During the 2016 harvest, Brian Wahlbrink, CFO and co-owner of Sperry Farms, Denair, and member of the Almond Board of California (ABC) Board of Directors, wanted to share his experience with those outside of the almond industry — so he took to Instagram. Wahlbrink didn’t grow up on a farm, so his family and friends don’t know much about what he does on a daily basis. Posting about his experience on Instagram was a great way to share what harvest is like from a grower’s point of view.
“I’m originally from southern California, so I’m a bit of a city-and-suburb boy,” explained Wahlbrink. “During harvest, more than anything, I had a really good time showing all my family and friends what goes on every single day. As growers, we get busy and don’t always get the chance to talk with our family and friends, but I can still show them what I’m involved with by posting about it on Instagram.”
Recording, Sharing Harvest Activities
Each day that Wahlbrink was in the orchard during harvest, he would take a photo or short video to showcase each stage of harvest. He’d then write an informative post to share with his audience of family, friends and other industry members. Wahlbrink’s goal was to tell a story each day from his farm, something he encourages other growers to do as well.
“It’s just a matter of making time to take a quick photo while in the orchard and creating a post with it,” said Wahlbrink. “It was really cool because I was having conversations with friends and family who saw my posts all throughout harvest, and they were really starting to speak the almond grower language. It turned out to be a good opportunity to show the grower life, day-to-day, during harvest, and help educate those outside of the almond industry.”
Wahlbrink first posted about harvest in 2016, but he doesn’t plan to stop there. He plans to continue posting about what’s happening in his orchard, highlighting each stage of growing almonds on his operation.
“When I posted this year, it was like Almond Harvest 101,” Wahlbrink noted. “The posts were definitely more for those who aren’t growers or farmers. Next year, I’ll go into more detail on the different parts of the process. I hope that if other growers see how I’ve posted my experience on Instagram, they’ll do something similar to continue to show those within and outside of the industry what really goes on in an almond orchard.”
To learn more and follow along with Wahlbrink’s orchard, go to Instagram.com or visit the Instagram app and search @b_wahly.
