Rural Life

How the Trending #FarmGirlSummer Is Educating Viewers About Rural Living

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 18:50:40 GMT

Sporting dirty boots and a deep-rooted love for the land, a new wave of female farmers is making waves on social media under the trending hashtag #FarmGirlSummer. Step beyond the sunsets and tractor selfies, and this viral movement is offering something deeper: a window into the real day-to-day of agricultural life.

The Packer spoke with four influencers who are using their platforms to share more than just aesthetic glimpses — they’re educating followers about rural realities, farm work and what it truly means to live off the land.

Miranda Neville and her husband, Douglas, are dairy farmers in Pennsylvania on his family farm.

(Photo courtesy of Miranda Neville)

Miranda Neville, Dairy Farmer

I want others to see my content and know that even though we work long, tiring days, it’s still important to make time for the things we enjoy.

Miranda Neville and her husband, Douglas, are dairy farmers in Pennsylvania on his family farm. In addition to farming, she also works an off-farm job in agricultural conservation, while balancing family life. Neville says she enjoys sharing her life on the farm on social media and all of the joyful chaos that comes with it.

The Packer: What does #FarmGirlSummer mean to you personally?

Neville: There is rarely a slow day living on a farm, especially if you have livestock. For me, #FarmGirlSummer is about finding the peaceful moments during the busiest time of year. Some examples of that might look like unloading hay in the summer heat but then watching animals graze on the lush, green pasture. Showing dairy cattle at county fairs while making memories that will last a lifetime with friends. Working tirelessly to get crops planted but making time to deliver meals to the field and having a sunset ride in the tractor. Farming can be difficult, so #FarmGirlSummer is about romanticizing my life while doing farm chores and appreciating the land that surrounds me.

How do you think social media is shaping the way people see farm life or rural living?

Historically, there have been so many misconceptions about farmers and ‘country life.’ With social media, we are able to show firsthand what we do and why we do it. Yes, it’s a simpler life — in that we aren’t living in a busy city and bustling traffic— but we work long, hard days to improve the lives of our families, our livestock and crops. We are able to share ideas, educate and build connections with so many different people from all walks of life. It’s giving a voice to farm life and rural living in a way that has been limited in the past.

What message or feeling are you trying to share when you post with #FarmGirlSummer?

Through my social media, I show the realities and struggles of life on our dairy farm, but I also try to focus on the most beautiful parts of farm life — particularly in the summer. I want others to see my content and know that even though we work long, tiring days, it’s still important to make time for the things we enjoy.
Follow Miranda: Tiktok (Miranda.neville); Instagram (Miranda.neville1)

Erica Loesel balances a career as an oncology nurse with Michigan farming.

(Photo courtesy of Erica Loesel)

Erica Loesel, FarmHer

Even if the photos are pretty, the message is: this is real. Real effort. Real life. Real beauty in the mess and the mud and the moments between.

Erica Loesel balances a career as an oncology nurse with Michigan farming.

The Packer: What does #FarmGirlSummer mean to you personally?

Loesel: For me, #FarmGirlSummer evokes a vivid, grounded kind of freedom. It’s not just a hashtag — it feels like a celebration of hands-in-the-dirt simplicity, sun-kissed days and a deeper connection to the land and hard work.

Personally, it looks like:

Early mornings with dew on the fields and coffee steaming in a Yeti cup.
Cutoff jeans, dusty boots and tan lines from hours in the sun.
Quiet, golden sunsets after long, labor-heavy days — and a satisfaction that city summers just don’t offer.

It’s about living a little slower, working a little harder and feeling a whole lot more connected to what matters.

How do you think social media is shaping the way people see farm life or rural living?

Social media is massively reshaping how people perceive farm life and rural living.

By romanticizing the rural lifestyle, platforms like Instagram and TikTok have popularized the ‘aesthetic’ of farm life — think slow mornings, tractor rides, sunsets over fields of gold. It’s drawing people into appreciating a simpler, more grounded way of living.

Visibility and connection. Farmers, especially women and younger people, are sharing real stories and daily routines, creating communities and challenging outdated stereotypes (like the idea that farming is only for older men or men in general).

And through education and awareness, audiences get to see how food is grown, the labor involved and the realities of sustainable or ethical agriculture. It helps bridge the urban-rural disconnect.

What message or feeling are you trying to share when you post with #FarmGirlSummer?

