Farm School’d reconnects younger generation to agriculture

Kubota is reaching out to younger generations with a docu-series that Lucas Mack hopes will reconnect practical farming and life skills that once were a given.

Mack is senior director of brand for Kubota North America, which is based in Grapevine, Texas. Through its dealer network in the High Plains, Kubota sells compact and utility equipment for residential, small farmers, specialty crops, construction, and lawn and garden use.

Farm School’d offers skill sets designed for younger Americans. Mack is also an executive producer for the series. The docu-series campaign focuses on Kubota’s mission to help people return to the land and reclaim skills through farming, gardening, homesteading and related activities.

The four-part docu-series “Farm School’d” is produced by FARMUSE and hosted by Taylor Moran, a content creator, homeschool educator and founder of The Natural State School in Arkansas. The series, underwritten by Kubota, explores farm-based learning through the stories of families and educators connecting students to the land through animal care, growing food, tending gardens and hands-on projects at multiple farm school locations.

Farm School’d provides standalone documentary content. The intent is to tell stories about people returning to the land. Mack likes the stewardship angle that Moran shares with those who watch it.

“Today’s students may become tomorrow’s agricultural professionals, farmers, ranchers or gardeners,” Mack said. “Through community initiatives and educational partnerships, Kubota supports opportunities that help young people develop practical skills and an appreciation for the responsibility of caring for the land. We support ‘Farm School’d’ because it spotlights the thoughtful, future-focused leaders in farming and rural communities who are doing this important work and inspiring more families to become land stewards.”

Mack has worked with and for several large companies, including Microsoft, Netflix, T-Mobile, Costco, Starbucks and Google.

Mack said joining Kubota about three years ago was a natural fit.

“I wanted to work at a company that had a product that you could trust,” Mack said. Because of his experience with technology companies, he is often asked about artificial intelligence and its impact on humans.

Mack said that when considering the success of past generations, it is important to look at what today’s generations might have missed because of advances in technology.

“The Greatest Generation (men and women born between 1901 to 1927) knew how to read a tape measure and frame a house,” Mack said, adding those skills were less common in each generation that followed.

Mack also has found anecdotal evidence that younger parents are looking for ways to reconnect with life skills and believe being outside helps them and their children become better human beings.

“For many of these families, it’s getting their children outside in all elements, learning nature’s lifecycle and seasonal lifecycle,” Mack said, noting that one woman he talked to had a son with a serious ailment and she opted to put him in a school that emphasized farm skills.

The woman told Mack, “His behavior has changed and it’s changed our family. He’s well-behaved. I remembered asking her, ‘what do you credit that to?’” he said, adding she responded, “Honestly, I think just being outside.”

To Mack, that confirmed what he thought was right about learning life skills. His role at Kubota gives him a connection to what his company can do to help promote life skills.

“We want them to be fully equipped humans who can return to the land with a purpose,” Mack said.

Mack has taken note of Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms in Virginia, who has been a prominent voice in advocating that families can develop life skills on as little as a half-acre.

Mack appreciated of the enthusiastic support he has from Kubota’s management. Farm School’d can be a conduit to their shared vision of making Kubota a household name, Mack said. The stories in the docu-series are not designed to be a Kubota commercial, but the featured people are important to the company because they believe it is important to return to the land.

“It’s authentic and true as it can be because we didn’t reshoot it,” Mack said. “This is a really beautiful docu-series.”

At the end of segments, the series encourages viewers to visit a Kubota dealer, which Mack said is important because it is the local dealer that provides sales, parts and service. When a customer is successful, so is the dealer.

Mack believes the docu-series has the makings of a signature piece for the Kubota network.

“This show has legs that go far beyond this first season, but we are committed to telling more stories of people returning to the land,” Mack said.

He said future stories could include the production of maple syrup, wheat and other crops. He could also see people who work with cattle, hogs and other livestock being featured.

Mack said great storytelling has a focus on perseverance and rank-and-file citizens who at times overcome difficult circumstances to fulfill a dream.

Watch “Farm School’d” on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@FARMSCHOOLD.

Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].