Olly Harrison shared his communication strategies during a panel discussion named "Landing the Message" at the 2026 Norfolk Farming Conference, held at the Norfolk Showground.

Through his YouTube channel @OllyBlogsAgricontractfarmer, he shares daily videos offering an honest, humorous insight into modern farming, attracting 120 million views across more than 2,400 videos.

The Merseyside farmer has become a prominent voice for UK agriculture, and led a major London march in 2024 opposing proposed government changes to farm inheritance tax.

But he disagreed with fellow conference panellist, agricultural communications specialist Amy Jackson, who suggested farms should focus on positive messages and build trust through "accountability, transparency and action".

Farmer and online influencer Olly Harrison speaking at the 2026 Norfolk Farming Conference (Image: Paul Macro)

Mr Harrison said: "I believe we need to talk about the challenges we have got. It needs to be real life. If I could only ever talk about the good things on the farm, my audience would drop by 80pc.

"It needs to be believable. I think if we show our struggles, the highs and the lows, people will relate to it better.

"If you want to get a message out there to reach loads of people, you've got three seconds to engage the person who is seeing that reel or video, and you have got to start with a negative even if it doesn't really exist."

He gave an example of a video he had shared about a new tractor.

"If I had said it was the best tractor I have ever had and all the good points about it, no-one would have watched the video," he said.

"So I said: 'I am going to tell you what is wrong with this tractor', in the first three seconds, so everyone thinks: 'Ooh, what's wrong with it?' But then I said: 'Before I do that, let me just tell you everything that's good about it'. I went all the way through what was good about it and then said: 'Now this is what's wrong with it - my last tractor had three steps to get in, and this has got four'.

"Everyone watched that video all the way through, and they knew all the good things about that tractor, and really the bad thing was nothing.

"But on social media you've got to play the algorithm, you've got to work out what makes people tick, and it is wired into us. We are always going to be drawn to bad news, so if there is a good story, start with a negative."

He added: "You've got to play the game."

Fellow panellist Amy Jackson challenged Mr Harrison's approach. She said: "Sharing vulnerability and sharing challenge, what does that actually change about farming's lot? How does that move the dial?

"I am not saying we should slap a sunny smile on everything because everything is rosy, but what worries me is we have to attract people into this industry and make it look like an industry that they could thrive in in the future, but sometimes it feels so despondent and so negative.

"I think, by and large, we have more to gain by being positive - yes, sharing some of the challenges, but also pointing out the solutions we are working on."

Mr Harrison replied: "I don't think we should gloss over the cracks. Yes, there are positive messages, but in order to get the reach for them you have got to start with the negatives."

© Eastern Daily Press