Minnesota's 'Millennial Farmer' talks future of agriculture at Farmfest

INTERVIEWER: Today kicks off an annual gathering of farmers from across Minnesota. Farmfest will take place in Morgan, Minnesota. That's in the southwest part of the state. It will include hundreds of exhibitors, vendors, and also forums.

One person you'll see at Farmfest is Zach Johnson. Johnson is a sixth generation farmer in West Central Minnesota and is known for his 1 million YouTube followers as the Millennial Farmer. He joins me on the line now. Good to talk to you, Zach.

ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, thanks for having me.

INTERVIEWER: So for people who are unfamiliar with Farmfest, describe it to me. What's it like? What is Farmfest all about?

ZACH JOHNSON: Well, Farmfest is Minnesota's biggest farm show. Farmers get together there. Farmers and non-farmers alike can get together there to see some of the newest trends in agriculture. They get to see products from businesses that are up and coming.

And there's a lot of great discussions in the various-- in the various meetings that are had amongst the grounds there. I'll be doing a panel myself on artificial intelligence in agriculture today. And so there's a lot of education to be had there.

INTERVIEWER: That's cool. So it's not just fun. It's people exchanging a lot of information and knowledge about farming.

ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, absolutely. It's everything from the latest and greatest products to the education about agronomics and technology, artificial intelligence like I mentioned, and just everything to do with agriculture.

INTERVIEWER: So tell me about your farm. What do you grow?

ZACH JOHNSON: Well, we're a multi-generational family farm. We are in West Central Minnesota. We-- right now we grow corn and soybeans. In the past, we've had other crops and livestock be a part of that.

So right now, on the family farm, full time it's just my dad and I. And my wife and I live on the grounds there, and we are potentially raising now the seventh generation of farmers right there on the family farm.

INTERVIEWER: That is really cool. Now where did the idea for the Millennial Farmer come from?

ZACH JOHNSON: It stemmed just from the idea of trying to relate to people somehow about agriculture. Several years ago, I was hearing a lot of things just like we hear now about farming. And the people that have concerns about how we grow our food and how we raise our livestock, they have legitimate concerns, but how do we really tell our story and send our message to those people and show them who we are out in rural America?

And so I had the idea of starting a YouTube channel and just trying to be fully transparent with people about exactly what it is we do. And when we use some of the management practices that we have available to us now, whether that be things like genetically modified seeds or irrigation or the way we treat livestock or herbicides, all the different things people talk about and have legitimate concerns about, I want to be fully transparent and show them exactly why we use those practices and what we about them and how they actually help us to manage the farms better.

INTERVIEWER: And do you get a lot of feedback?

ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah. I guess I don't an exact average of how many comments I get on a given video, but it's hundreds of comments. I've got a lot of videos, several videos out there with comments in the thousands. So there's a ton of feedback, and it's 99% positive. It comes from farmers and non-farmers alike, just everybody that's interested in agriculture in any way. And I get a lot of people from larger cities and people that are completely detached from agriculture that are excited to just see what goes on behind the scenes of the farms right now.

INTERVIEWER: So you mentioned you're raising what may be the seventh generation for the farm, but how concerned are you that you're going to be able to keep the farm in the family? Many family farms have been dispersed.

ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah there's been a lot of consolidation in my lifetime. There are less farms now than there has been in the past. But the good news is we are still family farms. The percentage of family farms involved is in the high 90s when it comes to how many farms out there are true family farms. So we are a lot of the same families.

And to be honest with you, I really think there's a bigger opportunity now for smaller farms and first generation farmers to get involved than there has been in quite some time. And I just-- I think the biggest opportunity we have is to take advantage of the fact that consumers have actually gotten so disconnected that now all of a sudden they realize it and they're taking a real interest in agriculture. And they understand that it all starts with the soil and it starts in the barns and it starts on the family farms. And they're taking a real interest in that, and I think there's opportunity for people to capitalize on niche markets.

You look at how popular things like farmers markets have become and you start to realize people are interested and people are willing to pay a premium if they can know their farmer and where those products are coming from. And so I just think there is a real opportunity out there for people to start smaller farms and to do well with that. But it's going to take some creativity for sure.

INTERVIEWER: So I can imagine when you're talking to your parents, to your dad with your farming, certain things are always the same, the weather being one of them, for example. But are there challenges that you face that your dad didn't face when he was the main farmer?

ZACH JOHNSON: Oh, boy, that's a loaded question. I'm not sure I've been asked that. You've got the typical challenges like you say. Weather and market, those are the big things. There's always agronomic challenges. A lot of those will come and go. There will be certain agronomic challenges that I'm seeing right now or that I'll see in the future that will be different than what my dad dealt with.

I think a lot of the consolidation and the issues with losing some of the farms, hopefully those are over, and it doesn't get worse. It's going to be interesting to see where that goes. I know there's going to be some major advancements with artificial intelligence in agriculture. What those challenges will be that come with that, we-- those will-- those are to be determined right now.

There's going to be I think a lot of efficiencies and a lot of things gained through it. But there's obviously going to be some trade offs, and there will be some challenges with that. So I would expect some things to come from that that will be brand new to the industry that the generation before us hadn't seen anything like that before.

INTERVIEWER: So give us a preview of what you might say on this panel about agriculture and AI. What are you thinking about?

ZACH JOHNSON: Well, the biggest thing I'm the moderator of that panel, so I'm not the expert on it. We've got a couple of guys that are going to join us on that. They're going to be the experts, and I'm hoping to ask the good questions and talk to the audience and really help the experts get the information across.

But I just-- I have a lot of interest in what do they see coming as far as AI in the future with agriculture. What do they see coming that maybe I haven't thought of yet or farmers haven't thought of yet? What's it going to be-- what's going to be the next big thing that's really going to advance our industry that maybe nobody is thinking about yet?

INTERVIEWER: And how is this year treating you? How is-- how are you doing with your corn and-- what, corn and soybeans?

ZACH JOHNSON: Yes. Yep, corn and soybeans. Right now, we've had a load of rain right now, and so we've got really wet fields on our farm personally.

However, it's almost been too much rain. We've got a lot of beans turning yellow, and we've got a lot of crops that are looking like they've just had-- they've had soil that is way too wet. But I tell people as a farmer, it's a pretty difficult thing to complain about, too much moisture.

INTERVIEWER: And then one last question. What does it feel like to be the sixth generation farmer?

ZACH JOHNSON: Pride. There's a lot of pride there when it comes to that, especially to be in a position where I can and hopefully help advance the farm into the sixth and seventh generations.

Yeah, there's a ton of pride and honestly a lot of pressure that comes with it because you're six or seven generations into this now, I want to make sure that I do the best I can to not fail those who have come before me and to make sure that I can continue the farm the same way that they did so that I can give my kids the opportunity and my grandkids the opportunity to farm if that's what they want to do.

INTERVIEWER: Well, thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate it.

ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, thank you.

INTERVIEWER: Zach Johnson is known as the Millennial Farmer.