Our Environment, Animal Tips & the Great Outdoors

Above photo by Makani Kirwin

These days, it seems like it’s nearly impossible to run any type of business without a social media presence. Whereas years ago business would spread by word of mouth, in this day and age, if you don’t have an Instagram or Facebook page, people almost always ask “Why not?” 

Increasingly, more farmers and agriculturalists are turning to social media platforms to build connections with their consumers, share their experiences and stories, and even to educate people about where their food is coming from and how it’s grown. Social media has provided an opportunity for farmers to market their products and services and also bridge the gap between rural communities and urban consumers. 

Consequently, this not only fosters engagement and promotes a positive image of agriculture, but also provides a platform for local farms to build deeper community connections, maintain transparency of growing practices, and utilize social media as an educational tool.

Social media as a community-building resource

For Dancing Greens Farm, a micro-farm located in Great Barrington, MA, social media plays an integral part to their work. Dancing Greens Farm hosts “shindigs,” which they define as “a large, lively party, especially one celebrating something.” 

“Shindigs are a place to connect deeply with food and others. Shindigs are a curated space for conversation; education; and delicious, nutritious, safe-for-all-eaters food. They range from multi-course tasting menus to educational workshops to weekend-long retreats and everything in between. No matter the location, no matter the format, shindigs are a celebration,” the Dancing Greens website states.

Dancing Greens Farm hosts shindigs directly on the farm in Great Barrington, as well as in other locations. A big tenet of what Dancing Greens wants to do is centered around partnerships and collaborations with other farms, chefs, makers, and doers. On its website, it has a section titled “those we admire,” that lists individuals, businesses, and organizations that have inspired Dancing Greens co-founders Jamie Nadler and Madison Warren.

The farm often partners with other local businesses, creators, and artists, as well. For example, over the summer, they hosted a shindig with Hilltown Hot Pies, based out of South Egremont, MA, and Hot Plate Brewing Co, based out of Pittsfield, MA, for a pizza party themed shindig. 

“Farms and chefs can’t work in isolation. Many cool people are doing lots of fun things in this area and we’d love to find ways to collaborate with as many of those people as possible,” Jamie explained. “We want to think outside the box with our partnership pieces as well. Can we work with artists or musicians? Farming is such a great space to bring lots of people in, so that’s something we’re trying to do more of.” 

“The whole point of this is to make it as fun, joyful, and exciting as possible,” Madison continued. “At the root of what we’re doing, we want to educate people in a cool way, but we don’t want that to be what people think they’re coming for. We want this to be an immersive experience that makes you start to think differently about how your food is grown and where it’s coming from without realizing that you’re doing that. A shindig is a full-on celebration, so that’s where the name came from.”

Take one look at Dancing Greens’ social media and you’ll find evidence of their shindigs all over their page. Photos and videos of beautiful tablescapes, delicious plates, and community gatherings are abundant. This curated selection of posts is vital to marketing their shindigs and encouraging people to come out and experience the farm for themselves. 

“For what we’re doing, which is so event-focused, we need that marketing and we need people talking about us,” said Jamie. “I think that if you have a very community-based program or do a lot of wholesaling, then maybe social media doesn’t play as much of a role. Part of what we’re trying to figure out is where is our best use of time with social media and marketing? It’s crucial to have some type of outreach.” 

Social media as a vehicle for maintaining transparency 

Jenn Djambazov, head farmer at Maitri Farm in Amenia, NY, feels that social media has “made the romance of farming very attractive. I think that there is a bit of a disconnect between having a half acre in your backyard that you’re working on versus anything that is at a larger scale,” she mused. 

In fact, Jenn tries to be as transparent as possible on the Maitri Farm Instagram page. She doesn’t shy away from showing the hard parts of farming. When she’s having a bad day because it’s pouring rain and equipment is broken, she posts it. When she’s up at four o’clock in the morning in the summer months to get a head start on harvesting before the heat of the day starts, she shares it. Concurrently, when she’s having a great day on the farm where the sun is shining and things are going right, she shares that, too. All of this is in an effort to maintain transparency and connection. 