When I post with #FarmGirlSummer, the message I’m trying to share is a blend of realness and reverence — a celebration of resilience, connection to the land and the gritty joy that comes from a life rooted in tradition.

Here’s what I hope comes across:

Grounded joy: Not everything is picture-perfect — there’s sweat, dirt and sometimes hard days — but there’s real joy in that. A joy that comes from doing something meaningful with your hands and heart.

Empowerment: #FarmGirlSummer isn’t about being delicate or curated — it’s about being strong, capable and unafraid to show up exactly as you are, whether you’re driving tractors or making homemade jam. It’s femininity without fragility.

Simplicity with soul: It’s about slow mornings, honest work and choosing presence over polish. It’s a lifestyle, not a filter.

Authenticity over aesthetic: Even if the photos are pretty, the message is: This is real. Real effort. Real life. Real beauty in the mess and the mud and the moments between.

In short, it’s not just “look at this cute farm outfit,” it’s “here’s what it means to live close to the earth, close to the truth and be dang proud of it.”

Follow Erica on TikTok (thecodebluefarmher)

Anne Sneller lives in Earlham, Iowa with her husband, John, and 11-year-old son.

(Photo courtesy of Anne Sneller)

Anne Sneller, Ag Advocate

I am passionate about advocating for agriculture and the opportunities 4-H and FFA offer youth and the skills they can learn from participating.

Anne Sneller lives in Earlham, Iowa. She works as a fraud and claims operations senior manager for Wells Fargo, leads a 4-H club of 75 members called Penn Prize Winners, and is also active supporting FFA, from mentoring members to judging contests at State FFA. Her husband, John, and she have an 11-year-old son who shows pigs and goats.

The Packer: What does #FarmGirlSummer mean to you personally?

Sneller: #FarmGirlSummer to me is helping my son with his show livestock, running on the pavement and gravel roads of Madison County, enjoying the agriculture, helping on my family’s cattle and row crop farm, and fishing and four-wheeling with my son any chance we get.

I am passionate about advocating for agriculture and the opportunities 4-H and FFA offer youth and the skills they can learn from participating.

Follow Anne on TikTok (chasingthatrunnershigh)

At home, you’ll find Topanga Dailey raising her 8-month-old son Owen while helping her husband farm wheat, soybeans and milo in McPherson, Kans.

(Photo courtesy of Topanga Dailey)

Topanga Dailey, Farmer

It’s a reminder — to myself, my family and my community — that life is bigger than your newsfeed. It’s proof that I’ve stepped away from the trap of constant scrolling and hopefully encourages others to slow down, take a breath and enjoy the moment.

Topanga Dailey is a senior digital marketing specialist. At home, you’ll find her raising her 8-month-old son Owen while helping her husband farm wheat, soybeans and milo in McPherson, Kans.

The Packer: What does #FarmGirlSummer mean to you personally?

Dailey: To me, #FarmGirlSummer is a conscious choice to be more in touch with the real world — making things from scratch, getting soil under your fingernails, embracing natural materials, wearing less makeup, stepping away from screens and reconnecting with what real work looks and feels like. Life can feel stressful, exhausting and even scary when you’re glued to a computer all day. The farm reminds you that life moves in seasons — some good, some hard — and that things take time and nothing is permanent.

How do you think social media is shaping the way people see farm life or rural living?

Social media has helped romanticize the farm. #FarmGirlSummer is one of the latest “vibes” people are chasing — a form of escapism and a search for meaning in what can feel like an overwhelming world. Now, people can see farms and rural life right from their phones and reframe what was once seen as an undesirable lifestyle into something idyllic — especially for those feeling overstimulated by city life. Rural living is naturally beautiful and social media has made it easier than ever to show just how special it is.

What message or feeling are you trying to share when you post with #FarmGirlSummer?

It’s a reminder — to myself, my family and my community — that life is bigger than your feed. It’s proof that I’ve stepped away from the trap of constant scrolling and hopefully encourages others to slow down, take a breath and enjoy the moment. Farm life offers that shift in perspective perfectly.

Follow Topanga on Instagram (reallifetopangadailey).

Super Bowl Snack Price Report: Cheaper Chicken Wings, More Avocados

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 16:55:28 GMT

“People are concerned about food inflation right now,” says Dr. Michael Swanson, Wells Fargo Chief Agricultural Economist highlighting overall food inflation up 11. 8% for at-home food and 8.3% for food-away-from home.

