FarmVille has more than 62 million active users, many of whom have probably never set foot on a real farm, but spend hours of time and piles of real dollars on the game. Given the chance, would these players be interested in taking care of a real farm, as long as they could still stay in their living rooms? That's the hope with MyFarm, an experiment that gives up to 10,000 online "farmers" the opportunity to vote on everything from what crops to grow to what livestock to nourish on a real, live farm, all for a onetime price of $48.
The U.K.'s National Trust has chosen a 2,500 acre farm--the Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire, U.K.-- as the site to experiment with the whims of the crowd. Participants will get to vote on every major decision at the farm, including crops (what kind of wheat should be planted?), livestock, facilities investments, and machinery choices. There will be some restrictions--the farm manager will give participants a list of choices for each decision, so the virtual "farmers" can't just decide to tear up food crops and start planting marijuana. Beyond that, participants have free reign to run the farm--or run it into the ground.
The MyFarm site does everything it can to educate participants about the basics of farm life--which will hopefully make for better choices among its farm-ignorant users--courtesy of videos, discussions, and blog posts from on-site farmers. One blog post about soil illustrates the kinds of choices about crops that virtual farmers will have to make:
At Wimpole there are two main sorts [of soil]: clay and chalk. Our clay is excellent soil, but it is heavy, holding water when it rains and becoming really slimy when wet. This means we cannot drive tractors on it unless it’s dry, and that cattle cannot graze it over winter without churning it up really badly. So although this soil is fertile, growing vegetables on a large scale is going to be difficult. On the other side of the coin, the chalk soil drains really well, but is stony and less fertile...The fact it’s free-draining means livestock can probably graze it year-round without damaging it..So this means my other main focus to date is the animals, or livestock. But again, let’s see what you think!
That's a lot more to think about than when you play on the computer. Here it can take months or even years for changes on a farm to really make an impact, and it's hard to say whether MyFarm will be able to keep its virtual farmers engaged for that long when they're used to crops growing in just a few hours. And what if their actions result in the death of a cow? Will these users, used to the comfort of virtual life, even be able to handle the confrontation with the uncaring harshness of nature?
MyFarm won't reveal how many people have signed up yet, but one MyFarm fellow named "Farmer Jon" reports, "I think it's fair to say we're exceeding expectations." When the press dies down, we'll see if MyFarm can hold onto its user base and increase awareness about how agriculture actually works--or if participants will get bored and go back to their virtual, uncomplicated farms.
COMMENTARY: I downloaded FarmVille, but didn't get any enjoyment out of farming. I could never figure why 62 million people like that game. As a youngster I picked fruits and vegetables down in the San Joaquin Valley in the middle of summer, and it wasn't a lot of fun. So you can say that I am definitely farming aversive.
MyFarm is definitely a novel idea, but i am wondering how you can control the opinions of 10,000 different MyFarm members. MyFarm has 2,500 acres, so it is good size, but weather conditions year round limit what you can grow. It can't get too outrageous or expensive, because the MyFarm owner has to cover his costs, and make some money.
Here's what the MyFarm website says:
The MyFarm project is part of the National Trust’s Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire, which welcomes over 250,000 visitors a year.
MyFarm is part of the National Trust's vision for Wimpole – to bring a real working estate to life for the 21st century. The MyFarm Farmers are effectively taking over the running of three main areas of the Estate: the open access parkland, the farmland, and the farmyard. With its thatched 17th century Great Barn and noisy modern piggery, the farmyard is part of the pay-for-entry visitor attraction.
The National Trust
Wimpole Estate
Old Wimpole Road
Royston
SG8 0BW
More information at the National Trust Wimpole site
Special access for MyFarm Farmers
As part of your MyFarm subscription, we're offering a free visit voucher for up to a family of five, including Wimpole Hall and the Pleasure Gardens as well as the farmyard, and year-round free parking so you’re always welcome to see what’s happening on the farmland and parkland.
Plus, if you’d like to enjoy year-round access to the Estate and 300 other attractions around the country, you can join the National Trust online and get your first three months free!
Walking on MyFarm
MyFarm Farmers are welcome to come and walk around the open access fields any time they like, and we’ve got a downloadable map here to help you plan your walk.
Visiting the National Trust Wimpole Estate
Click here to go to the Wimpole Estate pages where you can find out more and organise your trip. Remember, as soon as you become a MyFarm Farmer you can claim your free visit voucher.
Seriously, most of the farmer's are probably going to be citizens of the U.K., because I doubt people living outside of England are going to hope on a plane or take the Paris to London high-speed train to visit MyFarm.
No idea how well MyFarm is doing, but the owner says, they are "meeting expectations". The idea would be great and a lot of fun for youngsters, they don't mind getting dirty, and love animals.
If the idea catches on in England, you can expect some enterprising farmer to try it here in the States.
Courtesy of an article dated
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