BUCYRUS, Ohio (AP) 鈥� Zoe Kent hopes people get a little joy out of her talking about farming on the Internet. In one of her latest videos, she compares pesticide application to dry shampoo. 鈥淔arming is for the girls,鈥� she quips.
On and , under the handle 鈥渇armwithzoe,鈥� Kent films herself putting on boots to load corn into a massive truck bed, posts memes about the price of grain and documents just about everything else about farm life from getting rocks stuck in her equipment to eating lunch on long days out in a combine.
Now, the future of TikTok 鈥� and 鈥淔armtok,鈥� as some creators call the ecosystem of farm-related influencers online 鈥� has become more uncertain, thanks to a ban the U.S. government briefly implemented on TikTok over the weekend. That was followed by the new Trump administration , , but farmers are all too aware that things could change, and with them, the ways that they share farm life with the rest of the world. But most say they鈥檒l keep adapting to whatever the platforms throw their way.
鈥淚t鈥檚 building your business on rented land, if you will,鈥� Kent said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not guaranteed to be there.鈥�
Even before the uncertain threat to TikTok鈥檚 future, farm creators had to contend with social media鈥檚 evolution. As algorithms changed, they faced greater challenges communicating with a public that many see as increasingly disconnected from agriculture.
But most say they鈥檒l keep adapting to whatever the platforms throw their way. Some producers make extra money by building a following on TikTok or Instagram. Others use social media to advertise to local customers like restaurants or farmers鈥� markets. Perhaps most importantly, they want to continue to build community with other farmers in the face of industry challenges like the toll of the profession on mental health, economic pressure and climate change.
Multiple farmers said that disconnection has grown over the years as social media algorithms have changed. 鈥淚 know for a fact our social media reach is greatly diminished now,鈥� said Beth Satterwhite, who has been posting about her small organic vegetable farm in McMinnville, Oregon for over a decade now. 鈥淥n the ground stories of people working in agriculture are a little less interesting to the consumer 鈥� I don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 actually less interesting or just less visible,鈥� she said.
Neil Denton, who farms corn, soybeans, wheat and rye in Barlow, Kentucky, shared a similar sentiment. He thinks that many of his over 80,000 followers on Instagram and 33,000 followers on are fellow producers, not members of the public. He calls that 鈥渄isappointing" and worries about how little people know about the food that ends up on their plates.
But he does think there's a silver lining: 鈥淔arming is a lonely occupation because you鈥檙e not with a lot of coworkers,鈥� Denton said. 鈥淚 think some farmers use social media as an outlet...to be able to express yourself and to be able to feel like you鈥檙e not lonely.鈥�
Within the farming community, it can also be useful to learn from other farmers, many producers said. Megan Dwyer, who grows corn and soybeans and raises beef cattle in northwest Illinois, uses social media, especially X and Facebook, to gauge what matters to other farmers. 鈥淚t's a great source for information, especially rapid information,鈥� she said.
However, all that rapid information does have a price. Satterwhite described a 鈥渓anguage soup鈥� around agriculture, saying it could be hard for an outsider to tell what farming practices are legitimately better for the climate or environment. 鈥淚 see a lot of greenwashing,鈥� said Satterwhite, referring to the practice of falsely portraying a product or practice as eco-friendly to market it to an environmentally-conscious audience.
鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely a lot of misinformation out there,鈥� Kent said. 鈥淚 try to sift out who has genuine questions versus who just already has a stance and they鈥檙e not willing to hear me out."
That's something many farming influencers agree on 鈥� that they still want a place to have the conversation.
As Dwyer put it: 鈥淵ou never know who you鈥檙e influencing there or or what may happen.鈥�
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Walling reported from Chicago. ___
Follow Melina Walling on X and Bluesky . Follow Joshua A. Bickel on , and @joshuabickel.
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The Associated Press鈥� climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP鈥檚 for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at .
Melina Walling And Joshua A. Bickel, The Associated Press
