UNK grad, farmer grows 'bite-size' videos online (2024)

KENESAW — Noah Young is quick to admit that he’s not your typical Nebraska farmer.

“I’m more like the farmer you think of when you hear the song ‘Old MacDonald Had a Farm,’” he said.

Instead of a tractor or combine, his greatest tools are a cellphone and his quirky personality.

“I’m trying to get people thinking about agriculture and create a greater appreciation for farmers and the Midwest, those people who are growing the food that they eat every day,” the tall, lanky, bearded 28-year-old, said.

The University of Nebraska at Kearney graduate is the mastermind behind The Shiloh Farm social media accounts, where he shares fun farm facts and more through “bite-sized videos” — usually 60 seconds or less.

He has one million followers on TikTok and more than 540,000 on Instagram.

Why do chickens love dandelions? He’ll explain while holding a Rhode Island Red in his bib overalls.

Want to grow larger onions? He’ll show you how, starting with a Sir Mix-a-Lot reference.

What’s the difference between whole, vitamin D, 2%, 1% and skim milk? He’ll talk about it, between chugs straight from the jug.

“I like to say that I’m ‘edutaining’ folks all across the nation about agriculture and where their food comes from,” Young said.

“My main goal is to help people, whether giving them a tip on how to produce something in their gardens, or educating them as a consumer about what type of food choices they’re making.”

Leap of faith

Raised near Juniata in rural Adams County, Young loved the outdoors, but he didn’t get involved in agriculture until he met his future wife Sierra.

“The rule for dating the farmer’s daughter was that you had to come work for the family farm,” he explained. “That was my introduction into agriculture.”

Sierra’s family practices no-till farming, which allowed him to learn about sustainable agriculture, stacking enterprises and soil health. They also own and operate Green Cover Seed, a Bladen-based business that provides custom cover crop mixes for agricultural producers across the U.S. and Canada.

Young knew he couldn’t afford to start his own farming operation, but he wanted to continue working in agriculture, so he got a degree in agribusiness.

After two years at Central Community College in Hastings, Young enrolled in the agribusiness program at UNK.

Young was living on a five-acre property about nine miles northwest of Kenesaw when, at 21, he got married in 2017. He graduated from UNK the following year and started working full time for Green Cover Seed, first as a social media specialist, then in “all things marketing.”

“They didn’t have a marketing department, so I started growing and developing that department,” he said. “By the time I left, we had a great team of marketers in place. I was really proud of what we were able to accomplish.”

Young was still working for Green Cover during the COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2020. That’s when he and Sierra decided to invest in their homestead, officially launching The Shiloh Farm, a sanctuary where they could raise their family, grow their own food and deepen their connection to the land.

Young decided to document the journey. He shared his first video on Instagram in April of that year. “It was working, but not really having great success,” he said of the online interest.

Everything changed when he joined TikTok and started sharing Chicken Facts of the Day. Did you know a processed bird can produce 240 McNuggets but only two Raising Cane’s chicken fingers?

After a video got 80,000 views, Young was hooked. Two videos have reached 10 million views — one on the science behind seedless watermelons, and another on how sunflowers detoxify soil.

Young left his job with Green Cover in 2022 to focus exclusively on creating content for his social channels.

Next journey

At The Shiloh Farm, Young and his wife raise chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats and sheep, along with vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs. They have a large hoop house, a greenhouse, a small vineyard, 35 fruit trees and four beehives on the property.

Young films most of his content there, but he also shares other adventures, such as ATV riding through an exotic animal ranch, participating in a four-day cattle drive in Arizona and learning how to rope from rodeo world champion Tyson Durfey.

“It’s amazing once you start getting into this world how many opportunities open up for you,” said Young, who collaborates with ag influencers in Nebraska, too.

Although he’s often recognized locally — “Hey, aren’t you the chicken guy? I follow you on social media” – his biggest audiences come from major cities on the East and West coasts.

“A fact that I like to throw out there is that 8% of Americans think chocolate milk comes from brown cows, which is like 27 million people,” Young said.

“That’s bizarre to me, but they don’t know any better. If you live in New York City and you’ve never even seen a cow in real life, I could understand why you’d believe that,” he said.

Young does a lot of research for his videos and enjoys learning along with his followers.

For instance, he’s currently visiting bison ranchers across the Great Plains with hopes of starting his own herd in the near future.

“I’m going to document that process so my followers can see what it’s like to start a bison ranch from scratch,” he said.

Currently, Young generates revenue through sponsorships, branded content and merchandise sales, but he hopes to establish a profitable farming/ranching operation, something he can pass on to his children.

“I’m very content with the amount of followers I have right now. I’m not as worried about the numbers as much as I am being able to provide for my family and maintain the life we have,” he said.