Riding for the brand

It’s common to see the entrance to a ranch with the cutout of a brand in an arch over the drive or mounted to posts along the side. If you drive into the ranch, you will most likely see that brand on saddles, cattle, coolers and barns. That brand is that ranch’s identity and legacy.

The practice of branding cattle and the American cowboy has deep roots in Kansas from the early cattle drives to Abilene to the cattle trucks backing up to the Bazaar Cattle pens along the Kansas Turnpike. Cattle are branded both to show and protect ownership. However, cattle rustlers are known to modify a brand using a “running brand” in which they use a simple hot brand to merge the letters or markings to change the brand. 

Riding for the brand is a familiar phrase in cowboy culture because it entails more than just a burned-in brand on a cow’s hide. It is a connection to an idea, to an identity, to a culture and to a purpose.

Although I’m not a cowboy, I grew up around some of the most legendary cowboys and cowgirls in Kansas since I live near the Flint Hills, which is a place synonymous with ranching. I admire them with deep respect so, as we formed Shop Kansas Farms (SKF) and our first Border Queen Harvest Hub (BQHH), developing a brand has been important.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and, if you think about a brand as a picture, the same could be applied; a brand represents a thousand words of hidden, but important, meaning.

First, of course, comes the visible logo. Jackie Patterson, a graphic designer from Anthony, created the Shop Kansas Farms logo for us. 

For the Border Queen Harvest Hub, Leah Sommerhoff of Caldwell created it for us. We love them both.

If those brands do represent a thousand words, what are we trying to communicate?

Here are some of the hidden principles that guide us behind the scenes as we conceptualize what we want our brand to communicate.

Trust. We have worked hard to create trust for both groups we represent; those who sell food and those who buy food. For example, all of the farmers, ranchers and growers who are allowed to advertise on our Facebook group must first be listed on our website and we verify their licenses before we let them post. While you, as the consumer may not realize we do that, it’s important to us that you can trust we’ve done our due diligence.

Civility. Facebook has been a popular connector for both producers and consumers, and since it’s a social media platform, it could be a wild-west rodeo of hostility and vitriol. However, we have worked diligently to maintain civil discourse and the way we have done that is by establishing rules for engagement and we’ve stuck to them. We frequently receive compliments from people who are grateful we have not let it degenerate into a combative, hostile environment.

Community. We understand, and build upon, the idea that we are creating a community of shared interests, values and expectations.

Consistency. From the day Shop Kansas Farms began on April 28, 2020, during the height of the pandemic, we have remained consistent to our mission to connect you to the wonderful farm and ranch families of Kansas so you can purchase the food they raise. However, some have taken issue with us about that and wanted to make it a place to buy and sell farm equipment, livestock, hay, and other farm or ranch related items. But we’ve stuck by our mission to make it about food raised on Kansas farms.

A digital hub to a local food system. A food system is made up of three basic components: production, processing and distribution. I had been working on developing a local food system model for nearly a decade before I launched SKF and one of the needs I saw was that of a digital hub to connect all three components. 

While I didn’t intend to do that when I launched SKF, I did realize a few days in that I had actually created it. If you look at each of the posts on our Facebook, you will see it connects the producer, processor and distribution method. For example, farmer A will post, “I have hogs (production) going to XYZ locker (processing) tomorrow and you can pick them up when they’re done (distribution).”

From those of us who move both SKF and BQHH forward, maintaining the messaging and integrity of our brand is baked into every conversation and decision we make.

We are riding for the brand and ask you to ride along with us.

Here are some ways you can ride for our brand.

1. Purchase products from our farmers, ranchers and growers.
2. Invite your friends to join our Facebook page.
3. Share our Facebook posts.
4. Sign up for our newsletter. You can go to our website and it will automatically ask you if you want to subscribe.
5. Follow along on our blogs and share them with family and friends.

Let’s saddle up and ride!