It’s that time of year, when we report back to you what the On Pasture community has accomplished together. This year that includes a total of 325 new articles with readership at a solid 100,000 folks a month and some months bumping up to 110,000. According to Alexa.com statistics, that makes us the most read online resource for graziers on the planet.
Wow! Thank you all!
But what we’re proudest of is that you tell us what you read helps you. In fact, 95% of the folks who responded to our annual survey said Pasture had made a positive difference to their operations. The other 5% said that they were already doing much of what they read about and appreciated knowing they were on the right track. (You can read more about the survey results here.)
Supporting graziers was what I was thinking about when I first approached a group of friends about the idea at a conference in New York back in 2012. We all agreed that graziers needed a publication that gave them solid, useful information, and a community where we could all learn and grow. In 2013, that’s what Rachel Gilker and I started. And here we are today!
Here’s when On Pasture was just a twinkle in our eyes. (Left to right – Jenn Colby, Kathy Voth, Greg Judy and Eric Noel. Troy Bishopp was with us. He took the photo.)
New This Year
We’ve tried some new things this year. In response to ongoing conversations with farmers and ranchers about how hard it is to make money, On Pasture teamed up with Charlotte Smith of 3 Cow Marketing to offered two webinars. I’m really tickled that folks say it has helped them already.
We also reduced the number of articles we put out each week. Readers told me that it was hard to keep up with 8 articles a week. So I cut back to 4 to 5 and sometimes 6 a week. This isn’t written in stone, so if you have thoughts on this, do let me know!
On Pasture Happens Thanks to Lots of People
First, thanks to all the On Pasture authors. Where would we be without your insights and experience?!
Next, we wouldn’t be able to put On Pasture out every week without the Conservation Innovation Grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Thanks as well to all of you who send in support to help meet our $15,000 match to ensure the grant comes in.
Sponsors and advertisers are another part of the puzzle that help cover:
• the dedicated server that we had to move to when readership go to 80,000 a month
• the staff person who makes sure that hackers don’t take the site down
(Hackers target sites with high readership. Who knew?!)
• the weekly email that goes to over 11,000 readers telling them “Hey! New Articles Are Up!”
• the plug-ins and services that let us run a community events calendar, and maintain a secure website
Please join us in thanking and supporting our sponsors and advertisers!
National Grazing Lands Coalition – Thanks for making the Classic possible so that we can share past articles with all our new readers!
Hand ‘n Hand Livestock Solutions – Richard McConnell and Tina Williams, livestock handling and marketing experts, have been with us almost since day one. You rock!
Organic Valley – They were once a start-up based on a crazy idea, just like On Pasture. So they’ve kicked in to make our crazy idea work for year’s to come. Thank you!
Shade Haven – Talk about outside the box ideas – these folks have a great one! They are the creators of a movable shade umbrella that takes rotational grazing to the next level. Check it out!
Green Pastures Farm – Owned and operated by Greg and Jan Judy, Green Pastures Farm is a tremendous example of innovative grazing and business management. The Judys share their secrets of success every year at a spring grazing school, and in On Pasture articles. We so glad they’re part of our community!
Bell Rule Genetics – One of our newest sponsors, they’ve been appearing in the right side bar sharing information about their grassfed genetics. Dean has been great to work with and we really appreciate their support!
Smith Seeds and Kings Agriseeds have been supporting On Pasture with advertising, as sponsors, and with articles.
Thousand Hills Cattle Company is a perfect fit for On Pasture advertising because they’re looking for the beef that you raise.
And last, but not least, Shannon Hayes! Shannon donates some of her books, The Grassfed Gourmet and Long Way on a Little, as gifts to folks contributing to On Pasture. She does so much for so many! We really think you should stop by the family cafe, have a cup of coffee and a meal and tell her thanks!
What’s Next in 2019?
We’re looking forward to continuing to learn and grow with you. If you have ideas about topics you’d like On Pasture to cover, let me know. And if you have suggestions for something we might add to On Pasture, or something I can do better, do drop me a line. I rely on all of you to make sure that I’m doing the best I can.
Stick with us and we’ll all grow together!
Thank you for all you do!
Kathy
