published on October 12, 2017 - 2:40 PM
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Most people working in and around farms will tell you that farmers are a breed apart whom city dwellers don’t tend to understand.
That notion prompted three brothers from Kansas in 2012 to make the first of several music videos parodying music hits by replacing the words with positive messages about farming and the people involved in that work.
Eldest brother Greg Peterson, 26, said the idea stemmed from a decision he had in college to educate his city friends about farm life, and his brothers Nathan, 24, and Kendal, 21, were more than willing join in the performing.
“We set the camera up on the tripod, and we filmed ourselves. Our sister helped some,” Greg Peterson recounted in a phone interview. “We just posted it on YouTube and Facebook, and our friends shared it from there.”
That first song, “I’m Farming and I Grow It” – a parody of “I’m Sexy and I Know It” – got a million hits on YouTube in a matter of days, and less than a week after it was posted online, Greg, Nathan and Kendal were invited to New York to appear cable’s “Fox & Friends television show.
Since then, the brothers – now known professionally as the “Peterson Farm Brothers” –have continued to produce and post online more farm parody videos that include “Chore,” a parody of Katy Perry’s “Roar,” and their biggest online hit to date, “Farmer Style,” a parody of Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” that has more than 17 million YouTube views.
And in between making more videos and helping run their family’s farm, the Peterson Brothers have been seeing the world, as they’ve been asked to speak at and perform at events across the U.S. and overseas – most involving farming and the agriculture industry.
One of those public appearances the Petersons will be at is the Madera County Farm Bureau’s Harvest Celebration and Annual Meeting on Oct. 15.
The three brothers will perform some of their songs there and will be the keynote speakers.
“They’ve been doing this for a few years now, the farm parodies, and they‘ve gained some notoriety on Facebook and YouTube, and we heard about them, so we kind of thought it would be cool to get them here for our annual dinner. It’s kind of different to have somebody like them perform for us,” said Jay Mahil, a farmer and president of the Farm Bureau.
And certainly, with ag being the Valley’s main industry, there should be plenty of people here among the Peterson Farm Brothers’ fan base, he said.
“I think with social media, everybody knows them.”
Greg Peterson, who rewrites the songs and edits the videos, noted that he and his musically-inclined brothers have made 14 music videos, along with 100 more videos in which they show discuss farm life and how to do things on a farm.
“We’re trying t address the common misconceptions of farms. Some people think farmers are stupid, that faming is simple, that farming should be done in specific ways, just because most people these days don‘t have a connection to the farm,” he said.
“That leads to political consequences,” with laws passed that counter farmers’ needs because lawmakers and the people supporting them don’t understand farming, Greg Peterson said.
He said the brothers are trying to change that through videos that share the truth about farmers and are funny, as well as through their discussions and speeches when they make personal appearances.
“I think if farmers and we in the agricultural industry are not proactive about sharing our stories and answering questions, we are putting ourselves at risk of losing our influence and our ability to provide for the world,” said Peterson, a fifth-generation farmer.
The first year after their first video hit big on YouTube and they appeared on “Fox and Friends,” the brothers didn’t do personal appearances, but that changed in the second year, when they made appearances across the U.S. and Canada.
“People love hearing our story,” he said, after noting that he’d probably told of how he had the idea to write parody videos and how he and his brothers went on to make them about 5,000 times.
These days, the brothers appear at 30 to 40 events a year, including one in Australia. Gregg added that he makes some appearances on his own, about 40 more a year, including one in South Africa.
“We performed before a group of 4,000 young farmers in Germany,” he said. “4,000 people our age and farmers. That was very exciting.”
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Photo above contributed: From left to right, brothers Nathan, Greg and Kendall Peterson at their family’s Kansas Farm. The three have become YouTube sensation singing and filming farm-themed music parodies, and they will perform Oct. 15 at the Madera County Farm Bureau’s Harvest Celebration and Annual Meeting.
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How to attend
What: Madera County Farm Bureau’s Harvest Celebration and Annual Meeting
When: Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 15.
Where: Eastman Hall at the Chowchilla Fairgrounds, 1000 S. 3rd St., Chowchilla.
Admission: $60 in advance, $75 day of event
To get tickets, call 674-8871. Tickets can be purchased at the door, if they still are available.
Note: The event will feature YouTube celebrities, the Peterson Farm Brothers performing and speaking. Awards for agriculturist of the year and educator of the year also will be given out.
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Watch the videos
To find out more about the Peterson Farm Brothers, visit their website at www.petersonfarmbrothers.com or their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PetersonFarmBros.
To watch their videos, go to www.youtube.com/petersonfarmbros.
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Lyrics to I’m “Farming and I Grow It” (sung to the tune of “Sexy and I Know It”)
When I’m up at seven, the sunrise gives me a glimpse of heaven
I get right to work, a farmer’s life can be a little berserk yeah
This is how I roll, I feed the cattle till their stomachs are full
Treat em right, that’s my belief,
What’s for dinner? I say beef!
Gotta Feed Everybody
Gotta Feed Everybody
Gotta Feed Everybody
(Uh-Huh) I work out (side!)
When I step to the bunk (yeah)
This is what I see (Uh-huh)
All the hungry cattle are staring at me
I got passion for my plants and I ain’t afraid to show it show it show it show it
I’m farming and I grow it
When I’m in my tractor, I got more power than an arc reactor
And when I’m in the field, I try to raise crops to maximum yield
This is how I roll, without me the world would be outta control
The hours I work, there is no equal
Gotta feed the mouths of hungry people
Gotta Feed Everybody
Gotta Feed Everybody
Gotta Feed Everybody
(Uh-Huh) I work out (side!)
When I step to the bunk (yeah)
This is what I see (Uh-huh)
All the hungry cattle are staring at me
I got passion for my plants and I ain’t afraid to show it show it show it show it
I’m farming and I grow it
Water, water, water, water, water, yeah
Water, water, water, water, water, yeah
Water, water, water, water, water, yeah
Water, water, water, water, yeah, yeah
Cattle need water man,
Crops need water man,
We all need water man!
I’m Farming and I Grow it!
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