15 minutes with dairy farmer Geert Boelen

Geert Boelen started a TikTok account in September 2019, when he was 22, intending to simply join a new social media platform. But in just two years, the Netherlands transplant has grown a following of more than 1.7 million farmers and consumers. To find him on TikTok, search hueybcool; for YouTube, search Huey Boelen.

SF: What made you start a TikTok account?

GB: It was a way to stay up-to-date with current social media trends. I have a friend with a large YouTube following, and he motivated me to just start sharing what I was doing on the farm every day. In a matter of three months, I had a video go viral that now has over 55 million views.

There is a lot of useful and useless content on TikTok. My goal was to always be educational and to serve a purpose with my account. Consumers today are so far removed and disconnected from farming. So it's interesting to see comments by viewers who don't know anything about where their milk comes from.

SF: What are your viral videos about?

GB: My first viral video is of dairy cows going through a hoof-trimming chute. The video went viral in India due to Hinduism, which worships cattle; they could see I was taking care of them. It also introduced a new way of farming for cattle farmers in that country.

Other popular videos on my account are of how to milk a cow as well as cows giving birth.

SF: What other digital content do you work with?

GB: Around the time I started my TikTok account, I also started a YouTube page. Today I have 78,700 subscribers with two videos that have well over a million views. They both are also on how to milk a cow.

SF: What things keep you motivated?

GB: Recently, I moved off my family's dairy operation in Brooklyn, Iowa, and am now working with a start-up, Nebullam, an indoor farm. We have weekly harvests of lettuce, microgreens, and tomatoes. I'm excited to see what I can do to grow the social accounts and the business. I'm still involved in the family dairy farm, but I'm looking forward to trying something new. My motto really is if my videos do well, that's great. If they don't, that's OK, too.

SF: What would you tell other farmers who want to share their story through digital channels?

GB: Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Farming is not one-size-fits-all, and every farm has a different approach. The best time to start is now.

Background: Geert Boelen was born in the Netherlands on his family's dairy farm. In 2009, he moved to Brooklyn, Iowa, and started a new dairy. Boelen graduated from Iowa State University in 2019 and returned to his family's farm. He recently started working with Nebullam, an indoor farming start-up. To follow Boelen on TikTok, search hueybcool; to follow him on YouTube, search Huey Boelen.