However, in the Wells Fargo Super Bowl Food Report, Swanson says some popular snacks found on the Super Bowl spread, are actually going to be less expensive this year than last. His report pulls data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, USDA, Federal Reserve Economic Data and Nielsen Research.

“Some premier celebration foods have actually dropped from a year ago. The report for the Super Bowl found that we have a much more chicken wings in the freezer and refrigerator and when you have more supply, the price is certainly much better,” Swanson says noting retail chicken wing prices are down 22% or more from January 2022, $3.38 per pound in 2022 vs. $2.65 per pound in early January 2023.

The guacamole can get a bit thicker this year as avocado prices are down 20% from a year ago. Swanson credits more groves planted in Mexico as well as less strain in the freight market for helping ease the spike in the avocado prices.

Another category still at elevated prices but easing back from highs is sirloin steak, which Swanson highlights is $1 less per pound in 2023. Also while hamburger is still at an elevated price per pound, it is down from its highest around the Fourth of July holiday.

Some other categories could see easing at the grocery shelves, but it depends how quickly the price changes are rippled through the chain. Swanson says cheese is a good example as prices are going down, but retail prices haven’t shown that to a full extent yet.

For shoppers looking to save, Swanson doesn’t see radicle shifts in prepared foods vs. at home cooking according to the Nielsen data. For example, he sees the same demand for pre-cut veggie trays, or deli made dips and sides.

“That is human behavior that is just part of how people prep for a party,” he says. “If someone buys something at their retailer made there, they are going to continue to do so. And now coming out of the pandemic, the American consumer has embraced saving the time in preparation and cleaning up to buy pre-made foods.”

But he does encourage those looking for deals to hop from store to store.

“You’re going to have to trade off your time, but there are definitely deals to be had by shopping for the store feature items and making a few extra trips to get those deals,” he says.

Some categories that are up in 2023 are soft drinks (up more than 20%) and beer (up 11%.)

In summary, Swanson says there are many indicators that food prices is really coming back, and it might be a bright spot for the next three years.

“My biggest takeaway is the American food industry and farmers are really good at what they do and we’re starting to see that healing process after the pandemic really come into play,” Swanson says. “This is really the first indication of that. While last year was a shock at 14% or 18% higher prices, and we were struggling for two or three years, it was very unusual. We’re are used to 1% to 2% food inflation. I really think that we’re going to see a major slowdown in food inflation, and then maybe over the next two or three years actually seen some of these categories go back to lower levels where they were previously as supply gets normalized.”

So no matter the winner of the Super Bowl, our snacking favorites are returning at the MVP.

Capturing the farm: How a preservation project safeguards family stories

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 13:44:51 GMT

Farm histories are at risk that once flowed at supper tables and porches at sundown. As hunger for yesteryear grows in the U.S., there is an increasing recognition of loss over time in blood, kin, and clan. Despite the erosion, American farms are flavored by every fiber and frailty known to mankind — and each tale needs protection.

Enter Vance Crowe and a unique preservation project.

“Farm families are particularly unique in possessing oral history,” he contends. “The only way they’re still on the farm is if they defined themselves as a family over generations — nobody farms alone or else the chain ends. When so many others gave up and went to the city, these agriculture families stayed. Those experiences, and the wisdom and heritage within, must be saved.”

Past is Present

Prone to relative seclusion by the nature of rural life and the physical boundaries of turnrows and tree lines, farm culture is often insular — inside looking out. Farm and family histories are an inseparable mix of triumph, loss, faith, passion, pain, diligence, and absurdity, i.e., the core elements of rich drama.

“Even in agriculture, specific knowledge about family history usually goes back no further than the 1920s, and those recollections often only include a vague sense of why their forbearers came to America or Canada,” insists Crowe, former director of Millennial Engagement at Monsanto. “But real details for most of those families have already gotten hazy in transmission. It’s almost like they’re recounting a dream that someone else told them.”

In October 2021, Crowe launched Legacy Interviews — a vehicle to set personal, family, and farm-related histories in stone. Professionally filmed and recorded in Crowe’s St. Louis-based private recording studio, the in-depth interviews, conducted by Crowe, capture the heart of farm life.

