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Internet Farmers Get A Chance At The Real Thing

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

And our last word in business today: crowd farming.

That popular game on Facebook, "Farmville," has turned tens of millions of people into Internet farmers. They plant crops, tend livestock, buy tools - all virtually.

Now a website in the U.K. called "MyFarm" is allowing virtual farmers to get a taste of reality, by letting them help run a true bricks-and-soil farm.

Mr. RICHARD MORRIS (Farm Manager, National Trust, Wimpole Home Farm): This is real. This has an impact on this farm, and it might be the lives of animals, it's the crops we grow or the profit we make. You know, it takes time for this to come back, whereas with the virtual things like "Farmville," you'll get almost instant gratification.

MONTAGNE: Richard Morris is farm manager at the National Trust's Wimpole Home Farm. Every month, he'll ask members to vote on a decision. The first, later this month, will be on what to plant in one of the fields.

Mr. MORRIS: Obviously, it's going to be challenging, but I think it's a fantastic opportunity for me personally to share my passion for farming and the things I understand and know with 10,000 people who don't have that experience in farming, but would like to understand how food is produced and the provenance of food.

MONTAGNE: About 1,200 people have signed up so far. They won't have complete run of the farm. Morris says he'll take control when it comes to the health of the animals.

And that's the business news on MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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