Social media sharing Dairy farmer to encourage growers to show, not just tell, farm life at convention
2024October 2024
By Trista Crossley
Editor
Derrick Josi, a 4th generation dairy farmer from Oregon who posts about farm life to thousands of followers across multiple social media platforms, doesn’t like being called an influencer.
“I hate it,” he said. “I’m not trying to influence anything. I’m just showing the reality of dairy farming in my area, and what I go through. If that influences people, great, but my goal is not to convince anybody that what I’m doing is the right way or the only way. I’m just showing the reality, so that when people see the lies, they have something to compare that to.”
Josi will be one of the keynote speakers at the upcoming 2024 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention, Nov. 19-21, at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Growers can register for the convention online at wawg.org/convention/registration/.
The Josi family has been farming near Tillamook, Ore., for more than 100 years. They have nearly 1,000 cows that produce 50,000 pounds, or nearly 6,000 gallons, of milk per day. They also grow about 500 acres of corn and grass silage.
At the convention, Josi will be encouraging growers to stop simply telling their story and to show their life instead, using himself as an example. He said the public doesn’t want a story or to hear consumer-tested, cookie-cutter responses; they want to see what is real. Josi doesn’t shy away from showing real life on the farm, things the public might be uncomfortable with because they don’t understand it, such as using heavy machinery to lift cows out of manure. By showing and explaining why he does what he does, Josi said it gives people a reference point to realize that while some actions may not look good on the surface, they’re being done for the animal’s welfare.
“It’s okay to show your life, the good, the bad, and the ugly, because there are times when farming is ugly. Crops die because of drought, and there’s not very many pretty pictures that you can post of that,” he said. “It’s okay to show when you are having those kinds of days. In fact, people need to see that.”
The comments on social media are known for being nasty, and Josi’s seen his share of trolls. He said “idiots” happen daily, and he knows that for some people, it doesn’t matter what he shows or says, they are going to consider dairy farming a horrible practice. However, the flip side are those interactions where Josi can see the difference he’s making. He had a mother reach out to him regarding her terminally ill daughter. The daughter was a huge fan of Josi’s page, and the mother asked Josi if he’d name a cow after the daughter, which he did.
“It’s nice to know that you do have that kind of influence and are able to ease things a little bit for somebody who’s not in a good place,” he said. “I always tell farmers that if you think you want to do social media, try it. If it ends up that you don’t like doing it, just turn it off. Shut down your page. Social media isn’t for everybody. There are days that it’s all abuse, and you have to have a thick skin. It’s not worth your peace if it bothers you.”
More information and links to Josi’s social media platforms are at tdfhonestfarming.com.