One of the first agricultural podcasts is the Swinecast. I’ve been following it’s development since early last year and I can tell you this is no longer some sort of unproven concept. Ask Dennis Erpelding at Elanco Animal Health what he thinks. Kudos to Ned Arthur for taking a bold step into the new media world. We’re getting there buddy! I hope no one believes that a company like Eli Lilly would invest in this new technology without serious thought and the belief that it is helping them accomplish their customer communication goals.
Elanco’s innovative Internet “conversation” between swine producers and industry experts – celebrates its 100th episode by expanding its introduction to swine industry allies across the nation. “We’re pleased to invite the entire industry to become a part of this bold new Information-Age initiative,” says Ned Arthur, SwineCast Content Partner. “Over the past year, as we’ve slowly introduced SwineCast in test markets, the response from participants has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve discovered that all segments of the swine production industry significantly benefit from an ongoing dialogue with each other, regardless of their location or nationality. That’s what SwineCast provides. That’s what we want to share with you.”
The concept behind SwineCast is simple.
Each week, two new half-hour audio “magazines” are produced. These audio programs are available over the Internet at SwineCast.com as “podcasts,” free-of-charge to subscribers. Content is determined via feedback from listeners, industry issues and events world-wide. Both the feedback mechanism and quick-turn capability of the audio podcast separates SwineCast from other industry media. “In basic terms, SwineCast provides timely, comprehensive information on production, marketing and management issues through one easy-to-use, frequently updated source,” says Aaron Gilbertie of Elanco. “To date, topics have ranged from swine herd health and reproduction concerns, to economic and market forecasts, to facility management and tax regulations … covering hundreds of other issues that are important when running today’s operations. The SwineCast model allows participants to direct program content by the interests they share through the feedback system.”
In addition, SwineCast offers expert analyses and commentary from many of the best, most recognizable professionals in the industry – in their own words.
Arthur notes, “Regular SwineCast contributors include Dennis DePetrie, Scott Hurd, Dennis Avery of the Hudson Institute and Jim Long, among others. Their insights on the important issues of the day come straight from the source. Listeners can then make informed decisions for their operations with direct input from those in-the-know.” Arthur continues: “It’s all about providing immediate accessibility to relevant industry information, reports and commentaries that previously may have been available only at conferences or through industry journals … by using advanced technology that’s become standard in modern production facilities.”
Access to SwineCast’s twice-a-week podcasts has been designed with convenience as the primary goal. Once someone has subscribed to the no-cost service at SwineCast.com, podcasts are automatically downloaded as they become available. Or they can be manually downloaded at any time. Previous editions are always available in SwineCast’s archive. “Once an edition of SwineCast has been downloaded, subscribers can listen when they want, where they want, on their schedule,” Arthur explains. “They can listen to the podcast on their home or office computers. Or they can take it with them on the road or in their fields using an iPod or other mp3 player.