Agriculture has seen the results of the power of social media when we band together and use it responsibly for the common good. And by now, every farmer in America should at least know what “social media” is all about, it’s been the topic of every agriculture meeting for a year now. But is texting considered social media?

Whenever I saw people texting in public, I always scoffed at them and thought they were just wasting their time. I vowed I would never be a “texter” mostly because I knew if I ever started I would never stop.

I just knew I would text instead of talking to my children in the car on the way to church or looking for a new text in the doctor’s office or have my nose buried in my phone instead of milking the cows (which I’m prone to do, every once in awhile … just ask my children who chastise me every time they hear me chuckle and see me texting when I should be changing a milker.)

Yes, I’ll admit it. When I started texting I was addicted, but the novelty came and went. Now it’s a useful tool I enjoy where ever I have a signal.

Just the other morning I put the milkers on the cows and sent a text to a neighbor who was also milking her herd of Jerseys. I wanted to ask her plans for the week to see if we could car pool. With two more texts, I had my answer.

We connected as farmers, enjoyed a laugh and went on to milk our cows. I didn’t have to cock my head to the side to hold the phone to my ear while hoping and praying it didn’t fall in the gutter, and I didn’t have to try to hear her over a motorized feed cart or squawking milkers.

It’s also a useful tool to communicate with my children when they are out with their friends. They don’t have to argue with me about curfews in front of a date; they can just argue silently with a few texts. They find out they still can’t outsmart their mother because she has texting with dates and times, eyes on the back of her head and a network of other texting moms watching out for our teenagers.

Okay, I’ll admit it, texting is just plain fun. You can connect to people all across the country whenever you want. The other day I received a text from Trent Loos who was on his way from Alabama to Nebraska and wanted me to be on his radio show. Within minutes I received a text from Kyle Bauer who was on his way from Clay Center, Kan. to Wichita, and he wanted to know what time we were going to do the show. Between those two texts, we set up a radio show time and topic. With two more texts, I had a lunch date with a friend later that day.

It’s also a useful tool when you want to find out what’s happening in other parts of the country. I get a daily weather update from Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa and Pennsylvania. If there is an agriculture event I want to know about but can’t attend, I simply text a friend at the event and I know who was where, what was happening, who lost weight, who gained weight and what the weather was like.

While texting can be a hindrance to getting cows milked on time and spreading manure in a straight line, it has got to be one of the best inventions for preventing isolation on the farm and keeping up with renegade teenagers.

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 Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.