Pearl Snaps

Stories of a cowgirl living life by her own lights

Tag Archives: HayTalk.com


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HayTalk goes to the National Farm Machinery Show

by Jesse Bussard

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much farm equipment crammed under one roof. I also don’t think I’ve ever seen Ryan Goodman quite so overwhelmed by a large crowd. This past Saturday, Ryan and I took a trip to Lousiville, KY for the 47th National Farm Machinery

The HayTalk Crew - Me, Ryan Goodman, and James Brown

Show (NFMS). This was my second time there and Ryan’s first (hence, the feeling overwhelmed).  The NFMS is the nation’s largest indoor farm show and is held annually at the Kentucky Exposition Center.  This event is also home to the nation’s Championship Tractor Pulls where some of the best pullers across the country too see who’s rigs have the most torque and horsepower.

In addition to touring the show, we were also there to promote the HayTalk.com website and our bi-monthly Twitter #HayTalk chat. This was the first chance I’d had to meet up with the co-founder of the #HayTalk chat, James Brown a.k.a. @hoosierhayfarm on Twitter.  It was good to finally put a face to the name and talk to one of the collaborators Ryan and I’ve been working with so closely to grow #HayTalk chat.

Throughout our time at the NFMS we saw an assortment of the latest and greatest in farm equipment, including an impressive RealTree camo combine and a Dekalb themed chopper motorcycle. Below is a slideshow of some of the equipment we saw:

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The event covered over 1.2 million square feet with over 850 agricultural displays and exhibits. If it wasn’t for Ryan’s sense of direction in that maze I fear I’d of ended up walking in circles all day! Luckily this year the NFMS featured a downloadable app from Farm Industry News for smartphones and tablets that made navigating the large expanse of the Expo Center a little easier.

We had the chance to talk to people from many different agricultural companies including seed and chemical, planting technology, milking equipment, and livestock feeds.  Overall the show was a great experience and I highly recommend checking it out if you’ve never been! You’ll see some amazing examples of the variety of farm equipment that farmers and ranchers use to produce the food, fuel, and fiber to keep our country going and get to meet people from across the nation.

Also be sure to check out Ryan’s post about the trip and see some more photos of equipment.


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#HayTalk Chat Gets the Bale Rolling

Last night marked the inaugural start of #HayTalk Chat on Twitter.  If you missed #HayTalk or are just out of the loop, #HayTalk Chat is an hour of hay, forage, and grazing discussions on Twitter.  #HayTalk Chat is a new social network experience aimed at farmers, ranchers, livestock owners, and businesses in the hay and forage industry.  Every two weeks we will discuss new topics that include grazing techniques, storage, equipment, feed quality, noxious weeds, forage types, regional challenges, upcoming workshops, and livestock questions.

Things started out a little slow for our first night, but about halfway into the chat we picked up a decent crowd and the conversation took off.  We started out with a start-up mixer, essentially a get to know session where participants shared information about themselves, their location, and brief descriptions of their operations.

We had a wide array of individuals join us from Indiana, Kentucky, Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, California, Ohio, and even Alberta, Canada (Sorry if I missed anyone!).  This variety of locale provided for some interesting forage discussion.  Forage species varied by region, from warm season grasses like bermudagrass, bahiagrass, and dallisgrass in the South, to cool season forages such as orchardgrass, timothy, and smooth bromegrass in the North.

The biggest hot button topics for forage producers seemed to be weather, such as the extreme drought in the Southern US, and the shortage of available hay supplies throughout the country.  Some producers seemed to have ample hay available, while others were searching for steady supplies and feared an early start to hay feeding because of the extreme weather.  A few side discussions about forage quality testing were also had.

We ended the chat allowing those that participated a chance to promote their farm or ranch, company, blog, or forum.  And lastly we sent out a call for discussion topics for our next chat which will be August 24 @ 8pm ET.  To access the archives from last night’s #HayTalk chat click here.

If you have any suggestions for topics for the next #HayTalk Chat or questions please feel free to leave a comment.  You can also contact the creators of #HayTalk Chat on Twitter:  Jesse R. Bussard (@cowgirljesse), Ryan Goodman (@AR_ranchhand), AgBoards Networks (@agboards), and HayTalk.com (@haytalk).

Photos courtesy of Lauren Chase


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AgBoards Announces #HayTalk Chat on Twitter

Attention forage producers and consumers, make room in your Wednesday schedules for an hour of hay, forage, and grazing discussions on Twitter.  Starting Wednesday, August 10th, at 8:00 p.m. EST, AgBoards brings you #HayTalk Chat using the Twitter hashtag, #haytalk.

The AgBoards Network (@agboards) creators of HayTalk.com and RanchingForums.com, amongst other farming sites, have teamed up with social media agvocates Jesse Bussard (@cowgirljesse, blog) and Ryan Goodman (@AR_ranchhand, blog) to bring the hay and forage community #HayTalk Chat.  This Twitter chat discussion will be one hour every Wednesday evening at 8:00 p.m. EST.  #HayTalk chat is a new social network experience aimed at farmers, ranchers, livestock owners, and businesses in the hay and forage industry.

Each week will bring new discussions or guests to the community at large.  Discussion points, many from the community-at –large, will include grazing techniques, storage, equipment, feed quality, noxious weeds, forage types, regional challenges, upcoming workshops, and livestock questions.  Each chat session will be moderated to ensure participants stay on track. Participants will also have a chance to discuss their operations and services. Hope to catch you on Twitter!

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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact AgBoards at

(317) 702-4253 or at info@agboards.com.

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Photos courtesy of Lauren Chase (@LaurenMSea) and Ryan Goodman

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