The app is helpful for farmers, Tim Mickelson says
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A farmer has shared his concerns about lawmakers in Washington moving forward with a plan to ban a popular social media platform.
Tim Mickelson, who farms about 2,800 acres of land in Rolla, N.D., has more than 13,700 followers on his TikTok account, “@bisonaddict.”
He downloaded the app in 2018 and uses it to connect with other farmers and support the greater ag community.
But that could all come to an end.
On March 13, 2024, the House of Representatives passed a bill that puts an ultimatum on TikTok’s China-based company, ByteDance, citing national security concerns and risks to young users.
If the bill passes in the Senate and receives the president’s signature, ByteDance would have to sell or divest from TikTok within 180 days of the bill becoming law, or the app would be banned in the United States.
The app is already banned on government devices in 39 states.
Going after a social media platform when the country is facing other issues is what irks Mickelson.
“To me, it seems like more of a government overreach right now. We really can get together and put a bill together to ban TikTok really quickly, but we can’t do anything else in the U.S. House. And that bothers me,” he told KFYR. “It is the information and the access to information... that actually does help the Midwest producers.”
Research has shown TikTok can be beneficial for the ag industry.
A Penn State University study examined responses to climate change posts by farmers. The researchers found users responded to the videos with empathy.
And TikTok, like many social media sites, allows farmers and consumers to connect with one another.
This helps bridge the gap between rural and urban communities.
"When farmers and consumers can better understand each other, we can better foster innovation, increase food security, and enhance the adoption and diffusion of new techniques and markets that benefit all," Mark Brennan, a professor and UNESCO chair in community, leadership and youth development at Penn State University, said in an October 2023 article. "This empathy also shows that farmers and consumers are not that different and want the same things many times. Connecting with them builds understanding and breaks down the artificial divides that are often propagated in our society. We are better together in the end.”
And a public relations company encourages agribusinesses to use TikTok.
“TikTok has become a way for farmers and those in the agribusiness to showcase their lifestyle, products and make a personal connection with viewers while doing it,” a post on Shiftology Communication’s website says. “Regardless, TikTok is revolutionizing the app industry and it is time for agribusinesses to join!”
Anyone looking for U.S. ag accounts to follow on TikTok can try these six.