Farming is all over the news this week, and small wonder. Farmers from all over the UK are marching on Whitehall to protest the ‘family farm tax’ that would see inheritance tax imposed on farms with a value of more than £1m.
And thanks to their social media profiles, some are able to shout especially loudly. Far from the isolated and lonely career of decades past, farming is opening up like never before – thanks in part to the benefit of being able to post shots to Instagram, even on a hilly, wet hillside.
And for those of us curious to find out more about life in the great outdoors, a new generation of ‘farm-fluencers’ is springing up to meet our insatiable desire for content. That’s right, it’s not just Jeremy Clarkson: here are some of the best to follow.
Julius Roberts, @juliusroberts
Followers: 1m
From cooking to farming – Julius Roberts might look like a Dorset local, but he grew up in London, starting his career in top restaurant Noble Rot before realising the punishing shifts weren’t for him. Organic food was, though, and aged 23 he moved first to Suffolk, then to Dorset.
These days, he farms, gardens and writes cookbooks – and posts all about it on his Instagram feed. Tune in for recipes, vignettes of farming life and beautiful pictures of the great outdoors. Very soothing.
Fred Price, @gothelneyfarmer
Followers: 9,500
Offering a more tranquil view of the farming industry is Fred Price. Based in Somerset, his farm dates back to the Domesday Book and is now run by him. Though he grew up in London, he took it over from his aunt 10 years ago. These days, it’s a family business: his sister and brother in law run the butchery, and his parents also help out.
These days, it supplies heritage grains (aka sourdough fuel) and free range pork to some of London’s hottest restaurants, including the Smoking Goat in Shoreditch. It also prioritises eco-farming – and his Instagram posts are a soothing mix of cows, green landscapes and shots of growing plants.
Ben Andrews, @farmerben
Followers: 94,000
This moustachioed influencer is all about organic vegetables. Based in Herefordshire, he uses his platform to advocate for everything from supporting British farmers to sharing snapshots of his daily life on the farm, including both the ups and the downs.
His Instagram profile states that he’s “farming organic veg, arable, beef & facial hair in Herefordshire - here to answer all your farming questions” – and describes his social media feed as “self therapy.”
He’s also talked about his experiences of being gay in a rural community, and his work with Agrespect, an LGBTQ+ farmer’s network – saying he didn’t want young, gay farmers in Herefordshire feel like they had to “run away to the city,” as it was possible to “live your best life” as a farmer too.
Tom Kemp, @tomkempfitness
Followers: 113k
Not quite farming, but farming adjacent. Tom Kemp is a farmer’s son from Essex who transformed his grandfather’s old pig shed into a gym. Now, he runs Farm Fitness, which offers customers workouts that brings together farm machinery-based weight training and outdoor fitness like running.
He’s appeared on the cover of Men’s Health, in Sky Sports and on ITV, and while his posts mainly consist of his workouts, there are still shots of the farm to enjoy too. “'I've lived on the farm all my life and work at harvest and do some land work, but Dad suggested an additional route for myself following my sport,” he told Farmer’s Weekly.
“My sporting career gave me the discipline and mindset while my farm background gave me the work ethic to create a top-class gym.”
Hannah Jackson, @redshepherdess
Followers: 90k
Dubbed the Red Shepherdess for her long red hair, Hannah Jackson shares snippets from her life on the farm, as well as life as a working mother (her partner, Danny, is a farrier and also boasts a 24k following).
She’s also spoken out in the past about the trolling she’s received as a female shepherdess (even from within the farming community) writing about it in her memoir.
Ultimately, she says, “I had a little chat with myself and it was the realisation to flip it on his head and use that determination to prove them all wrong and be like actually whatever you say about me doesn't matter I'm going to keep pushing higher.”
Rebecca Wilson, @rebeccawilsonfarming
Followers: 47.5k
Rebecca Wilson is a fifth-generation farmer who runs a 243-hectare farm alongside her family in North Yorkshire. Though she graduated from Cambridge with a human, social and political sciences degree, she knew she didn’t want to go to London like many of her friends.
“Thank goodness I didn’t,” she told Farmers Weekly. “The farm and Yorkshire were where, deep down, I knew I ultimately wanted to be.” She uses her Instagram as a way to connect with the public, showing them the realities of farming. “There are many great days when you do this job, but some rubbish ones as well. It’s important we don’t show unrealistic, utopian impressions, because it’s not all sunrises and freshly bedded pens 24/7.”
In recent months, she’s also emerged as somewhat of an activist, speaking to Newsnight and online about the effect of the new proposed tax on family farms.
Nicola Wordie, @livestock_farmher
Followers: 18k
Nicola Wordie’s sheep and cattle farm has been run by her family for more than 70 years – and now she’s carrying on that tradition. Farming at Cairnborrow, near Huntly, her Instagram feed includes picturesque shots of cattle grazing, life updates and the gorgeous countryside around the farm.
During the summer, she works as a wool handler: her partner David, runs a shearing business, while she rolls the fleeces.
