There's a new breed of social media influencers shaking up Australian agriculture.
A growing number of young farmers are attracting hundreds of thousands of followers on platforms like TikTok and Instagram with their honest, educational and entertaining posts about life on the land.
Better known as Mallee Boy, Peter was one of the first Australian farmers to take off on social media and now has more than 760,000 followers on TikTok and around 30,000 on Instagram.
The mischievous alpaca Patrick
Many come for his funny animal videos, with the farmer christening a whole cast of seemingly poorly behaved livestock.
The family's mischievous alpaca Patrick has turned into a social media sensation for doing not much at all.
While there are plenty of laughs, the farmer says the industry shouldn't take social media platforms lightly.
"There was interest from people from all walks of life, from all parts of the world," he said.
"And I just went what an amazing opportunity that is to connect someone who knows absolutely nothing about agriculture with someone who can give them the right information."
With such a diverse global audience, Peter also comes under scrutiny, especially when it comes to animal welfare.
"You've got to kill them with kindness and facts."
TikTok influencer reaching the millions
South Australian farmer Mel McGorman, or Lady Ba Ba as she's is known to her 160,000 odd followers on TikTok, is also using her social media platforms to counteract anti-livestock farming sentiment.
"And I think there was a group of ag people that really thought, 'wow if they're pushing that and a lot of people are listening to it, we really need to push back.'"
The farmer, who runs a sheep feedlot with her husband Ryan, has been surprised by the misconceptions some of her followers have about everyday farming practices.
"This generation are happy just to say, 'What on earth, I thought they killed a sheep to shear it.' And that prompted me like… oh my god, they don't know what goes on," she said.
While Mel McGorman first took off on TikTok by showing the impact of bushfires on her family's farming business, most of her content focuses on the positives of rural life.
Like Peter Vallance, she reckons social media is a powerful tool for an industry people rely on but often don't fully understand.
"The reach is just phenomenal," she said.
Farm content for everyone
Someone who has taken a different approach to changing the way people think about agriculture is sixth generation Victorian farmer Mark Merrett.
He's set up a popular YouTube channel, where he shares more in-depth videos about what happens on his farm.
"I do like the details, and I like the facts," said Mark.
The passionate farmer often shows how advanced farming has become.
"I really like to highlight the use of technology and GPS and yield mapping," he said.
Mark hopes with a growing number of farmers embracing social media, there will be far more authentic and accurate agricultural content for people to see.
Watch this story on ABC TV's Landline at 12:30pm on Sunday, or on iview.
