Live from the harvest: the farmers streaming on social media

BBC News

8 hours ago

Scroll through social media and you will see multiple accounts where farmers are turning their talents to filming.Some are angry, campaigning against government policies, or informative, keen to show followers the impact of climate change on their daily lives.But many say they just want to show people the reality of their trade.
High on the Marlborough Downs, Mike Wilkins was testing his winter barley when I met him, breaking off their ears and grinding them in a small machine to see how dry the grain is.As he worked, he explained everything to his phone camera, set up on the bonnet of his dusty farm truck."Now the moment of truth," he smiled to the camera, with a touch of drama."We need under 15% and... (pause for effect)... it's 13.9!"So that's fantastic, we can go harvesting!"Cue music, and a fast cut sequence of aerial shots of the combine, cutting through the barley. This, he explained, was Episode 19 of "What we've been up to on the farm", a series of 90 second short films, covering everything from haymaking and barley planting, to piglets, goats and the farm ducks.Mr Wilkins is unusually natural on camera, happily introducing an episode while bottle-feeding two lambs. But then, he was a contestant on the Great British Bake Off, so he's not your typical farmer.But his intent is the same as the thousands of farmers who now stream their farming lives on social media.
"People are so interested now in where their food comes from," Mr Wilkins explained. "So it's nice for them to have something direct from the farmer's mouth, literally. What we're doing and how and why we're doing it."Scrolling through TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and the other platforms, I found hundreds of farmers having a go. There are videos of tractors in Westminster, protesting the government's changes to farm grants and taxes and plenty of dramatic shots of fields on fire, dried out by the record dry spring.But Mr Wilkins tends to avoid the thornier issues on his feed."All of those things are really important," he said, "but what we do every day matters too."I think people think farmers complain all the time, but actually we farm because we love it, and I genuinely love every single day."It's nice to be able to get across that passion and the positivity about all the great things we're doing too."
Down on the Mendip hills in Somerset, Farmer Dom Northmore was driving his tractor when I met him and topping out some overgrown weeds on a pasture, like generations of farmers have done before him here.But in a new twist, one of the farmhands was launching a drone, to film it all"People love the drone," said Chloe Burke."We like to get the drone out, see what it's looking like from the sky, and then we can, like, post it on our social media."Miss Burke has casually become the social media manager for Lane End Farm. Owners Dom and Rachel Northmore had actually tried hiring a professional firm, from Bristol."It didn't really work," Mrs Northmore explained. "They just didn't get it, it wasn't authentic."Miss Burke already worked on the farm every day, driving the tractor, haymaking, helping with the horses, sheep, ducks and goats and as a typical 25-year-old, she was posting films on her own account.Mrs Northmore realised they were much more authentic, so now they make all the videos together as they go along.
"I don't really have a plan, If I see something fun, I just film it," said Miss Burke.They said haymaking videos have done well for them this year, reaching thousands of people as many farmers bemoaned the low yields and the long, dry spring. Mr Northmore agreed that their fields have produced less hay too, but the films are just a celebration of the craft."We got some really good ones of raking up and baling," Miss Burke said."Everyone really liked the videos of stacking the bales and bringing them in, that was the favourite, a big hit."They mainly post on TikTok, where the vibe is very much short fun-packed videos, rather than lengthy explanations of farming practices.Underneath the fun, Mr Northmore hopes there is a serious benefit as well.He said: "It's hard to get on to a farm these days, and with social media thousands of people can see it all, and it's a great way to feel a bit more connected."
In the same spirit, the BBC's Farmwatch project will be dipping into countless farms across the country, on Thursday August 7. On a farm near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, Robin Aird is preparing to have his combine harvester streamed live across the country as he cuts his corn.Mr Aird agreed to have BBC cameras fixed to his combine as he gathers in this year's harvest."We hope to show people just what harvest involves, and they'll be able to ask us questions live in the cab too, which will be fun," he said.It's part of a BBC project called Farmwatch, when for 24 hours journalists across Britain will shine a light on farming.Mr Aird's combine harvester will, weather willing, be harvesting all day, live on the website. Reporters will be sharing their days on local radio and BBC Sounds, and there are even some job swaps with farmer Mike Wilkins as one of the presenters on a special evening show on BBC Local Radio.