Social media users eager for a sunflower selfie are helping to sustain this Australian farm

Social media users eager to take photos with blooming sunflowers are buying tickets to a Western Australian farm.

Highlights: An Australian sunflower farm- Occidentale has turned paddocks into event space and sells tickets to the publicTickets add value to conventional farming practicesAll tickets sold out as the community showed their support for the farm's niche concept on the Instagram page of the closes.

She said tickets sold out quickly this year and the business has flourished.

"He was definitely acting to add value, so we thought we'd open up to the general public and see if the demand was there," she said.

" [It was] a sold-out event faster than we had originally anticipated, which was amazing."

< figure clas s="HTQDr _8ohDw yvdCO IfoSG" role="group" data-print="inline-media" aria-labelledby= "101897114" data-component="Figure" data-uri="coremedia://imageproxy/101897114"> Social media offered Ms. MacGregor the opportunity to rebrand the farmhouse as an event space. (Supplied: Casey MacGregor)

Mrs. MacGregor runs the farm with her husband, producing a variety of black oilseed sunflowers.

The prevalence of social media gave him the opportunity to rebrand the farm as an event space.

"It was something we had been thinking about for quite a while and then we saw the gap in the market to open ourselves up and try something new," she said.< /p>

"It was more for us to find a niche market and to bring something to people that I had seen on social media and on Instagram of people really enjoying this farming experience.

"Whether it's TikTok or Instagram or whatever whatever platform they use, I think people like to share their lives, journeys and things through social media."

Mrs. MacGregor operates the family sunflower farm with her husband. (Provided: Casey MacGregor)

Conventional Farming vs Paid Experience

This year the team changed the look of the paddock to match the expectations of the space event.

"Rather than a full crop, it was more of a crop display this year," Ms. MacGregor said.

Despite the success of the new venture, Mrs. MacGregor still grows sunflowers the conventional way.

"They're two very different concepts [but] I think that they hold up," she said.

"I think the opportunities are endless for something like this and we just have to keep adapting and grow with people's demand."