Utilizing YouTube to complement a tillage operation

A Lancashire tillage farmer is at the moment utilizing YouTube as a way of bolstering the earnings generated from his tillage operation.

Olly Harrison farms on the outskirts of Liverpool. He gave the keynote handle to the latest 2023 Ulster Arable Society annual convention.

Combinable crops, together with wheat barley and oilseed rape, are the principle drivers of Harrison’s tillage operation.

Diversification has all the time been a part of his marketing strategy, a course of that has been helped by the truth that he farms within the very coronary heart of a particularly populated area within the north-west of England.

Tillage operation

Over time, previous farm buildings have been transformed into workplace lodging whereas the acquisition of a close-by holding has allowed Harrison to develop the unique farmhouse as probably the most fashionable spa points of interest within the Liverpool space.

For good measure, he additionally transformed adjoining buildings into stabling, which was provided, on a rental foundation, to college students on the close by Liverpool College Veterinary School.

Different diversification ventures have included the event of a sunflower maze, which attracted massive numbers of tourists final yr.

Entrance to the attraction was freed from cost. Nonetheless, guests have been inspired to donate to a charity working in Ukraine. As well as, Harrison offered ‘digital’ bunches of sunflowers on-line; this time to help a most cancers charity.

Working with charities has been a trademark of his over-arching dedication, which is aimed toward speaking a robust ‘agri-focused’ message to the general public at massive.

“The sunflower vegetation supplied a useful meals supply for birds throughout the winter months. So we arrange a ‘simply giving’ web page on our web site,” Harrison mentioned.

“Utilising the farm to ship a public good has all the time been a precedence for me.”  

Media and YouTube

It was the preliminary Covid-19 lockdown that was to offer Harrison his large ‘media break’. He was chosen by the BBC to narrate the developments happening inside his personal enterprise because the pandemic progressed.

Harrison informed the convention {that a} small group of framers had been chosen to participate within the BBC undertaking.

“In my case, the manufacturing group had wished extra movie footage of the farm to accompany a selected report that had been ready,” he mentioned.

“They couldn’t get a movie group again to the farm on time, so that they requested me to shoot the additional video materials they wanted utilizing my cellphone. And it labored.”

The expertise gained by Harrison from working with the media gave him the concept of creating his personal YouTube channel – Olly Blogs Agricontract farmer.

He now produces his personal every day video weblog, which attracts 1000’s of followers and the earnings generated from this exercise has been important.

Up to now, it has allowed him to purchase a number of new tractors and sprayers for his core farming enterprise.