Sonne Farms produces cattle, crops, videos

This is the peak time of year for Sonne Farms, near Mount Vernon, South Dakota.

Sure, they’re busy making hay and moving cattle. They’re also busy producing something else: videos. And on the Sonne Farms YouTube channel, it’s the videos of them haying season that are the most popular.

Fourth generation farmer Cole Sonne will talk about his experience sharing videos from the farm during Dakotafest in Mitchell. He’ll be at the education building 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, with a meet and greet to follow.

Sonne, 27, has farmed with his dad, Brian, for five years, having joined the family farm after graduating from South Dakota State University. He started his YouTube channel a couple years before that. He has close to 1,000 videos posted and 312,000 subscribers, but it started off slow.

In his first year of producing videos, he got a check for about $100.

“I went out and bought some socks,” he said.

With more videos and more views over the years, the video business has turned into a way for his family farm to support a second income. His monthly income from the videos helped his cash flow when the opportunity to rent some nearby farm ground came up.

“It snowballed into something worth my while,” he said.

It does take a while to make the videos. Stopping the tractor to move the camera for a different angle and explain his tasks adds to chore time. Editing takes another few hours, and then there’s replying to comments and emails.

“It definitely adds time to my day,” he said. “But it’s worth it.”

Sonne typically posts three videos a week and aims to make them entertaining for his audience. Along with haying season, viewers tend to like watching when something goes wrong – equipment breakdowns or cows jumping fences.

Sonne guesses that about a third of his audience lives in a town or city and doesn’t often get the chance to experience farm life. It gives him the opportunity to advocate for agriculture.

“There are a lot of people out there against agriculture, and some of them are very loud on the internet,” he said. “It’s helpful to show what’s happening on the farm and show we really do care about our animals. We have a fiscal reason to take care of our animals and we have a moral reason.”

Sonne Farms raises black Angus bulls to sell private treaty in addition to growing hay, corn and soybeans. Cole is married to Tiffany Sonne, who works at BankWest. They have one son, Reid, who is less than a year old.

It’s not uncommon for Sonne Farm’s virtual tractor ride-alongs to turn into an in-person meeting. With the operation close to Interstate 90, viewers drive up to say hello or purchase Sonne Farms swag at a gas station and farm supply store the Sonnes own a few miles away.

This June a fan made a slow crawl by as the Sonnes were chopping rye for silage. It was a farmer from West Virginia, and with the Sonne crew short a truck driver, he was invited to spend a few hours helping out and starring in a video.

“It was pretty cool that a guy from 14 hours away got to be a part of it,” Sonne said.

He’s hoping local fans will stop by to say hello at Dakotafest. The farm show is an annual staple for Sonne and his family.

“I enjoy getting to see local friends and the good food there, checking out the new equipment and maybe some deals” he said.