David Brandt, the famous man behind the “honest work farmer” meme, died in Ohio this week. The prominent farmer’s image became an internet hit in 2018, and now he’s the latest of many high-profile deaths that occurred in 2023.
The Ohio farmer became famous all over the world when an image of him was used in a meme that went viral. The image, which was originally posted by the US Department of Agriculture back in 2014 after an interview with Brandt, first blew up in 2018 on Reddit. At the time, the user Pettergra posted it on /r/MemeEconomy, receiving over 18,000 upvotes fairly quickly. The meme, which is used as a response to someone, was often featured as a joke, explaining that the person using it didn’t do much work at all, but at least did something.
Now, the famous farmer has died at the age of 76 in Ohio due to complications from a car accident that happened last week. Brandt's famous quote was originally from 2012, when he made a comment at the Natural Resources Conservation Service event, which happened on his farm, saying “It ain’t much, but it's honest work" without knowing how this phrase would blow up on Reddit later.
Brandt was a farmer from Fairfield County, Ohio. He served in Vietnam back in the 60s and when he came back, he then started a farm where he lived with his wife Kendra, who also passed away recently. Curiously, Brandt was also famous outside of the internet. He was considered a real-life farming legend by many of his peers due to his work with no-till farming, which is a technique that does not disturb the soil when planting crops. According to reports, he was nationally known among farmers due to his defense of sustainable agriculture, as well as his vast knowledge and consistent application of soil health techniques.
2023 has been unfortunately filled with the deaths of high-profile figures who were loved by many people. Around two months ago, the famous actor Lance Reddick died at age 60. He was popular in the gaming community for his work with Destiny 2, where he voiced Commander Zavala. Reddick also appeared in several movies and TV shows, including The Wire, John Wick: Chapter 4, and others. Both Lance Reddick and David Brandt will be remembered for years to come, either for their work or for the fame they received online.
Source: Ohio's Country Journal