What started off as an idea by the Farmers Journal’s Peter Young, the ‘felfie’ has gone on to become a social media sensation worldwide.

For the uninitiated, a felfie is a self-taken photo on a farm.

Irish farmers sent their photos into the Farmers Journal before Christmas as part of a Facebook competition, but now the trend has become popular with farmers in the United States, Canada, Finland and Australia.

Grain farmer Brendan Taylor told ABC Southern Queensland that the felfie is: “An easy way to have a bit of fun and celebrate life on the land.”

In a blog for the Guardian, Wisconsin farmer Carrie Mess claims that the felfie trend is helping consumers understand where their food comes from. British farmer Will Wilson has set up a site dedicated to featuring felfies, www.farmingselfie.com

His site is now very popular in a wide range of countries, including Norway, France, Germany, Belgium and Japan. The winning picture of the Farmers Journal felfie competition was PJ Ryan from Tipperary with his Saler cattle.

The picture has been cropping up on news websites all over the world, including France’s Midi Libre, Spain’s Corriere Della Serra and Canada’s Toronto Star.