“We run a forward-facing farm that is dependent on people coming out to the farm for CSA pickups and retail markets, so we have to amplify our story and the connections that we have,” she explained. “It’s a double-edged sword, though, because even though I’m sharing what a bad day I’m having on the farm, it will never be the same thing as having someone here with me experiencing it firsthand.” 

A study titled “The virtual good farmer: Farmers’ use of social media and the (re)presentation of ‘good farming’” from the Journal of European Society for Rural Sociology found that social media often provides a level of “accountability” for farms.

“The findings here suggest that social media offers a key new site for reflecting and demonstrating the potentially shifting boundaries and scripts of good farming,” the study states. “More fundamentally, it arguably shifts the display and assessment of good farming away from a reliance on these output proxies, as farmers are able to more directly show the embodied cultural capital through tweeting everyday performances and practices. As such, social media facilitates an accountability setting (Goffman, 1959) in which the (re)scripting of farming may take place. Being able to share, and reflect on, farming practices, challenges the ubiquity and placelessness of symbols of good farming.”

An article titled “Social Media for Farms: A Revolutionary Agricultural Tool,” from The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, focused on Avery Claire Mallory, a prominent creator and influencer in the agricultural space. Mallory’s content, which typically focuses on organic gardening, animal husbandry, and self-sufficiency, has showcased what farming truly looks like behind the scenes. 

“Through storytelling and authenticity, she has been able to create a more positive, informed, and transparent perception of agriculture, helping consumers appreciate the hard work and dedication that goes into producing their food. They have opened up a dialogue where people can feel free to ask questions, learn about farming practices, and gain a deeper understanding of where their food comes from,” the article states. 

This transparency and authenticity is vital when it comes to bridging the gap between farm and fork. Jenn also noted that social media creates an interesting juxtaposition for her farming practices. She often grapples with trying to find the balance between using social media platforms to build community support and engagement, whilst trying to determine how realistic she can be in the portrayal of daily farming. 

“It requires a lot of mental logistics that don’t have anything to do with farming. The hardest part is not farming, but running the business end and keeping up with everything that supports the farm,” she shared. 

One of Maitri Farm’s biggest goals is to recruit new farmers who want to get into and stay in agricultural and farming-based careers. Additionally, Maitri Farm does a lot of retail and direct-to-customer sales, both of which involve coaxing people to come out to the farm. 

“I think that for the type of farming that I’m doing and the goals I have, I have to appeal to what younger audiences and farmers want in order to get them out here,” Jenn explained. “I think it’s the modern equivalent of putting an ad in the paper. It has the twofold effect of not only serving as a means to advertise the farm, but also connecting the community to the farm.” 

Social media as an educational resource

While social media has the ability to romanticize farming as a career path, it also acts as an invaluable resource. Jenn noted that starting a home vegetable or flower garden can be an approachable way to get outside. “Everybody has to eat, so it’s appealing to everyone.” 

“With the ease of accessibility to programs, classes, and information through social media, it allows people to make a jump into farming with more confidence than I think they could have previously,” Jenn continued. “It’s an adventure that I think is easy to find a lot of support for, and therefore it encourages people to try it.” 

“The virtual good farmer: Farmers’ use of social media and the (re)presentation of ‘good farming’” supports this concept. The study states, “the discussion of capital exchange and development online has more often turned to Putnam’s (2001) ideas of capital. These comprise the bridging of capital associated with … groups that offer contact with a broad range of people … but offer a sense of belonging to the like-minded individuals who may turn to each other for support, problem-solving, and may enable access to scarce or limited resources.” 

The study also found that offline relationships can be reinforced through more frequent online contact, and that social media acts as a vehicle for people to maintain relationships within a network with “little time investment, allows them to coordinate large groups, and make connections outside of their offline group.” Taken in the context of farming, social media can allow for relationships to be built between the farm and the consumer, and can further reinforce those relationships as consumers spend time keeping up with the farm via social media. •

To learn more about Dancing Greens Farm, visit them online at dancing-greens.com and follow them on Instagram @dancinggreensfarm. To learn more about Maitri Farm, visit them online at maitriny.com and follow them on Instagram @maitrifarmny.