Rick McNary

Amie Brunkow of Alta Vista doesn’t set out to shatter stereotypes on purpose, but she does.

“I grew up as a military brat and had never even been on a farm,” Amie says. “But in 2017, my husband at the time who had grown up on a hobby farm, purchased 160 acres and started our own farm. I loved the idea of growing all our own food whether it was plants or animals, so we had chickens, ducks, goats, lambs, beef and a garden. We were getting ready to take our cattle to a local locker for processing and that’s when I began to understand how difficult some processors were to work with.”

Brandi Buzzard wants people to stop blaming cows for global warming. She also wants people to not be afraid of their food. Therefore, this cowgirl from eastern Kansas has gained a national platform to clarify the confusion, myths and misconceptions about agriculture. You’ll often see her in social media posts wearing a T-shirt that reads, “Stop. Blaming. Cows.”

What do you do with 10,000 pounds of popcorn your family harvested and thought was sold to a dealer, but the deal fell through? Just ask Kim Baldwin of rural Inman: you create Papa Baldy’s Poppin’ Snacks!

Kim, originally a native of New Mexico, moved to Kansas to marry her husband, Adam, in 2010. Their children, Banks and Isannah, work alongside Adam’s parents, Dwight and Cindy Baldwin, on the family farm that raises wheat, corn, soybeans, grain sorghum and, since 2017, popcorn.  

I discovered through the years of writing for Kansas Farm Bureau’s member magazine, Kansas Living, that women comprised a majority of the farms selling their products directly to consumers. In fact, the first article assigned to me was about Valerie Visser and her “Fork in the Road” business near Riley. Valerie grew up on a farm in northwest Kansas then married Justin Visser, a farmer north of Manhattan.

Farmers and ranchers are the most hope-filled people I know. Each seed they plant and each birth of a farm animal are deliberate acts of hope put into action. They hope the rain comes at the right time for their crops. They hope their animals mature without harm or illness. They hope the harvest not only covers their ever-increasing expenses but gives them the ability to keep the farm afloat for another year.

The best Christmas presents come with a story. I recall when I was 8 years old, I received a Green Bay Packer jersey with the number 15, a replica of my hero, Bart Starr, that mom ordered from the Sears Christmas catalog. Starr became my hero when I watched him win back-to-back Super Bowls in 1967 and ’68 on our black-and-white TV. I’m still disappointed mom wouldn’t let me wear the uniform as pajamas.

Dear farmers and ranchers,

We drive past golden wheat fields in June and hum about America the beautiful and amber waves of grain.

We crank up Kenny Chesney and sing “She Thinks my Tractor’s Sexy,” though most of us wouldn’t have a clue how to turn one on and use whatever implements you pull behind it. And we believe the Ram truck Super Bowl commercial with Paul Harvey’s “On the Eighth Day God Made a Farmer” is still the best commercial, ever. 

We love going to farmers markets but understand they aren’t always easy to access because of timing or distance. 

However, you can shop online using the Shop Kansas Farms (SKF) digital farmers market for easier access to local food. There are two different digital platforms we use. 

I’ve been involved in various efforts to feed hungry people for more than 20 years both here in America and abroad. As you can imagine, I’ve seen it all — from great organizations providing life-saving meals to corrupt governments weaponizing hunger against their own people. 

Once, when I returned from the world’s largest refugee camp near the Somalia border, I fell into a state of depression at the enormity of the problem. I couldn’t do enough.

I enjoy a banana each morning with my breakfast. I have no idea where it comes from but can safely bet it, like many calories I consume, has traveled an average of 1,500 miles to reach my plate. That’s the beauty of our international food system — we can enjoy food from all over the world.