{"id":21008,"date":"2022-11-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=21008"},"modified":"2022-11-21T10:15:04","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T09:15:04","slug":"countryfile-issues-john-craven-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/2022\/11\/16\/countryfile-issues-john-craven-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Countryfile issues: John Craven"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
COUNTRYFILE ISSUES <\/span><\/h5>\n\n

John Craven<\/h2>\n\n
\n\n

TIKTOK STAR IS THE NEW JOYFUL FACE OF FARMING<\/p>\n\n

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The deep midwinter can be a gloomy time for farmers \u2013 out in foul weather, worrying what 2023 will bring in the way of subsidies, fatstock prices and harvests. But if you want to see a happy face out in the fields, look no further than 23-year-old William Young. <\/p>\n\n

His beaming optimism for the industry and his love for the animals in his care shines through in the many short videos he makes on the social media platform TikTok. They have turned Farmer Will (that\u2019s the name of his account) into an international internet star. One, showing him rescuing a sheep from deep, thick mud in a pond, has had a staggering three million-plus views. That\u2019s nearly as many as a Countryfile <\/em>episode! <\/p>\n\n

Will, a sixth-generation farmer in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, has worked full-time for four years with his father Andrew, tending around 4,000 sheep and lambs, after trying other jobs and deciding this was the life he really wanted. <\/p>\n\n

His video \u2018diversification\u2019 started by accident when, one lambing time, he sent videos to friends who knew nothing about farming. \u201cThey loved them, so I posted them on TikTok and it all blew up from there,\u201d says Will. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cI do enjoy educating people about what happens on the farm on a day-to-day basis, like treating a poorly sheep or trimming its feet \u2013 things that are pretty amazing to someone who doesn\u2019t know country life.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Many farmers use social media, but it\u2019s fair to say that TikTok isn\u2019t renowned for its agricultural content; its contributors are more likely to be energetic young people miming to music. So, as well as filming himself at work on his phone, Farmer Will dances around the farm, sometimes in shorts and shirtless and often with lambs as his partners, to the delight of his nearly one million followers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cFarmer Will\u2019s love for the animals in his care shines through\u201d <\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

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TikTok star William Young (@farmerwill_) is doing more than his fair share of promoting the work and produce of British farmers<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

When he\u2019s talking farming in his warm Buckinghamshire accent, Will doesn\u2019t go in for technical language. \u201cA lot of terms I could use wouldn\u2019t be understood and the engagement would go,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s why my videos are all light-hearted and fun. How I act on and off camera is completely the same \u2013 I\u2019m not playing to the camera. I don\u2019t want people who watch to think: \u2018Imagine being a farmer. It seems like a rubbish job\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cI get a lot of messages from people who aren\u2019t from farming backgrounds who want to know how they can get into it, which is really good. I give as much advice as I can in a non-professional way \u2013 I\u2019m just a little farm boy from Buckinghamshire!\u201d <\/p>\n\n

LOVING LIFE ON THE LAND <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

But he\u2019s more than that. How many farm boys have a showbiz agent and recently featured in campaigns for a leading shampoo and a bank while still promoting a positive image of agriculture to a vast number of young people around the world? Now, he\u2019s busy preparing his upbeat Christmas videos. <\/p>\n\n

When I ask Will whether his future is in farming or the media, he says: \u201cI\u2019m just taking things as they come \u2013 social media is good to me but it could be over. I\u2019m lucky I work for my Dad but if I wanted to be a farmer on my own, it would be super-hard getting on that ladder because of the price of land and the amount that is being taken away for development.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

I see Farmer Will very much in the mould of Adam Henson \u2013 they open the farm gates and let us see what is happening. \u201cThe reason I\u2019m a happy, positive person is that I\u2019m always outside in the fresh air, loving animals,\u201d says Will. \u201cIt\u2019s a lovely life to live.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

\n\n

Watch John on Countryfile, <\/em>Sunday evenings on BBC One. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Photo: William Young<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TikTok star is the new joyful face of farming<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":21350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"39","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"39","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_39-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_39-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"December-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"December-2022","purple_external_id":"December-2022-39-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"December-2022-39-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000084063||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000084063||","purple_android_product":"com.im.countryfile.197","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.countryfile.197","purple_ios_product":"com.im.countryfile.197","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.countryfile.197","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"91da22fd-9e7f-40d1-a93f-fc46e9516d91","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-11-16T11:29:47Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"36c8ab79-0e01-4313-abd0-4f8eccd728a5","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-11-16T11:29:47Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ANsireQ4BQxOr0E-OzNcopQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[27],"tags":[14],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/11\/PHOTO-2021-11-08-11-11-52-3_WillYoung_cmyk_preview.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/11\/PHOTO-2021-11-08-11-11-52-3_WillYoung_cmyk_preview.jpg",1976,2048,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/11\/PHOTO-2021-11-08-11-11-52-3_WillYoung_cmyk_preview-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/11\/PHOTO-2021-11-08-11-11-52-3_WillYoung_cmyk_preview-289x300.jpg",289,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/11\/PHOTO-2021-11-08-11-11-52-3_WillYoung_cmyk_preview-768x796.jpg",768,796,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/11\/PHOTO-2021-11-08-11-11-52-3_WillYoung_cmyk_preview-988x1024.jpg",800,829,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/11\/PHOTO-2021-11-08-11-11-52-3_WillYoung_cmyk_preview-1482x1536.jpg",1482,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/11\/PHOTO-2021-11-08-11-11-52-3_WillYoung_cmyk_preview.jpg",1976,2048,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"TikTok star is the new joyful face of farming","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21008"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21008"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21567,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21008\/revisions\/21567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}