Farm to Fork: Building trust with future dietitians

Story by Jancey Hall, director of programs and outreach

The buzz of a room with constant conversation – curious questions, thoughtful answers, laughter, and connections – you can feel the rapport building over shared values and visions. That’s my sweet spot and where I always want to be.  The Farm to Fork socials held by the Kansas Soybean Commission and Kansas Farm Bureau created exactly that environment.

We hosted these events with KU Medical Center’s Dietetic Internship and the K-State Student Dietetic Association to bridge together two industries that don’t often connect but create tremendous value when they do – Agriculture and Nutrition.

“It was good for us (farmers) to talk to folks with different backgrounds. Being around tables with food that represented what we grow on the farm – it’s that old adage of breaking bread with someone and having a conversation around the table,” shares Brett Neibling, who raises soybeans, corn, and beef in Doniphan County.

Farmers representing different commodities attended each event, and students got bingo cards encouraging them to ask questions. Simple things from ‘what’s your favorite way to eat beef?’ to ‘what’s a typical day look like?’ turned into discussions about animal nutrition, the upcoming planting season, and baby pigs and calves. For some students, the bingo cards are too basic, and they’d rather dive into their own big questions – for others, it’s a great way to ask questions and get comfortable and help to guide their discussion.

“The informal setting allowed me to have those one-on-one conversations, and they all brought great questions” Neibling says. “I learned more from them about their role in the food industry and it allowed us to have really open, honest discussions where we can understand each other.”

From there, we pull all the farmers together for a panel discussion. We gather questions from the students, which focused this year on sustainability, pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. The farmers feed off each other as they share how they raise the food that eventually makes its way to the table, explaining the science behind the farm and more.

Passion seeps out of our farmers as they talk about the land they inherited that their family has farmed for decades, or being a first-generation farmer and expanding to build something that provides for their community. It’s something the students recognize, and they note that it makes them feel more confident in the food system.

Students are surveyed before and after the event to measure its impact. On a scale of 1- not concerned at all to 5 – very concerned, over 60 students and faculty were asked how they felt about several topics across the two events and the results –

• Concerns about chemicals used on farms went from 2.98 to 2.06
• Concerns on antibiotics used to keep animals healthy went from 2.45 to 1.81
• Sustainability of America’s farms moved from 3.00 to 2.08

An interesting detail is that some of these students went on an Ag Immersion Experience with our organizations in the fall. Those students’ level of concern for this event started significantly lower than those who had not been on 6 different farms with us already.

The students shared from this event:

“The insight from farmers was super valuable, changing my perspective on some things when it comes to supporting our farmers and investing in America’s agricultural future.”

“I loved hearing the farmers’ perspectives on common misconceptions and they really drove the message home that one of their top priorities is to produce food that is both nutritious and safe for everyone – including their own families.”

Connecting People. Forging Relationships. Building Trust.

It’s one way in which Kansas farmers and ranchers through KFB and KSC are doing their part to equip and engage the next generation of food experts as they enter their careers. Their awareness of how Kansas farmers and ranchers sustainably raise our food supply enables them to share the science and insights with all they engage with.

For me, these events fill my cup as I work alongside passionate farmers, food professionals, and my direct colleagues at KSC and KFB to make them happen. But that buzz in the room? Seeing farmers and students with different backgrounds coming together to find those shared values and connections? Building that kind of connectedness and community matters for the future of agriculture.

One student said it best: “The farmers were very knowledgeable and so funny.” And as Neibling noted, “These kids are smart. They are the future of our country, and for them to know what ag is and where food comes from? That’ll bring value to our farm”.