Farmer to Farmer Discussions:
An Electronic Mailing Group
By Bill Casey

In my 25 plus years of farming, interacting with other farmers has almost always resulted in obtaining great insight into solving challenging farming problems. Farmer to farmer interactions at auctions, extension meetings or just by stopping in to visit the neighbor can result in a very meaningful exchange of ideas, but require time for cleaning up and travel.

With the use of home computers and email, the traveling is no longer required for farmer to farmer discussions. The formation of electronic discussion groups using e-mail has provided a means for farmers to exchange ideas without leaving their homes. An electronic e-mail discussion group is merely e-mail community interacting on a common topic. Electronic e-mail discussion groups have been in existence since the Internet was first privatized in 1994. The agricultural oriented DairyL was one of the first.

Typically, a group is formed when enough people with common interests pool their email addresses. Through the use of special listserving software, a member can send out an e-mail and it is sent to all subscribing members. If the content of the e-mail is of interest to you, you may respond directly to the originating author or to the whole group or just enjoy reading it. If the content of the email is of no interest, you can hit the delete key.

A list of discussion groups can be found at:
http://groups.yahoo.com

After searching for and not finding the existence of an organic dairy producers electronic mailing group, NODPA has decided to start one. Bill Casey will be the moderator of this newly formed electronic mailing group which will be known as ODairy, short for organic dairy. It is a free service open to anyone.

Step For Joining the
ODAIRY email discussion list:

1. Sign Up For a Yahoo ID
or
Sign Into Your Yahoo Account

2. Go to the ODAIRY Sign Up Page on Yahoo Groups at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Odairy/

3. Click on "Join This Group" and Fill Out the Form.

You can also read past emails discussions in the archive section on the ODAIRY yahoo page.