“At least 60% of our clients are farmers — individuals and couples,” Crowe says. “We go for half-days and full-days, and delve into family history, childhood, marriage, parenting, farm career success and failure, acquired wisdom, and much more. Most people have never had anyone really listen to their story. They don’t yet understand the power of their own experiences in agriculture.”

“When someone has a chance to explain the things that they’ve done in their lives, there is a release of emotion like they’ve never experienced,” he adds. “Most of the farmers I interview don’t realize the remarkable things they’ve overcome in life and they aren’t aware of the valuable stories they possess. The interviews aren’t like jumping out of plane, but they’re just as exhilarating for many people. The stories pour out for the first time in many instances, and people leave with a sense of euphoria and punctuation.”

Once completed, the video interviews are presented to the guests, with some choosing to have the interviews transcribed in a book format—an autobiography written in a single day. “We give the finished package to the family on a 1,000-year-lifespan M-disc which doesn’t degrade like a DVD in 25 years or a USB in 20 years, and it isn’t subject to any crashes or breakdown in the cloud or Google,” Crowe explains. “We also use one of the last Bible-rebinding companies in the U.S. to print the interviews on archive-grade paper and bind them as a leather book. The M-disc is stored in a hidden compartment cut out of pages glued together at the back of the book.”

Crowe notes a repeat pattern with clients: Adult children, raised in farming households, want to connect grandparents with grandchildren via Legacy Interviews . “The adult children want to honor and give a gift to their mother and father by preserving family history before it’s lost. But in many ways, the gift is for the grandchildren, because they will utilize the stories in their own lives.”

The direct connection between health and human history is undeniable, Crowe says, both in scientific fact and anecdote. “So many studies show that kids who know their family history and heritage are dramatically less likely to suffer anxiety, depression, and drug addiction. It’s not complicated: Far better than their peers, those kids know who they are and where they came from. In the case of so many farm kids, they know their family history and they know the sacrifices their grandparents paid to stay on the land.”

Capturing History

Seven shades of gray color a single piece of barnwood, and seven stories line the front pocket of every farmer. Sometimes the stories die with a whimper — unnoticed until a life passes. The losses are unnecessary and avoidable, Crowe insists.

“We once spent so much time together in extended families at dinner, church, in the field, traveling together into town, and in the home as a unit. We couldn’t escape the stories and we soaked them in. But modern society fractured the extended family into the nuclear family, and sometimes into smaller parts,” Crowe describes. “For most extended families, ‘together’ means a few hours during a holiday meal — at most. That’s part of why farm histories escape, get lost, or are forgotten, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Legacy Interviews is an opportunity for future generations to know their history.”

As cities continue a monochromatic march, Crowe believes the value of farming culture will increase in tandem, along with the importance of agriculture history. “Farm stories contain the most important values to society,” he concludes. “When we record those stories, we are preserving ideas from the past that we’ll need in the future.”

For more from Chris Bennett (cbennett@farmjournal.com 662-592-1106) see:

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Thanksgiving Food Costs Reflect A Healed Supply Chain

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 20:44:23 GMT

A traditional Thanksgiving feast reflects two current trends in food-at-home economics: increased retail food costs vary by category and the supply chain is back to pre-COVID patterns. Dr. Michael Swanson, chief ag economist at Wells Fargo, details more in the bank’s annual Thanksgiving Food Report , which he says had some categories not clear on pricing until the weeks just before Thanksgiving.

“It was a surprising report and has really changed in dynamics in the last couple of weeks as we watch these markets,” Swanson says. “Food inflation is still going up at the retail level, but it’s now a much slower rate of growth.”

From the Thanksgiving report he details:

Turkey

Year over year, whole fresh turkeys are down 16% at the retail level. This is despite wholesale turkey prices down nearly 30%. Swanson doesn’t think the consumer will be able to get any more of the price spread.

“We saw about one and a half million more birds put in the barn in June and July of this year than the previous year,” he says. “I joke, If turkey doesn’t celebrate the Fourth of July, it’s not going to celebrate Thanksgiving. And so, we saw the excess supply and bigger birds really pressure wholesale prices in a big way.”

Swanson notes 84% of fresh turkeys sold are sold in November.

Vegetable, Fruit and Potato Side Dishes

Canned foods are experiencing increased input costs for packaging.

“Canned product is much more expensive than a year ago on a percentage basis but as part of your spend in your budget, it’s probably not going to break the bank,” Swanson says. “It’s always the protein that really catches people’s eyes–that’s where the dollars are spent.”

