What It Means to #FarmOn

Farm Journal staff talk about the recent launch of the #FarmOn campaign.

Farm Journal staff asked their producer audience to share photos of themselves still hard at work with the launch of the #FarmON campaign last week.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting commodity prices and agriculturalists in all sectors of the industry, farmers and ranchers continue to produce food and fiber. The #FarmON campaign is way to encourage those agriculturalists to persevere, said Clinton Griffiths, Farm Journal editor and AgDay host.

“Even though it is hard and the industry is in a tough spot, we can still encourage each other to farm on,” Griffiths said. “This is a way we can push each other.”

With farmers and ranchers required to distance themselves from others, a social media connection can reassure and encourage, said Portia Stewart, Farm Journal content strategy director of producer media.

“It is really inspiring, when we can’t be face to face, to see the images of those people,” Stewart said. “At Farm Journal, we are all about connecting our communities with each other. This is the epitome of how we do business.”

Beginning with an 11 p.m. phone call, the campaign just “felt right,” Griffiths said. He said the Farm Journal staff felt agriculturalists needed to hear they were essential and appreciated. After the initial idea, the vision came to life, Griffiths said.

“It is not often in the more than 140-year legacy of Farm Journal that we have had these kind of watershed moments,” Griffiths said. “Whenever you stumble across a feeling that fits and works and you know is the right message, it all comes together.”

The campaign has seen immense success in the first week, Stewart said.

“Immediately, we saw a flood of images,” Stewart said. “We see it flourishing in social and have tens of thousands of page views with nice time on site to show readers are engaging.”

One farmer who engaged was Jamie Kress, a wheat and safflower farmer on the high-mountain deserts of southeast Idaho, where her family is planting as usual.

“The agricultural industry has to continue to press forward and supply quality, abundant food,” Kress said. “Mother Nature has no regard for the pandemic.”

Farmers frequently face hardship, said Kress, citing low commodity prices, adverse weather and financial difficulties that “eat away your bottom line.” However, Kress said she draws encouragement from the beautiful surrounding scenery, the pride in a good crop, and working toward a common goal each day with her husband.

“History shows we can make it through,” Kress said. “We are familiar with tough times. We adapt, we figure things out, and we persist.”

It is that persistence and adaptability #FarmON is intended to highlight, Griffiths said, clarifying the campaign is not aimed at attracting attention to the plight of farmers. Instead, #FarmON is place for the agricultural community to encourage and inspire each other, he said.

“This isn’t about asking people to ‘thank a farmer’,” Griffiths said. “This is about trying to build the community up at a time when so many other things are difficult.”

Stewart echoes that sentiment, saying that Farm Journal uses their platform and social media channels not only to inform their audience, but also to inspire.

“We know farmers are amazingly resilient and one of the things that we can do is continue to help them feel connected with their community,” Stewart said. “The purpose of Farm Journal is always to passionately serve our audience in agriculture who work hard to keep farming.”

With every sector of agriculture being affected by COVID-19, Griffiths said #FarmON has grown, adapted and become a rallying cry for farmers, who in turn provide for others.

“It’s not for ourselves, but for the people around the globe that need food,” Griffiths said. “This is about having pride in what we do, knowing that the work is hard, but still being willing to do it every day. Farm on.”

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Article by Wade Yoder for OSU coursework.