OMAHA (DTN) -- Eight years ago, sixth-generation farmer Zach Johnson from Lowry, Minnesota, couldn't have imagined the success he would have from uploading daily YouTube videos about his family's farming operation.
Now well-known as the Millennial Farmer, the 40-year-old is using his online success to give back to his community, create awareness and increase resources for grain bin safety.
His success on social media -- as well as his nonprofit work --helped him to be selected as one of the people DTN is honoring in 2024 in a special series online at DTN, as well as a special issue of Progressive Farmer magazine.
DTN is profiling people who individually or sometimes with others in an organization are making a difference as Voices for Agriculture.
During National Farm Safety and Health Week, it is even more appropriate to introduce Johnson and his contribution to agriculture.
CONTINUING HIS MISSION
Johnson has surpassed more than 1 million subscribers and more than 350 million lifetime views since the spring of 2016. In his early days, he educated his viewers on the benefits of GMO and farm management practices that shared a wider view of what happens daily on the farm.
Now, with what he describes as his "astronomical reach," Johnson continues the same mission he's had since day one: become a national voice for agriculture, provide farmer-to-farmer education and facilitate a collaborative conversation between farmers and the public.
"There's always more people to reach and new practices, it's gone a lot farther and reached more people than I ever could have ever dreamed," Johnson told DTN. (See his videos at https://www.youtube.com/…)
Known online as the "Millennial Farmer," Johnson juggles a lot in his hometown of Lowry in Minnesota: a family of his own, influential success on social media, and a full-time shared farming operation of 2,400 acres with his father.
"On the farm itself, I still have dad around, he's able to pick up slack and on that same line, when I'm really busy on the farm, my wife is really active behind the scenes on social media and taking care of the kids -- we're managing everything that comes along," Johnson said.
To be a voice of agriculture, Johnson said support is one of the most important things to have.
"You're going to need help if you're trying to do multiple things," Johnson said.
GIVING BACK ON FARM SAFETY
Because of his success on social media, Johnson has been able to give back in more ways than one, starting with his Grain Bin Safety campaign that has raised over $100,000 since its inception. The goal is to reduce the occurrence of grain bin accidents by raising awareness of the hazards and raising funds to equip first responders with the tools and training needed to respond quickly in the event of a grain bin accident.
"We've donated money to 60-70 rural fire departments to promote grain bin safety, allowing them to purchase equipment for grain bin rescue," Johnson said.
In 2021, his efforts were spotlighted in a newsletter by the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (https://umash.umn.edu/…), which noted the Upper Midwest "has been a hotspot for tragic grain and silo incidents in recent years."
To assist with his campaign, Zach and wife Becky have started a nonprofit called Harvest Outreach, which delegates a panel of volunteers to review requests and distribute grain bin safety donations accordingly. The nonprofit also partnered with Anderson Bash to invest in the future of farming and award college scholarships to students in agriculture. (https://www.mnmillennialfarmer.com/…)
In 2022, Johnson assisted his first volunteer Farm Rescue case in Raymond, Minnesota, and has been a huge supporter of the organization, volunteering and helping to raise awareness of the organization on his YouTube channel.
"That's been a good relationship I've been able to form. Farm Rescue is making a big difference in the lives of farmers who need assistance, and volunteering and raising awareness has been rewarding," Johnson said.
IMPORTANCE OF AUTHENTICITY
On his YouTube channel, Johnson said authenticity is important for the content he produces.
"If you want to be a voice for agriculture, you have to know what suits you. Find what you're good at. Don't try to force yourself in, they will sniff that out. Be yourself. As corny as that sounds, there's a huge piece of the puzzle here and people will sniff it out if you're not being who you are, if you're trying to make points you don't actually believe. If you aren't being who you are, people will be able to see that," Johnson stressed.
PEOPLE WHO INFLUENCED HIM
When Johnson started in 2016, there were a few voices of agriculture that influenced his journey: Kevin Folta and Katie Pinke.
Folta is a plant geneticist and professor in the Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida. Folta's work explores the biochemical basis of fruit flavors, how light affects plant traits, and small molecule discovery for next-generation herbicides and antibiotics.
He explained he was motivated by Folta talking about biotechnology and GMOs, working to educate consumers on what actually is done with those technologies, "and letting them know the positive side."
Pinke is a speaker, writer and small business owner from North Dakota who advocates for rural life and small towns, and is the former publisher of AgWeek, an agriculture news company. Before starting his YouTube channel, Johnson was motivated to start his channel after hearing Pinke speak at a banquet.
"She was making the rounds and talked about being the voice of agriculture at a banquet and I left there, thinking, I've had this idea in my head, I should do it," Johnson said.
Although numbers are telling, Johnson said that his success on YouTube is not the only sense of accomplishment he feels as it relates to agriculture. Johnson was recognized by the Minnesota FFA Foundation as the 2023 Media Award recipient and was also asked to be a keynote speaker for the convention.
"Thank you for being a positive and transparent advocate for agriculture," MN FFA posted on social platform X, along with a photo of Johnson speaking in the general session. (https://x.com/…)
"I never went to school and never imagined I'd be in that space, but it was really cool to be recognized," Johnson said about the award.
In the future, Johnson said he's unsure of what's to come, but being an advocate for the industry is something he will continue doing.
"To do well for myself and the industry is a win-win," he said.
As a voice for agriculture, Johnson said there are a lot of people who influence him, but he can't name them all. However, his list includes Iowa's Dan Venteicher, under the name @iowadairyfarmer, who is an advocate for the dairy industry on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, with upward of 1.85 million followers. Another influencer, Ohio's Zoe Kent, known as @farmwithzoe, is also someone whose posts Johnson enjoys watching.
"She does really well, she's really personable and it's fun to watch her videos," Johnson said.
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Editor's Note:
DTN invites you to pass along to us who you feel is worthy of recognition in future Voices for Agriculture special coverage. Send your suggestions and reasons why to elaine.shein@dtn.com.
For more on our Voices for Agriculture special coverage, go to the following links:
-- Editor's Notebook blog, "Honoring Voices for Agriculture," https://www.dtnpf.com/…
-- "Tips To Become a Voice for Agriculture," https://www.dtnpf.com/…
-- To listen to a podcast hosted by Sarah Mock where Elaine Shein and her talk about how DTN selected this year's Voices for Agriculture, who they are and some of the tips on being a Voice for Agriculture, go to E205: "Celebrating Voices for Agriculture" at https://www.dtnpf.com/…
Susan Payne can be reached at susan.payne@dtn.com
Follow her on social platform X @jpusan
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