DLG Agri Influencer Award 2023: The winners

(DLG). DLG (German Agricultural Society) has selected the winners of the ‘DLG Agri Influencer Award’ for social media in the run-up to Agritechnica 2023, covering both German-speaking and international influencers in three categories. The presentation ceremony will take place on 16 November at the Young Farmers Party at Agritechnica 2023. The award pays tribute to interesting and high-quality agricultural social media channels and presents them to a wider audience. The jury also chose to name several other remarkable channels as ‘honourable mentions’ alongside the award-winners.

DLG Agri Influencer Award: winners 2023

DLG Best Agri YouTuber International: Oliver Harrison

https://youtube.com/@OllyBlogsAgricontractfarmer

Jury’s rationale

With his YouTube channel @OllyBlogsAgricontractfarmer, the jury views Oliver Harrison as an influencer in the truest sense of the word. He has not only been posting a daily video concerning all aspects of his everyday life on the farm since a lockdown campaign in March 2020, he also drove 940 miles across the British Isles in a chopper to draw attention to the importance of mental health, collecting over £100,000 for mental health and for child cancer initiatives. He also leverages his social media presence, sending birthday wishes in his videos in exchange for a charitable donation. He also interacts extensively with his online community, through several initiatives, including a daily check-in for mental health in farming under the hashtag #AnswerAsAPercent.

Oliver Harrison comes from Tarbock in the northwest of England and currently has 102,000 followers on YouTube.

DLG Best Agri YouTuber German-speaking: Lars Peters
https://www.youtube.com/@Bio_Peters

Jury’s rationale

The jury is thrilled by Lars Peters’ YouTube channel @Bio_Peters, because he speaks directly to his viewers and genuinely takes them along with him in the cab, to the field and everywhere else on the farmyard. He has only been running the channel since April 2023, but his natural talent for communication, combined with his experience from other social networks, is tangible. He prepares his topics well, both professionally and technically, and also clearly and honestly shows things that haven’t gone exactly to plan. His videos allow you to lose track of time, which is almost certainly due in part to the fact that Peters radiates his love of farming and transfers this to his audience.

Lars Peters comes from Trebel in Lower Saxony and currently has 9,880 followers on YouTube.

DLG Best Agri Instagrammer International: Laura Vallejo Castro

https://instagram.com/lauritavallejo

Jury’s rationale

The jury is impressed by Laura Vallejo Castro, who directly takes her followers with her to where she works in the Galician forests on her Instagram profile @lauritavallejo. The 'chainsaw operator, forestry manager, farmer and livestock breeder’ is hard at  work with heavy-duty forestry machinery every day and thus inspires other women and young people to take up these professions. She wants to show the work involved in producing food and help people understand the necessity of forestry and farming. Laura Vallejo Castro’s content is substantial and rooted very credibly in her environment, boasting both ‘woodwork in progress’ images and some high-gloss pictures, with lots of interaction with her community in between.

Laura Vallejo Castro comes from Lugo in northern Spain and currently has 91,200 followers on Instagram.

DLG Best Agri Instagrammer German-speaking: Freya Fliege
https://instagram.com/freyafliege/

Jury’s rationale

The jury notes Freya Fliege’s Instagram profile @freyafliege as being varied and particularly authentic. Her posts on various aspects of animal production and arable farming are exceptional, both in terms of their content as well as their photography and visual imagery. As a lateral entrant to farming, she understands the perspective of non-farmers particularly well, and compiles arguments on critical issues such as the use of crop protection agents or ploughs as well as on husbandry methods, crop rotation or biogas, all topped off with a hint of agricultural romance. She engages in lively interaction with her community, and Freya Fliege’s entire presence communicates her commitment to more appreciation for the high standards of German agriculture, for food and for the farming profession.

Freya Fliege comes from Bad Salzuflen in North Rhine-Westphalia and currently has 1,634 followers on Instagram.

DLG Best Agri TikToker International: Frederick Frimpong
https://tiktok.com/@farminginafrica_official

Jury’s rationale

The jury is of the opinion that Frederick Frimpong’s TikTok channel @farminginafrica_official has a clear objective and also achieves it: to communicate useful information to other young Africans and African farmers how a farm in Africa can be economically viable. Addressing his target groups directly, he communicates his content credibly, with dramatic and technical skill. His videos not only delight his viewers, but also offer a broad range of knowledge that Frederick Frimpong has acquired in Mexico, Kenya, South Africa and the USA and now puts into practice on his own farm. He wants to contribute to developing Africa’s great agricultural potential.

Frederick Frimpong comes from Accra, the capital city of Ghana, and currently has 129,400 followers on TikTok.

DLG Best Agri TikToker German-speaking: Patrick Strassburger
https://tiktok.com/@agrarfluencer

Jury’s rationale

The jury determined that Patrick Strassburger presents topics concerning agriculture and nutrition in an editorially and technically skilled manner on his TikTok account @agrarfluencer. Above all, he produces explanatory videos that pick up on and take a closer look at an aspect of a debate, a scientific finding, agricultural news or social media comments. He packages this content in to-the-point, interesting videos that are appropriate to the platform. He is fond of dealing with the criticism levelled at agriculture, which he addresses in a matter-of-fact, sometimes slightly ironic, manner, or speaks up calmly and directly in favour of more appreciation for agriculture.

Patrick Strassburger comes from Steckborn on the Swiss side of Lake Constance and currently has 41,500 followers on TikTok.

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