Land O’Lakes Gives Old MacDonald a Makeover: “She-I-O”

Look out Old MacDonald, the girls are running the farm.

As an effort to recognize female farmers on Women’s Equality Day, Land O’Lakes recently launched a new version of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” appropriately naming it “She-I-O.”

Rewritten by artist Maggie Rose and Grammy Award-winning Warner/Chappel songwriter Liz Rose, “She-I-O” has taken social media by storm, garnering more than 70,000 views and 2,100 shares on Facebook alone and 27,000 on YouTube.

"'She-I-O' serves as a rallying cry for women breaking stereotypes, not just in dairy farming, but in every industry," Maggie Rose said.

Maggie Rose, who agreed to partner with Land O’Lakes for “She-I-O,” has recently been named one of YouTube’s Emerging Artists and has emerged on Pandora’s Artist to Watch 2018 list.

“Like so many of us, I grew up singing 'Old MacDonald' when I was young," said Maggie Rose. "Where you hear the lines 'on his farm' and 'he had a cow,' it's nice to finally add in the other half of the population."

Maggie’s counterpart, Liz Rose, has also had a successful musical career, writing Taylor Swift's "Fearless," Little Big Town's "Girl Crush," Carrie Underwood's "Cry Pretty" and Kenny Chesney's "Better Boat." “She-I-O” can now be added to this list.

“We're honored to work with Maggie Rose and Liz Rose, both of whom embody the boldness, strength and grit reflective of the female farmers who make up the Land O'Lakes cooperative," said Anna Squibb, senior manager, integrated marketing, dairy foods retail at Land O'Lakes.

Also featured in the video was Candice Dotterer along with her sister Amanda and cousin Lori. Dotterer, who is now the manager of her 900-cow operation in Mill Hall, Penn., gave a behind the scenes look at life as a female dairy farmer.

"We are excited to be rewriting history and championing female farmers and women in all industries who are breaking glass ceilings and changing stereotypes," Squibb said.

As part of Land O’Lakes new All Together Better Initiative program, which includes a partnership with Feeding America, Land O'Lakes will donate $1 to Feeding America for every share, tag or comment on any of the "She-I-O" music video content on Land O'Lakes social channels, as well as the "She-I-O" music track, available on SoundCloud and iTunes, up to $100,000.

Also debuting as part of the All Together Better initiative is a three-part documentary series called In Their Words, produced by The Female Farmer Project, which chronicles the personal stories of some of these Land O'Lakes farmers. With women comprising approximately one-third of all U.S. farmers, In Their Words was created to celebrate these fearless females and create a dialogue around the importance of their role in the food chain, according to Land O’Lakes.

"I'm passionate about the message at the forefront of 'She-I-O,' which celebrates the power of inclusivity and the role women play in modern farming,” Maggie Rose said.

Towards the end of the music video, the female farmers stand together and a powerful statement appears: “We rewrote this song for the women rewriting the rules.”

Empowering female farmers across the nation, the lyrics send a message to females young and old.

“She’s got the future in her hands. She’s proud her roots are where she stands.”

To watch the full music video, watch below.

To watch a Live Q & A of the #AllBetterTogether Movement, click here.