When Queensland farmer Yasmin Brisbane rescued a young camel that’d strayed from its farm, no one else was around.
But eight million people saw the order.
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From station cooks to cane farmers, social media is bringing visibility to the often isolating work of young people in the bush.
“[It] finally gives rural people and farming kids a voice and also access they never had before,” farmer and content creator Yasmin Brisbane said.
“There’s always been this big divide between country and city and it’s helping bridge that divides.”
Since starting a Tik Tok account posting videos of life on her family’s camel dairy six months ago, she has gained 280,000 followers.
Videos with the tag #farmtok have 5.7 billion views around the world.
And young people on the land hope it could help address one of agriculture’s biggest issues: finding workers.
‘It shows a new side to agriculture’
Farming has been in Grace McDonald’s family for four generations.
“For us, finding workers is a big challenge, and finding the future of farming is a difficult process,” the 23-year-old north Queensland cane grower said.
She helps run the Proserpine Young Farmers group, and said soaring input costs were making it a tough time to be in agriculture.
And labor shortages were making it even tougher.
“We’re all finding it difficult, so I can imagine how hard it is to get a foot in the door.”
She said social media had huge potential to entice future generations of workers, as well as connecting and retaining people already in the industry.
“It shows a new side to agriculture which I think hasn’t been seen before, and it almost opens the door for anyone to join the club.”
“You hear of people all the time, they’re from the city and they’re now documenting their process, like ‘come along with me for the day as someone on a cattle station.'”
“It’s interesting because if they’d never seen a TikTok or come across these videos they wouldn’t have imagined they’d be where they are today.”
Being a first generation farmer
Isaac Micallef was partly inspired by farming content on social media to move from the city and try his hand at agriculture.
“Living in the city and seeing farm stuff on a day to day basis on your social media, it inspired me to really get out and pursue the dream,” he said.
The 23-year-old spent some time growing up on a small hobby farm but moved to the North Queensland city of Mackay when he was young.
I have finished his trade as an outdoor power mechanic, but the lure of the farming life was still strong.
“We came from a small hobby farm and when we got put into a town block I wasn’t impressed, I always knew I would get back into the industry.”
After finding work on a cane and cattle property, he met his now-wife. With her family of ella, they’ve started a miniature-goat breeding operation.
“We bottle feed them. They build a personality off that and can be really funny at times,” he said.
He shares his experiences on the farm through TikTok as well, and thinks it has a big role to play in encouraging other young people to consider a career in ag.
“My whole TikTok feed is full of farming stuff. I think it really is a way to open up the eyes for people who don’t get to see it on a day to day basis.”
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Kerry Latter from the Mackay branch of industry lobby group Canegrowers said in recent years labor shortages had reached “dire straits”.
“Family members have had to jump in – husbands, wives, children who are legally able to drive, were jumping in and doing the work.”
He said social media was promoting not just jobs, but awareness about the sector.
“A picture’s worth a thousand words … A video taken by a grower in his paddock, people get it completely different and are able to visualize it.”
“You’re seeing a lot of people that are actually becoming introduced into agriculture via different media, [like] social media.”
“We’ve seen a gravitation of people coming out of the cities, and wanting to get involved in some of the more newer and innovative aspects of agriculture.”
“So I think [social media] has a strong role to play going forward.”
Building a supportive community
Social media is often a highlights reel, and can romanticize the reality of making a living out of farming.
But Yasmin Brisbane said it was helping to change perceptions about the ag industry, and creating a space for young people to raise important issues about the future of farming.
These included mental health, isolation, gender equity and discussions about who would take over the family farm.
“[Traditionally]succession in Australian farming has been interesting because it’s been a patriarchal succession passed down to the sons, which isn’t very sustainable,” she said.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of support or education out there for female farmers.”
“I think female farmers could be the future of farming and the solution for farming, it doesn’t just have to be a male-dominated industry.”
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