1. Publicising your business

Farmers can use Twitter to showcase what they do every day on the farm to consumers. This adds to the trust the consumer has in the business and makes him or her more likely to buy this farmer's produce. The more personable and engaging your tweets the more likely you are to accrue more followers thus increasing your chances of reaching a greater number of potential customers.

2. Keeping up to date with farming news

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This is probably the most obvious reason for why farmers should be on Twitter. Nearly every news agency in the world now advertises its stories via Twitter and it is one of the most practical and efficient ways to stay up-to-date with what is going on in farming news or otherwise. Not to mention the fact it is one of the best ways to ensure you never miss a news story from the Irish Farmers Journal!

3. Having the craic with other farmers

Social media is a great way to engage with other members of the farming community. As one farmer put it to us "it's like having your peers around you all the time." This farmer found that when he posted something funny on Twitter, he invariably got a response from another farmer who added his own ha-penny's worth of humour to the thread. This benefit leads in nicely to the next advantage.

4. Alleviating loneliness

Most farmers love what they do, including the challenges that come with their job. But for many loneliness can also be an inescapable part of the job which is often an inherently solitary one. Long hours spent out on the fields cutting grass or sowing crops can take their toll and being part of a social media platform can make those long hours seems somewhat shorter and somewhat less solitary.

5. Advice from other farmers

Not only can other farmers provide humour and some company on Twitter, they can also give some well-thought out advice on issues or crises on the farm. Medical emergencies are part and parcel of every farmer's experience, especially around this time of year. Taking a picture of a calf's condition and posting it on Twitter is likely to result in a stream of advice from farmers around the country. You won't be guaranteed it will all be right but chances are some helpful information will come out of it.

How to join Twitter

If you're interested in joining Twitter you just have to go on to the website which can be accessed here.

You can then follow the instructions to sign up which requires you entering your full name, email address and a password.

Once your profile is created make sure to add a profile and heading picture as soon as possible as this helps to personalise your account. Writing a few words about yourself and your farm in the profile description has the same effect. Farmers who are unfamiliar with technology shouldn't be afraid to ask younger members of the family to help them with these tasks.

Then when you're all set up, it's time to start tweeting!