#FarmFoodTour takes new approach to engage consumers

Oct. 12 – A year off from the Farm Food Tour allowed the event to transform to a more immersive experience for its participants. Kansas Soybean partnered with Kansas Farm Bureau to make this the seventh #FarmFoodTour.

Six online influencers embarked Oct. 5 on a three-day tour across Kansas that this year included longer, individualized visits to learn from farmers. Participants split in groups of two and spent an afternoon on the farm in Northeast Kansas before continuing across the state.  

“The ability for these participants to get on farms and experience farming for themselves, from harvesting to selecting produce and from caring for cattle to caring for pigs is impactful,” Jancey Hall, Director of Programs and Outreach for Kansas Soybean, says. “It allows them to confidently share what they learn with their audience that we cannot as easily reach.”

Participant Ariel Johnston says, “I am most excited to share with my followers about the women in agriculture that we met. We had the opportunity to meet three female farmers doing their part to get food to our table and I think that was really neat seeing them challenge the norm.”

She believes sharing the story of the farms she visited will garner trust between consumers and where their food comes from. 

Tour stops included Juniper Hills Farm, Rezac Land and Livestock, Hildebrand Farms Dairy, Tiffany Cattle Company and Leffler Farms. Brett Neibling, Brandon Geiger and Greg Strube, all Kansas Soybean Association directors, volunteered their time for the ride-along portion of the tour.

Johnston says being able to ask direct questions to these farmers about hormones and antibiotic use in livestock was beneficial those are the types of questions she gets from her clients most often. 

According to Hall, the focus of the program is to connect influencers with farmers to showcase how food is grown with care.