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.
The Andover Market of Farms, sponsored and hosted by The Heritage at Andover, was a success for both vendors and consumers.
First-time vendor Anna Tucker of Diamond T Livestock near Gypsum said, “All staff was extremely helpful from sign up to tear down. They answered any and all questions I had as I was a new vendor. We also really appreciated how well the market was advertised, and I’m excited to participate in future events."
I’ve exhibited at numerous local, national and international trade shows in my career and learned how to “read a booth” from a national marketing firm in Washington, D.C. They taught me how the human mind innately absorbs visual information in order to understand the message being portrayed.
Did you know the roots of the Shop Kansas Farms concept started more than a decade ago as a hunger-free community proposal for a National Innovation Award from The Alliance to End Hunger and Hunger Free Communities Network?