For this week’s Deep Dive Series we are interviewing Blake Wright, the creator behind @WrightFamilyFarms!
The Wright family has a small farm in North Carolina, and for the last two years they have showcased what their normal day looks like at the farm, featuring their lovely cattle and their dynamic as a family. We explore what makes Wright Family Farm special, their history and the message they are trying to portray through their Clapper account. Keep on reading to deep dive into Wright Family Farm’s lifestyle.
I understand that Wright Family Farm has been around since 1908. Tell us a little bit about the history of your family farm? When did you begin managing it?
Actually, I’m assisting my father with the farm, he was been a tobacco farmer his whole life and due to some recent health issues he hasn’t been able to do that. So, we transitioned to working with our cattle. My family has farmed tobacco for over a 100 years, pre-civil war, that’s as far as we can trace our roots. Farming has always been good to me and my family. I got into it about two years ago. Me and my wife lived in a subdivision and we didn’t really like it and about two years we built our house here at the farm.
How does your daily routine look like at the farm?
On the farm, the first thing in the morning in the summertime is a little easier with animals than it is in the winter. Every day we get to feed them, take care of them and make sure they get what they needed. But this time of year we got calves starting to be born, so we have to get out here and check in all the mommas, run fences and make sure they’re straight. In about a few weeks, we will have a hay season and getting ready for winter. It’s hectic, everyday is something. Something always breaks, something doesn’t run like it should. You all got glitches, we got farm glitches!
What differentiates your farm from others? What makes you guys special?
Honestly, I am just like every other small farm that’s out there. It sounds bad to say it that way but, as a beef producer, 83% of beef that people eat comes from farms of 50 cows or less. The thing that sets us apart, I guess, is the history of the farm. We’ve never done anything like higher education on agriculture. Everything we’re doing is stuff that’s passed down from generation to generation. We’re just taking it day by day and doing things that have always worked for us.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned as a family and as a business working at Wright Family Farm? Stay after that goal.
The biggest business aspect is not to give up. When you have frustration and things come up and don’t work like they should, you gotta keep an eye on the goal. That’s not even for the farm, that’s life. I got a little hashtag, I use it all the time: #Stayafterit. Keep moving forward and stay after that goal.
The family aspect is important as well. You can’t make it in the farm without the support of your family. My wife supports me more than anyone as far as being out here taking care of my dad and the animals. I’m trying to get my kids into it as well. That’s the key, you have to have that engagement with your family. You gotta have that strong support structure around you.
When did your journey on social media began? When did Clapper join the equation?
I started social media on Tiktok about two years ago, it was 60 second videos and I couldn’t figure out how to make that work. To me, Clapper gave me 3 minutes and that worked good for me better. It just started something to kill time in the winter and now is about trying to spread an informed, positive message to other people in the world about farm life.
What do you enjoy most about Clapper?
I enjoyed that I can do 3-minute-videos. The lives and the radio are amazing, there are great creators out there. @MagicMindset runs a great radio broadcast, @GrowFoodNOW, @SaltyBeardo, @TexasAttitude, among others. Its just the amazing community that you can build here. Clapper has everything that Tik Tok has, but more, because of the amount of growth that you all have.
In what ways do you feel Clapper needs improvement?
I think Clapper should fix the errors at hand before they try spand. I think that’s why we get a lot of glitches, because we are trying to improve, and that’s good, but there are still issues that need fixing before moving forward.
Here at Clapper our mission and slogan is to “Be heard. Be seen. Be valued.” How do you feel Clapper has helped your business in that way?
Honestly, just getting our name out there. It has given us a platform to put a positive farm message forward and that to me is more valuable than any kind of profit that would come from doing this type of platform. This is to show people that small farms like us, not these big corporations, are the ones where the business is coming from. It’s been a positive way to put a message forward about the animals and how much we care for them. Clapper gives me that ability to push my farm forward and be seen.
What are your goals and aspirations for Wright Farms?
Currently, this is my part time job that I enjoy. My goal is that in my retirement we’ll have, not so much a truly self sufficient operation, but we’ll be set to where I can make a profit from it and spend the rest of my days enjoying out here in god’s creation with the animals.
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