillage. These are simple concepts that could be easily added to the game and would enhance the players’ understanding of agricultural issues that are very much in the news today.
These applications as part of the social media represent a new and very effective way of impacting consumers. Agriculture needs to embrace this concept and foster development of more of these kinds of things to reach and influence people and raise the general awareness of agriculture.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.