As nature intended! Farmers show their wild side as they strip off for naked photo shoot

Horse lovers frolicking in fields and harvesters bathing in the bush have been posing for pictures as nature intended for The Naked Farmer.

The saucy snaps started off as a bit of fun, but are now being used to promote what goes on behind the scenes to fill supermarket shelves with food.

The Naked Farmer was born in May last year when Ben Brooksby, who lives on an arable farm in Wimmera, Western Victoria, Australia, took up a challenge from a friend to upload a nude picture of himself on his land.

Hype soon followed, with young farmers joining in and sending over their own candid snaps.

The quirky – and cheeky – images soon started attracting thousands of likes each.

And while it started off as a light-hearted Instagram account to put a smile on the faces of viewers, Ben then thought he would use the power of the internet for good.

Writing on his website, Ben said: “I soon realised that people take notice of these images which gave me the opportunity to give recension to the issue of mental illness and to teach the consumer about their food and fibre.

“For a long time, there has been a growing disconnect between the people growing our food and fibre to the end consumer. I want to shorten that gap by using social media as a platform.

“We all go day by day trying to make a buck, you pop by your favourite café to grab a coffee yet people don’t actually stop and think about where their food really comes from. Some don’t even know that milk comes from a cow, or coffee actually comes from a plant.

The Naked Farmer wants to change this by attracting peoples attention using our images, to further extend their knowledge and learn what the farmers do best, which is producing food for you, your family and the world.”

As well as explaining where food comes from, Ben wanted to highlight the issue of mental illness within the agricultural industry, which often goes undiagnosed and under the radar, meaning suicide rates are higher than any other industry in Australia. It is similarly high in the UK.

He added: “Encouraging people to talk in rural communities is hard, as there are not enough opportunities to get help in these areas, and finding time to travel to the nearest city to get help is often extremely hard. 

“Of course we know it’s tough to talk about but we all need to learn, that it is okay, to not be okay and that we should all talk to one another about our issues and stress.”