Farmer Does a Little Dance and the World Gets Down With It

On December 30, Jay Lavery posted to Facebook, and suddenly the rest of the world saw a side of him that only his close friends had been privy to. Sia’s hit song, “Cheap Thrills” set the scene for this farmer to dance about his barn chores and tend to his goats before uploading to his social media account. With the click of a button, his popularity skyrocketed, as Lavery’s video has since been viewed 5.8 million times, shared more than 64,000 times, and generated 71,000 likes/reactions.

There’s a backstory to his post, however, that made his video post so on-point. The caption to his post reads: “It’s that time of the year for the Lets Move Challenge. Dancing is how I stay warm in the barn and I never know when I’m going to break out into a dance. But what most people don’t know is that 15 years ago I had a traumatic back injury that caused me to have several back surgeries including a discectomy and a spinal fusion and never ending back pain. Dancing along with yoga and meditation are my only alternatives to pain medication. So I hope this can inspire anyone to move in spite of pain and I hope this puts a smile on your face for the New Year.”

The proof is in the pudding…’er, video, as Lavery is clearly doing the best he can with his mix of self-care routines and it appealed to a large crowd whose comments show just how much his post has resonated with them. The activity on his Facebook page has been a twofold blessing. Joseph Erbentraut, contributor for the Huffington Post who has brought the story to further light, has identified that although Lavery is “thrilled that his video may have inspired the millions of people who have viewed it, he hopes viewers might also tune into the farm’s mission — to help bring about an American food system that is more sustainable once they learn more about the man behind the moves.” He adds that Lavery’s grand scheme (and a noble one it is) is to change the way people think about the food they’re eating. If nothing more, he’s changed the way they think about the American farmer that helps produce it!