Ffion Hooson was a regular college student surrounded by young people when she was 18. That all changed when her dad suffered a stroke, leaving her no choice but to run the family farm on the outskirts of Denbigh.
Although Ffion studied agriculture in college, she had not been heavily involved in the industry until her father's illness. Four years after her dad's stroke, Ffion's day now involves milking and looking after 100 sheep and cows.
She is not alone in her journey, with thousands following her on the social media platform Instagram. She said that taking care of the farm was a big responsibility as it was like she was thrown in at the deep end.
Transitioning to farming was very hard for Ffion
She added that it was tough because she was not involved much with the farm growing up. Ffion said she had not learned quite enough to know exactly what she was doing, so when she was thrown in, she had to pick up all the skills and do it herself.
Ffion's typical day starts with her milking at a neighboring farm. She then heads back to her 180-acre home at Segrwyd Isaf to feed 70 cows and 30 sheep. Even with all this work, Ffion still manages to make some time for social media, according to the Free Library.
She said that connecting with people online in the middle of this has been essential for her. Ffion noted that the impact of working alone for hours on end had taken its toll on her.
She said that it was a big jump, a lonely job, and a struggle to be constantly on her own. She added that she uses social media a lot, sharing with her followers her farming journey by posting pictures and the things she does in her everyday life.
Ffion gets needed support from her social media followers
She said that she had grown a big following on social media. Many people are following her journey at the farm and learning stuff with her along the way. Ffion said she had made friends from that, and she gets to talk to people on social media and learn things from them. She also follows quite a few big farmers, so they get to talk through that, and it takes away her loneliness.
Ffion has amassed 5,000 followers on Instagram, and she also uses other social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to connect with people, according to BBC News.
She also found on social media the mental health charity DPJ Foundation, which was set up back in 2016 after the death of Pembrokeshire farmer Daniel Picton-Jones.
She said that she had followed them for quite a while now, and she tweeted back in 2019 to tell them about her struggles and pressure. They soon reached out to her, making her feel that she was not alone and that it was OK to talk.
