Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Pure profit: $830,000 in two weeks selling seed potatoes

Warning: Real potato farmers should stop reading here. This might ruin your week. A San Francisco-based company just cleared $830,000 US in two weeks by selling seed potatoes. The potatoes are virtual but the money is very, very real. Zynga is a developer of apps for Facebook and the iPhone. One of their biggest hits is... get this... a game about farming. Farmville lets users own and manage a virtual farm. Apparently it's very addictive. At least, the 20 million users who are currently playing the game must think so. A screen capture of the Farmville game on Facebook

The game is free to play. The way the company makes money is through micropayments. People can spend real dollars buying tractors and things like seed, such as this special new potato that was released. The micropayments are small and allow players to improve their farms without having to earn the extras through normal play. This from a game strategy website: For people who don't want to waste time waiting for the crop to grow, farm coins can be purchased with real-world cash using a PayPal account or credit card. The cost is currently 7,500 coins or 25 farm cash for $5; 15,800 coins or 55 farm cash for $10; 33,300 coins or 115 farm cash for $20; or 70,600 coins or 240 farm cash for $40. Players can also earn free farm cash or coins by taking part in special offers or questionnaires. I've blogged about micropayments before. I've already purchased apps for my BlackBerry, such as the Nat Decants app that allows me to go to a wine store, choose a wine, and find recipes to match. That application cost me $3. An editor of a major trade newspaper was telling me that micropayments could be the future of journalism. It's not hard to imagine a tiny Visa and MasterCard icon beside the headline on a publication's website. The only way to read the whole story would be to click one of the icons and have 25 cents charged to your card. Log-in once in the morning and stayed logged in, securely, all day. Sure 25 cents ain't much. But multiply that by 100 readers. That's a day's wage right there. Okay potato farmer. Unplug your ears. And if you were listening after all, just remember that all these virtual farm game players probably eat a lot of REAL french fries. [Note: For more posts like this one visit www.andrewdouglaspr.com]

Views: 312

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Comment by Richard Hamilton on November 6, 2009 at 4:00am
Good article Andrew. I know several people who are addicted to it. I haven't played it. Anyone know if they are learning anything worthwhile about farming by using it - besides that your goat will explode if you don't milk it?
Comment by Joe Dales on November 2, 2009 at 4:26am
Hi Andrew: Good article. It is about as close to a farm as most city kids will get unfortunately.

People who have never visited FarmVille out may want to check it out on Facebook - just search Farmville and it should pop up.

Joe

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Collaboration builds stronger, flood-resilient Township of Langley

Farmers and families in the Township of Langley will be better prepared for flooding with work underway to improve pump capacity on flood plains and irrigation systems that will strengthen the area’s food security. “The reality of a changing climate means we could see more frequent and intense flooding in the Fraser Valley, and it is vital we work together to keep our communities safe and our food supply stable,” said Pam Alexis, Minister of Agriculture and Food. “This is why we’re supporting collaborative projects that will help keep food on the table, protect the livelihoods of farmers and ensure the health of local ecosystems in the face of future flooding.” The Township of Langley, in partnership with the Kwantlen First Nation and Rivershed Society of BC, is working on a multi-phase project that includes upgrading water infrastructure and adding pumping capacity to manage flooding in the area. These upgrades will improve water flow and storage, increasing the flood resiliency of

Deal to protect ranch from development means family can keep raising cattle there

An agreement to protect a sprawling ranch in southern Alberta from development is the largest of its kind in the country, the Nature Conservancy of Canada says, and will allow the family that owns it to continue raising cattle there. The 22,000-hectare McIntyre Ranch was founded south of Lethbridge, Alta., in 1894 by William McIntyre and it remained in his family until his son, Billy, died in 1947. A longtime family friend and employee, Ralph Thrall, bought the property after Billy’s death and the Thrall family continues to own and operate it today. “We’ve just maintained the legacy of sustainable ranching that the McIntyres began when they came up from Texas and saw the overgrazing that had occurred through the Midwest, and so they learned through others’ mistakes and left the grass rather than taking it all,” Ralph Thrall III said Sunday in a phone interview from Lethbridge. The agreement, formally announced Monday in recognition of Earth Day, is a partnership between the Thrall

B.C. to increase local milk production with $25-million factory investment

The British Columbia government is contributing up to $25 million toward the expansion of a milk production plant aimed at boosting the supply of locally sourced food. The province said the construction expansion to Vitalus Nutrition’s plant in Abbotsford, B.C., will begin this summer and will increase local milk production by 50 per cent, to 1.4 billion litres annually. The project will boost local production for dairy products such as butter, which is currently required to be shipped from Eastern Canada to fill local demand, the government said in a statement. Premier David Eby told a news conference announcing the project Tuesday that it will also create up to 100 more jobs at the site. Eby said the pandemic as well as recent climate disasters, including the atmospheric river that swamped southwestern British Columbia in November 2021, impacted supply chains, elevated grocery prices and showed a need to produce more food locally. “We understand that we still need to ensure that

No-Till Farmer & Farm Equipment Named Finalists for National Writing Awards

Lessiter Media’s No-Till Farmer and Farm Equipment editors were recognized by the American Society of Business Press Editors with regional awards in the association’s 2024 Azbee Awards of Excellence and have been announced as national finalists for the program as well.

Award-Winning Dealers Share Precision Revenue Growth Opportunities & More

A trio of representatives from Precision Farming Dealer’s Most Valuable Dealerships (MVD) shared their keys to success during the 2024 Precision Farming Dealer Summit in Indianapolis.

© 2024   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service