TikTok farmer Will Young on mission to promote farming

Love Island and TikTok star Will Young, known as “Farmer Will”, is on a mission to make farming more accessible to the wider public.

In between working full time on his family’s Oxfordshire farm and attending last month’s Farmers Weekly Awards, Will has published his new book, For the Love of Farming.

See also: Young Farmers Week: Q&A with Defra and NFYFC

After attending the prestigious event at Grosvenor House Hotel, London, Will admits: “The Farmers Weekly Awards were incredible – what an amazing turnout and celebration of the finalists.

“Seeing the sheer amount of people turn up to celebrate farming, with that real sense of community and farmers standing together – it was amazing.”

Reaching a new audience

Back at the family farm, in Bicester, Will helps manage a flock of 1,500 breeding ewes, where he creates videos for his TikTok and Instagram audiences that break down common farming practices into easy-to-understand snippets. 

He explains: “The main reason I wrote the book is because it is another platform to put farming in a really bright light, and to get the positive messages out there.

“I wanted to produce a book where anyone and everyone can read it and understand.”

Cutting out the technical jargon, he says: “You’re not going to find really difficult farming terms – it is very easy and lighthearted, but it does touch the real aspects and challenges of the industry.

“With the content I produce, farmers already know the technical side of it. It is interesting from a farmer to a farmer to see how somebody else does it, but this book is really about trying to get the messages out there and cross the gap to non-farmers.

“It’s about closing that gap between farmers, food producers and the general public.”