Cranberries provide an example to contrast the current cost difference in canned v. fresh. While fresh cranberries are down 20% in price, canned cranberries are up 60%, and canned cranberry sauce is up 7%.

Canned green beans are up 9% year over year. Canned pumpkin is up 30% this year compared to last.

“The fresh products are not experiencing such a high rate of increase. First, we’ve had good harvests this year. And refrigerated shipping is down—a year ago suppliers were paying $3.80 per mile, and this year it’s $3.30 per mile,” Swanson says.

Swanson notes consumers who live near the production of key crops may see lower prices, which for cranberries and green beans the no. 1 producing state is Wisconsin, while Illinois is the top pumpkin producing state.

The dry weather of 2022 in the Pacific Northwest is lingering on this year’s potato crop as the more expensive seed potatoes set the stage for 2023. Swanson notes russet potatoes are at an all-time year: $1.17 in September 2023 compared to $1.08 the same time last year.

As for sweet potatoes, almost two-thirds of our national harvest comes from five counties in North Carolina. Thanks to good yields and storage, prices in this category are only up 4% compared to 2022.

Supply Chain Status

“The supply chain has completely healed. Retailers are now seeing they can get the products they want and talk to wholesalers about price,” Swanson says. “Retailers are running more features and looking for trade money within the channel.”

As such Swanson suggests deals are to be found by shopping the specials, and if possible, visiting more than one store to take advantage of the different sales and offers.

“In 2024, we’ll probably see some of the food categories going down compared to the year prior,” Swanson says, specifically highlighting pork and poultry as sectors to watch.

Iconic Holiday Road Trip Stop Returns to Its Georgia Pecan Farm Roots

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 20:44:08 GMT

Dashing through the snow in a front-wheel drive sleigh … the seasonal holiday road trip is a right of passage for many families. At one time, the roadside icon Stuckey’s was often a likely stop.

(Farm Journal)

“At our peak, we had 368 stores in 40 states,” says Stephanie Stuckey, current chair of the Stuckey’s Corporation. “Stuckey’s really is synonymous with the road trip, during what I consider the era of the great American Road Trip, which would have been the 1950s to the 1970s.”

(Farm Journal)

The roadside oasis, and its iconic pecan candies, are woven into the fabric of highway history.

“Back then, Americans wouldn’t travel by plane. They would load up in the car, usually in a family station wagon, and drive for five days,” Stuckey says.

The company was founded during the Great Depression by pecan farmer, WS Stuckey, as a roadside pecan stand.

“He always considered himself first and foremost, a pecan farmer and a pecan broker,” adds Stuckey, his granddaughter.

Today she’s leading a resurgence of that business, not as a highway stop, but as a pecan company with roots on Georgia farms.

“This is our big audacious goal: I want us to be the go-to pecan snack brand in the world,” she says.

Helping her on the journey is RG Lamar, a third-generation pecan farmer and company CEO.

(Farm Journal)

“I can say as a Georgia pecan grower, I may be a little bit biased, I don’t know, but I genuinely believe we grow the best pecans in the world in the state of Georgia,” Lamar smiles.

He credits ample rainfall in the southeast and higher oil content with helping grow a larger-sized nut. The result is perfect for creating candied treats at Christmas.

Today, on an in-shell basis, Stuckey’s handles about 2 million pounds of Georgia pecans a year. As a state, Georgia grows roughly 100 million pounds.

“Interestingly, roughly 10% of the pecans grown in Georgia are grown in someone’s yard,” Larmar says.

Soon, the newly refocused Stuckey’s brand will be using even more Georgia pecans as the business continues to expand.

“Why is it that when you go into the grocery store, walk down the salty snack aisle and you get to the nuts, you can find every other nut sitting in that section, but you don’t see pecans there very often,” Lamar asks.

(Farm Journal)

It’s a question this farmer and farmer’s granddaughter are aiming to answer.

“Of the original 368 stores there are only 12 left,” Stuckey says. “That’s OK because I saw what wasn’t on the balance sheets and that is the value of the brand.”

A brand, dumping, churning, dipping and packaging pecans, log rolls and clusters just the way the founder WS Stuckey did when he started.

“I would like to think if he were alive today, he would be really happy we’re making our comeback the way we began, as a pecan company,” Stuckey says.

Watch Christmas in the Country on Dec. 25 on AgDay TV .

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