A-Plan Rural Insurance have set up a Rural Community blog as part of their work on social media to contribute to farmers' efforts in showcasing British farming.
The blog invites farmers to give their experiences in the industry, sharing their contributions to over 120,000 followers on Instagram.
Bridging the gap between farm and the consumer is something that lots of farmers are trying to do in an effort to help more people understand the reality of what goes into producing their food.
Since starting the blog, A-Plan Rural have worked with a great variety of farmers from differing backgrounds and locations all over the UK.
They previously spoke with Ioan Humphrey, a sheep farmer based in Wales, who has generated a large Instagram following from his content that shares the ups and downs he experiences on his farm.
Millie, a sheep farmer based in Kent, who used to work in the public services but is now a shepherdess, was featured in a separate blog.
Sophie Mitchell-Smith, a cattle hoof trimmer based around Manchester who works with her father, starred in it recently.
And Rhi Pinches, a suckler beef and sheep farmer based in the Shropshire Hills, who works with her father on their family farm, was also featured.
Now in A-Plan Rural's latest, they spoke with Shirley McNiven, who runs a sheep and cattle farm in Aberdeenshire.
Shirley shared more about her background and journey into farming, the development of her first flock and offered advice to first generation farmers around the incredible reward but inevitable ups and downs that farming brings.
Read the full blog here.
