A Lancashire tillage farmer is currently using YouTube as a means of bolstering the income generated from his tillage operation.
Olly Harrison farms on the outskirts of Liverpool. He gave the keynote address to the recent 2023 Ulster Arable Society annual conference.
Combinable crops, including wheat barley and oilseed rape, are the main drivers of Harrison’s tillage operation.
Diversification has always been part of his business plan, a process that has been helped by the fact that he farms in the very heart of an extremely populated region in the north-west of England.
Tillage operation
Over the years, old farm buildings have been converted into office accommodation while the acquisition of a nearby holding has allowed Harrison to develop the original farmhouse as one of the most popular spa attractions in the Liverpool area.
For good measure, he also converted adjacent buildings into stabling, which was offered, on a rental basis, to students at the nearby Liverpool University Veterinary College.
Other diversification ventures have included the development of a sunflower maze, which attracted large numbers of visitors last year.
Entrance to the attraction was free of charge. However, visitors were encouraged to donate to a charity working in Ukraine. In addition, Harrison sold ‘virtual’ bunches of sunflowers online; this time to aid a cancer charity.
Working with charities has been a hallmark of his over-arching commitment, which is aimed at communicating a strong ‘agri-focused’ message to the public at large.
“The sunflower plants provided a valuable food source for birds during the winter months. So we set up a ‘just giving’ page on our website,” Harrison said.
“Utilising the farm to deliver a public good has always been a priority for me.”
Media and YouTube
It was the initial Covid-19 lockdown that was to give Harrison his big ‘media break’. He was selected by the BBC to relate the developments taking place within his own business as the pandemic progressed.
Harrison told the conference that a small group of framers had been selected to take part in the BBC project.
“In my case, the production team had wanted additional film footage of the farm to accompany a particular report that had been prepared,” he said.
“They couldn’t get a film team back to the farm on time, so they asked me to shoot the extra video material they needed using my phone. And it worked.”
The experience gained by Harrison from working with the media gave him the idea of developing his own YouTube channel – Olly Blogs Agricontract farmer.
He now produces his own daily video blog, which attracts thousands of followers and the income generated from this activity has been significant.
To date, it has allowed him to buy a selection of new tractors and sprayers for his core farming business.