10 Agricultural Influencers You Need To Be Following | Feast and Field: Food Begins in the Field

Follow: @smarterbynature on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube

The folks at Smarter by Nature give us an almost daily dose of inspiration. As certified permaculture designers, Angelique Taylor and David “Kip” Ritchey are on a mission to create sustainable relationships between people and the environment. They strive to introduce fresh food to their Tallahassee, Florida, community, including lesser-known crops like Egyptian spinach and fresh turmeric. Whether spreading compost or scything buckwheat, they bring a contagious sense of joy to farm work.

Follow: @ballerinafarm on Instagram

This account transports us to a high-altitude oasis in the mountains of Utah, where Hannah Neeleman and her husband raise free-range meat and homeschool their six children (number seven is on the way!). Neeleman chose to leave life behind as a Julliard-trained ballerina in New York City for a simpler existence, and we can see why. With the huge western sky as its background, Neeleman dances through a life full of kids, animals and gorgeous baked goods. And she left the stage alone – in 2021 she was crowned Miss Utah and competed for her state in the Miss America pageant.

Follow: @goldshawfarm on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube

Can farming possibly be as fun as Morgan Gold makes it seem? From “The Northeast Kingdom of Vermont” as he calls it, his small duck, chicken and goose farm, which he started leaving after corporate life, is a world full of colorful characters. He regularly puts his GoPro camera on his barn cat or livestock guardian dog Toby so that we can see an animal’s point of view from the farm. And despite the lighthearted stories, he is transparent about the cost of being a farmer, sharing his revenues and expenses down to the dollar so others who are interested in farm life are clear about the (sometimes harsh) realities.

Follow: @neversinkfarm on Instagram and YouTube

Crickmore is an organic no-till farmer in upstate New York who’s much admired around his farming peers. That’s because he made his small-scale 1.5 acre vegetable farm one of the most productive farms per square foot in the country. His instructional videos on everything from plant grafting to weed control, plus the tools he invented (and now sells) to maximize efficiency, have earned him farming fans worldwide. But we love his more meditative musings on farming, family and food, with the gorgeous Hudson Valley as his backdrop. Through dinners at the farm and his “Friends at the Table” video series, Crickmore showcases the bounty of his produce through meals that bring people together.

Follow: @ farmer.froberg on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube

From his youthful spirit, it might surprise you that before he was a farmer, Tyler Froberg already had a career in the military. As a fourth-generation farmer, Froberg has built his military career to become an agricultural educator, teaching veterans how to farm diversified fruits and vegetables in Texas. The ever-smiling Froberg also recently co-founded his own company, Good Livin ‘, which sells pantry products grown in Texas, like coffee, olive oil and wheat. Farmer Froberg’s infectious humor and practical wisdom, not to mention a dash of that well-known Texas grit, keep us coming back for more.

Follow: @evenpullfarm on Instagram

We love that even Pull Farm posts almost daily about their experience as first-generation market farmers in northwest Oregon. They brighten our lives with dazzling photography of the seedlings and veggies that they cultivate and deliver to local farmers’ markets and restaurants. But our favorite might be the gorgeous cut bouquets of dahlias, sweetpeas and ranunculus that seem to pop right through the screen. Want to experience #farmlife for yourself? Even Pull Farm is accepting applications for seasonal workers.

Follow: @leahpenniman on Instagram

As co-founder and farm manager of Soul Fire Farm, an Afro-indigenous community farm in Petersburg, New York that focuses on uprooting racism and regenerative farming, Leah Penniman has her hands full. Lucky for us, she finds time to chronicle her journey on Instagram, sharing wisdom on growing food, livestock, agroforestry, plant medicine and food preservation. Even better? Fans can find her lessons on self-reliance through agriculture in her book “Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land,” as well as her monthly “First Friday” Instagram Live series, “Ask a Sista Farmer.” ” We return to Penniman’s feed not just for her beauty mission, but to see the delight she finds digging in with her family and community.

Follow: @wildoakfarms on Instagram

Partners Mandi Chamberlain and Casey Pickering, a veterinary nurse and ICU registered nurse, respectively, have built an idyllic homestead in northern Missouri. With cows, goats, chickens, sebastopol geese, muscovy ducks and four rowdy livestock guardian dogs, they share animal adventures and valuable husbandry tips. You can drool over the photos of their billowy sourdough loaves, and even buy some of their sourdough starter to make it yourself. Wild Oak Farms also sells goat milk lotion and body butter, made from their hand-milked nubian goats.

Follow: @thejustinrhodesshow on Instagram, Justin Rhodes on YouTube

For Rhodes, homesteading is a family affair. Not only is he the fourth generation of his family to farm the hills of North Carolina, but he is also teaching his five children the value of growing their own food. In 2017, after 10 years of farming, Rhodes and his wife packed the kids in a bus and toured farms in all 50 states to get an idea of ​​how other farmers did their jobs. After a year of learning, they returned to North Carolina to re-establish their now 75-acre homestead of cows, chickens and a subsistence garden. Rhodes continues to build on his mission to connect with other farmers and homesteaders through social media and his new book “The Rooted Life: Cultivating Health and Wholeness Through Growing Your Own Food,” released March 1. He’s not shy in sharing the ups and downs of the lifestyle, but the satisfaction they find living off the land speaks for itself.

Follow: @ronfinleyhq on Instagram

With the motto “gardening is gansta” Ron Finley set off an urban food growing revolution in Los Angeles. Back in 2010, the South Central resident clashed with the city for planting vegetables in the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street outside his house. Finely, who recognized his neighborhood was a food desert and wanted to do something about it, started a petition that received enough support to change the local laws. The guerilla gardener’s 2013 Ted Talk exhorting people to fight food deserts growing their own produce has been viewed more than 4 million times. Apart from his role as an urban farmer and activist, Finley is also a fashion designer and artist. The sun-drenched images he shares from his southern California yard never fail to give us a lift.