This article was #12 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2012. to jump to the article. It was published in the March 10, 2012 Extra. Click here for the full list of the Top 25. Are you on Facebook? Have you tweeted lately? With social media becoming adopted by the agricultural industry, some are using social media as a discussion platform. In an online exclusive article featured in early March, Eric Danzeisen, the creator of #BullChat on Twitter, discusses what this chat consists of and why it was started.
We asked Danzeisen to provide an update:
Q. What plans do you have to continue to promote #BullChat and increase participation in 2013?
#BullChat has seen great participation since we introduced the chat. Many A.I. companies have joined in the conversation since then and have been very helpful answering many questions from dairymen and allied industry professionals alike.
Some of the most loyal companies or representatives of companies to the #BullChat include Select Sires, ABS Global, DairyBullsOnline, Sierra Desert Breeders and Accelerated Genetics.
The Bullvine has been very active in #BullChat, coming up with many topics and questions. We have also noticed a lot of people using the hashtag #BullChat in their everyday tweets when they are talking about bulls. These tweets usually start conversations outside of our regular time, which is Thursdays at 1 p.m. Eastern.
We appreciate all the participation and look forward to great conversations in the year to come. We have lots to discuss in 2013 with many changes coming to the A.I. industry. Topics will include genomics and the ability for dairymen to genomically test their own bulls, heat detection systems, merging genetic data, advances in reproduction and much more. Hope to see you there sometime in the near future.
—Eric Danzeisen, Owner, Sierra Desert Breeders, Inc.
ARTICLE:
What is #BullChat?
#BullChat is a Twitter chat held every Thursday at 1 p.m. EST. Anyone with a Twitter account is welcome to join. The chats officially last for only one hour, but the discussions can continue as long as people want. It was copied from the famous #AgChat Twitter chat held on Tuesday nights. For those who don’t know about Twitter, Twitter has the most awesome agricultural community on the net!
What is the purpose of #BullChat?
The purpose of #BullChat is to learn from people who are real experts in certain areas of reproduction and genetics.
Many people are learning things by asking questions during the chat that they would normally not ask. It is a place where “there is no dumb question.”
The goal is to obtain better reproduction and better genetic gains in your herd. Dairy and beef producers both participate in this chat as both industries can learn from each other.
We have participants from all around the world including countries in the European Union, Australia, Canada and all over the U.S. The participants are truly an expert panel from around the globe.
We have gotten a few industry leaders to get involved. We specifically have this time set so that any association, organization and business can join the chat during normal business hours.
We encourage all who are associated in bovine reproduction and genetics to get involved. Moderators of the chat have included Amy te Plate-Church (@GenexAmy) from Genex, Bryan Quanbury (@dairybullsbry) from DairyBullsOnline.com and several dairymen.
#BullChat topics
So far we have covered topics such as embryo transfer and in vitro fertilization, basic reproduction, recessive genes, heritability of traits, marketing your genetics and so on.
We plan to cover topics like genomics, heat detection, reproduction analysis, genetic indexes, sexed semen, bull proofs, beef genetics, crossbreeding and any new reproduction or genetic news in the next few months. I was scared that nobody would participate in the first week of #BullChat, but was delighted by how many joined that first day. It has been growing ever since.
How to join #BullChat
If you are on Twitter please join us! You can follow us at @Bull_Chat and search the hashtag #BullChat. I recommend using TweetChat to see the entire discussion during that time period. You will find many great people to follow and you'll learn from them all week long. If you would like to get more involved as a moderator or want a specific topic just tweet us.
If you want to join Twitter, I have created a guide for people in agriculture who are new to Twitter. Click here to read the guide. You can also find me at @funwithbulls on Twitter. PD
Eric Danzeisen
Owner
Sierra Desert Breeders, Inc.
webuybulls@hotmail.com
