-Submitted photo
The Todd Family Farm includes three generations of farmers: Transplants from North Carolina, the family made their home in Tama and now seek to educate others about agriculture through YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

TAMA — Social media platforms allow individuals to offer glimpses of their lives to viewers around the world. People use social media to share their big life moments, political opinions, talents and more.

One Iowa family uses YouTube, Instagram and TikTok to educate others about agriculture and their way of life that stands out in today’s society.

The Todd Family Farm includes three generations of farmers: Adam and Jill, and their kids Jocelyn, Abigail, Emma, Izella, Eliza, Caroline and Lemuel, who range in age from eight to 15 with triplet 8-year-olds, and also Adam Todd’s parents, lovingly known as “Papa” and “Granny.”

Adam Todd moved to Tama from North Carolina in 1990, where his family farmed for 10 generations. They raised tobacco, corn, beans and hogs, functioning as some of the original feeders for Smithfield in the 1970s and were one of the original growers for Perdue, which required him to gather eggs daily from 17,000 hens and feed them into a machine that weighted and graded them.

“We farmed on the outskirts of Winston-Salem but it kept getting bigger and bigger with urban sprawl. People from the big city wanted to live in the country but didn’t like the sights and smells of the country so we moved west,” Adam Todd said. “Dad had grown up knowing Iowa was the place to farm, was ag friendly and the heart of the Corn Belt.”

-Submitted photo
The entire family helps on the Todd Family Farm. Pictured here on the tractor, from left, are Emma, Lemuel and Abigail Todd.

Adam Todd arrived in Iowa with his family when he was 7, right on the cusp of the farming crisis in the ’80s. It hit them harder in Iowa than others back in North Carolina. Jill Todd grew up on a farm in southern Illinois and the two met through the dating site farmersonly.com.

Today, the family farms 600 acres of corn and beans with a couple of hog houses. They used to raise cattle commercially but now focus on raising cattle and sheep for the kids to experience.

“We have four cows and a bull, and eight to 10 sheep at a time. We have 3,600 head of hogs right beside our houses. We are the closest people to our own hog houses, which is the respectable thing to do. They don’t smell but if they did, we’d be the first to notice it,” Adam Todd said.

The Todd kids are homeschooled and everyone starts their day around 4:30 a.m. They’ll check their tablets for assignments, enjoy a big breakfast together, then the three youngest start on homework while the older three head outside to tackle early morning chores first.

“The older girls head to the barn around 7:30 a.m. and spend 45 minutes there. Abbi is our sheep person, Jocelyn is our horse person and then Emma handles the cows, dogs and pitches in with whoever needs help,” Adam Todd said. “Then they do their schoolwork. They take core classes and classes that interest them. They’re fairly advanced and move on through their coursework at a good pace. They also play instruments.”

All seven kids utilize Christian-based homeschool curriculum that starts out with video lessons, followed by parent-supervised studies. Papa Todd helps the older kids get to their chores while Granny Todd assists during harvest, with the garden and the lawns.

Jill Todd tends to the home, helps with the farm and garden, but primarily cares for one of their children, who has cerebral palsy.

“Our main platform is YouTube. We do post some on Instagram and are venturing into TikTok ever so slightly. With YouTube, the name of the game is entertainment and it takes quite an investment,” Adam Todd said. “We have something that people want to watch including our lifestyle and our farm. We’re old-fashioned in many ways, but we’re also happy to have GPS and newer technology.”

The Todd’s second daughter Abbi has a strong interest in social media and video editing, so she’s taken on a bigger role on the family’s YouTube account.

“We like to keep things simple and we educate on the whole. By that, I mean observing as a whole over a long period of time gives people a way better understanding of farming and farm life. They can follow us through an entire year with a busy spring planting, busy summer and fall harvest. Then during the winter we’re chomping at the bit ready to go but we have to wait for spring and the weather to cooperate,” he noted.

YouTube viewers were fascinated when the family shared on YouTube the saga of a bloated calf.

An estimated 70,000 people watched how the Todds helped the animal.

“That video just exploded. For a lot of farmers, that’s nothing special, but for a lot of the world it is. They’re amazed. Those are teachable moments. The whole world is exposed to our simple lifestyle. A lot of people don’t know the intricacies of farm life, what we do and are intrigued to see it,” Adam Todd said. “We’re also unique in our farm life and in our faith. We like to share that with everyone who is interested in a glimpse of our life.”