Social Networking

How #88 Became the Most Popular Cow on Social Media

#88 is quite possibly the most popular cow on social media right now, and it was one social media post that started it all.

“It’s kind of a fun little deal. I  put on X a little sarcastic clip about the eclipse, and I saw her walking through the field, and she’s a very large cow even at that time. And I just mentioned something about, ‘the eclipse is coming’ as she walked away,” says Clay Scott, a farmer and rancher near Ulysses, Kansas.

From that one post in early April, to the massive following that’s grown since, what’s transpired in that time is even catching this Kansas farmer by surprise.

“I can’t even believe what it is today. It’s hundreds of 1000s of people a day looking at it. It’s in the millions per week,” says Scott.

She’s a 5-year-old Red Angus cow that’s quickly become a social media sensation.

“It’s a very large audience right now. A lot of states and a lot of countries chime in from time to time. So, it’s quite the ordeal,” he says.

Scott raises row crops and cattle in southwestern Kansas. He says they’ve been talking about #88’s size on the farm since February, almost sure she would be the first to calve, but now, it looks like she could be one of the last.

“I am concerned about her size and the size of the calf. I don’t want her to struggle because the calf gets too big. So that’s why we’re actually limiting her intake right now to not cause any more trouble than she’s probably already going to have with her size,” says Scott. “I’m hoping for twins, to be honest. If it’s twins, I’ll feel a lot better.”

As the saga surrounding when #88 will calve continues, her following is tuning in to what transpires next. Many of her followers are now even answering questions for Scott, and it’s sparked a conversation between complete strangers that has been yet another surprise.

 “I’m getting well over 1,000 comments a day on this. And people ask questions, or they ask the same question that was talked about a couple days before. And folks are starting to fill in those answers,” says Scott. “That’s very helpful to me, because I don’t have the time or really the desire to go through my social media and answer each one.”

There’s no doubt #88’s following is growing, and Scott’s daily posts are no longer just updates. He’s now using it as a tool to educate those invested in her pregnancy journey.

“When this popularity started, I thought, ‘well, let’s tell them why we’re doing this, or what this band in her ear is, what that represents,’ and why we do things that are just good doctrine of taking care of cattle. We’re trying to fulfill that mission that we need to do a better job in agriculture about telling our story.”

Scott’s biggest challenge may be cramming that message into 280 characters per post, but he says it’s forced him to put more thought and meaning into what he posts each day. And now, sharing #88’s story in a short and concise way, is now sharing agriculture’s story far and wide.

“I thought it would kind of, you know, peak in about two or three days and then kind of go away. I didn’t think there would be the continued investment,” he says.

What Scott  is doing in his part of the world is giving a glimpse at raising cattle in such a simple and intriguing way, and it’s now making meaningful connections that extend way beyond ag.

 

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