With smartphones, we have the world at our fingertips.
The popularity of social media has exploded over the last few years with a variety of ways to share what you are doing, whether it’s eating at your favorite restaurant or, in the case of farmers, planting crops and tending to animals.
Matt Boucher of Dwight, Illinois, raises corn, soybeans and wheat as well as hogs, meat birds and eggs, pumpkins, sweet corn and popcorn. The family farms 800 acres and they also have a cover crop seed business and trucking business.
He set up a Facebook page for his farm 11 or so years ago, and the number of followers has grown every year. He currently has 9,500 followers. They have a similar Instagram page.
One of the staples on his Facebook page is “Dad jokes,” which he says seem to be a favorite among followers.
About three or four years ago, Boucher’s oldest child wanted a farm TikTok page, so he set up a page to educate people about what is happening on the farm.
“I want to explain what we are doing on the farm in a way people not from a farming background can understand,” Boucher said “I want to bridge the gap between those in agriculture and those that live in the city.”
The family also has a YouTube channel for longer-form videos on what they are doing on the farm and why.
Boucher said some of the most popular videos they have posted are very candid — for example, a video shot while walking across the field.There is no polishing or editing and it’s very real to the viewers.
Boucher’s three teenage children support usage of social media.
“If you’re a dad of three teenagers you are obligated to embarrass them on occasion,” he said. “Sometimes they feel embarrassed, but they understand why I do what I do and the message I want to get across.”
Boucher said social media is a way for the farm to keep in contact with customers who purchase items such as eggs from the family.
“It’s great to have interaction between us and the consumers and be able to put food on their table,” he said.
This year, the Boucher family also has been named to the Illinois Farm Families program, supported by various Illinois agriculture commodity groups, and will be featured this summer on social media to promote agriculture and family farms in the state.
Name game
Courtney Lintker of Venedy, Illinois, is a dairy farmer and she also uses social media to connect with people locally and all over the world.
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She said she started using social media, specifically Instagram and TikTok, in January 2020. She shares photos of cows and calves, day-in-the-life posts as well as photos of big equipment and field practices.
She noted that some of her posts have gone viral and she has had lots of good experiences. Most of her followers are other people in agriculture, but a lot of people follow who don’t know much about the industry.
Whenever they have newborn calves, she will post submission boxes for followers to suggest names for the new additions.
She said one of the cons of social media is trying not to compare her farm to others.
‘We wouldn’t survive’
Audra and Chris Wyant have a cut flower and popcorn farm in Lexington, Illinois. Audra said they utilize Facebook and Instagram to promote their business, Finding Eminence Farm.
They use the reel feature on both platforms for short-form videos.
“We try to express in our social media how real farming is and be very realistic about the hard work that goes in it,” she said. “Also to talk about things that an average customer may not know.”
When they started, the Wyants ran a vegetable farm, but the couple changed over to flowers and popcorn when they realized the vegetable arena is oversaturated. Audra went full time on the farm in 2018.
The Wyants have about 3 acres of land but actively farm a quarter to half acre of that. The flower part of the business focuses mainly on wedding or spring arrangements. The business is 80% growing and 20% design.
People also can pay to come out to harvest flowers and learn how to arrange them. However, they learned early on that “you pick” days were not a good option for their property.
During the part of the year they offer arrangement classes, people are given a tour of the farm and given information about irrigation and weed management.
The concept of growing popcorn came from the fact that Chris’ family grew the crop.
Popcorn is planted in the spring and harvested in September. Audra noted that the product keeps well, which allows them to ship it to customers all year long.
She said social media has allowed them to create connections. They ship flowers all over the country.
“If I have a terrible relationship with customers or people who don’t like us, we wouldn’t survive,” she said.