CorpComms Magazine

The National Trust is looking to bring the popular 'Farmville' game on Facebook to life with an online experiment in which 10,000 would be farmers will vote on how a working far is run.

Would-be farmers, who pay a subscription fee of £30, will have the opportunity to make key decisions into how a 1,200 acre Wimpole Home farm in Cambridgeshire is run through the MyFarm experiment.

The MyFarm website will offer 'farmers' a daily behind-the-scenes insight into the operations of the organic farm with video updates, live webchats, debates and comment and opinion from well-known farmers and National Trust tenant farmers.

From 26 May onwards, the farmers will be invited to vote at least once a month on issues ranging from the crops that are grown, the livestock being bred and the impact of the farm on the environment.

The initiative follows a recent survey conducted by the National Trust that revealed British people rate their knowledge of food and farming at an average of 4.5 out of ten. Three out of four respondents were keen to learn more about how food is produced.

Richard Morris, farm manager at Wimpole, said: 'MyFarm is Farmville for real: real farming decisions with real farming consequences.  By influencing the work at Wimpole our Farmers will start to understand the effects and implications of their own decisions. They will also witness firsthand how unplanned events can turn a profitable year on its head.'

share me: del.icio.us | digg | reddit | Tweet