Feb 09, 2024
By Rick McNary
When I launched the Shop Kansas Farms (SKF) Facebook group during the pandemic, I had one purpose: To connect you to the wonderful farm and ranch families of Kansas so you can purchase the food they raise.
Facebook required me to list at least one rule, so I made one: Be nice and share or else you’ll end up in timeout.
We grew to more than 50,000 members in the first week as people ran to the site to find meat, eggs, milk, vegetables and a variety of other food items sold off farms. The rule about being nice and sharing was not enough. Social media can become a hateful place as keyboard warriors, like coiled rattlesnakes, sink their venomous fangs into unsuspecting prey.
I felt like a little kid who was walking in front of a dam, saw a plug sticking out and thought to myself, “Hmm, I wonder what will happen if I yank on this?” Well, I yanked, the dam burst and I was drowning.
Fortunately, two friends at Kansas Farm Bureau, Meagan Cramer and Nancy Brown, rescued me. Without their support and guidance, SKF would have been a train wreck.
We set up processes where we could look at a post before we let it through, set up a list of rules that guided us and the public, which became critical for maintaining the vision of the group.
In addition, we created a list of keywords that automatically flagged comments we knew would start a fight.
We used three leadership principles I had learned on how to guide people from chaos, confusion or conflict and into unity.
Stay true to the vision
From the beginning, we endeavored to stay true to the original vision. To connect you to the wonderful farm and ranch families of Kansas so you can purchase the food they raise.
Staying true to that vision has been critical to establishing a trusted brand. With a name like Shop Kansas Farms, many farmers naturally thought they could sell live animals, equipment, feed, non-food items made on the farm like soaps and a host of other things that seemed to make sense but were not food for human consumption.
Define roles
We defined two groups of people who use the Facebook group – sellers and buyers.
Establish policies and processes
We established the following policies and processes.
- Stay on topic (buying/selling food from Kansas farms). We approve posts focused on finished food products from Kansas farms (including posts about successful purchases). No spam. No politics. Live animal posts and some other kinds go only on our website.
- Sellers must be listed on the SKF website. We have a new website and map so we need you to list your business on there, even if you already had it listed on the old one. Go to www.shopkansasfarms.com and find "Sell." This is a requirement for existing and new sellers. From now on, each time you list you must say, "You can find us on the new Shop Kansas Farms website map/directory."
- No photos of live animals. Facebook's rules state: "Animal for sale: Selling animals isn't allowed on Marketplace or buy and sell groups. This includes posting about animals for adoption." No photos of live animals, please.
- Sellers: List your Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) license number. If you are selling beef and pork with individual cuts, you must list your KDA license number in your post.
- Buyers SEARCH first (please tell us if you have). If you're looking for something, please check the Shop Kansas Farms website first and go to "View Map". Sellers are listed there. If you've searched the site and can't find what you need, please state in your post, "I've searched the Shop Kansas Farms website map/directory and can't find what I'm looking for."
- Be nice, our posts are civil and not critical. Prices and reviews speak for themselves without commentary. If you see something you don’t agree with, move on.
- Foul language will not be tolerated. We want this group to be enjoyable for all. Pretend like you are speaking to your grandma (if your grandma cusses like a sailor, consider how you would talk to a 5-year-old who repeats everything).
- We educate ourselves and stay legal. We provide a wealth of information in our Units section on what is legal in Kansas. It is your responsibility as a seller or buyer to do your due diligence and be informed.
Some folks think the rules don’t apply to them and if they push it, we remove them.
Others complain about censorship and lack of free speech. I tell them to start their own group and say anything they like, but not in our group. I liken it to my home: if I invite you in, and you mark on the walls, cuss my wife or kick my dog, I will invite you to leave. It has nothing to do with free speech; it has everything to do with respect.
I’ve learned a lot through this process of watching the Shop Kansas Farms Facebook group grow and flourish. Even when the frustration made me question my decision to keep it moving forward, seeing the connections between growers and consumers has made it all worthwhile.
If you aren’t on the Shop Kansas Farms Facebook group, I encourage you to join today so you can connect to the wonderful farm and ranch families of Kansas and purchase the food they raise.