The Kansas State University Lady Wildcats may have shot better hoops than the University of Kansas Lady Jayhawks Saturday night, but the real winners were the farm women who started a conversation about food at Allen Fieldhouse prior to the game.  Teresa Brandenburg, Kara James and LaVell Winsor hosted dinner to launch the Kansas arm of the CommonGround program—a national grassroots movement, designed to bridge the gap between the women who grow food and the women who buy it.

The event brought together members of the media, academics and government officials to discuss modern farming. During the dinner, guests were invited to partake in conversation about farming and food while enjoying delicious food and the company of the new Kansas CommonGround volunteer farmers.

The reason Kansas became a part of the CommonGround movement was clear during dinner as Alton, Kan. CommonGround volunteer, Teresa Brandenburg explained, “many consumers are confronted by a barrage of inaccurate information and rumors about food. All three of us (volunteers) want to share our stories and personal understanding of agriculture and food.” She also noted, “who is better to tell that story than someone like me, a mom, and a farmer?” Throughout the dinner, the volunteers shared anecdotes from their farm and used their agriculture knowledge and expertise to address guest’s concerns about our nation’s food supply.

Many questions were about the locavore movement and organic farming, but LaVell Winsor, a grain farmer from Grantville, Kan. said, “many of the topics we discussed centered around the facts on organics and implications of a shift toward eating locally produced foods.” She enjoyed being able to address misconceptions throughout the evening. “Some of the attendees pulled me into a discussion on the benefits of organics to ask for my thoughts.  I explained that, while farmers in our country do provide a variety of healthy, safe options, there is no evidence that organic production results in a more nutritious, healthier choice. Really, they could rest assured that they were providing their family with the wholesome nourishment they need whether they buy organic or conventionally produced foods. It was great being able to put a face and a name with agriculture so that people knew they can contact a real person about farming and food!”

To close out the evening, guest were encouraged to fill their reusable CommonGround grocery bags with facts about food production and recipes the volunteers shared from their own kitchens. Following the dinner, the entire group was invited to join in the festivities and watch the University of Kansas women’s basketball team take on their rivals from Manhattan.

“As a Kansas CommonGround volunteer, I hope our guests left with a better understanding of how food is grown and that, as farmers, we want to speak with the public about what we do,” said Karra James, CommonGround volunteer from Clay Center, Kan. “When farmers like myself say something about food I think our message comes from a more genuine place because we are connected directly to agriculture.”

The CommonGround program is moving forward in 15 states including Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dokata, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and South Dakota. The movement will continue to grow and expand nationwide.

Want to join the CommonGround Conversation? Stay tuned for more CommonGround Kansas updates and what you can to help.

Website: www.FindOurCommonGround.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/FindOurCommonGround

Twitter: www.twitter.com/commongroundks

Twitter Hashtag: #CGConvo

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CommonGroundKansas

Blog: http://commongroundkansas.wordpress.com/

About the volunteers:

Teresa Brandenburg from Alton, Kansas

Teresa was the 2006 American Honey Princess, crown and all.  But that hardly serves as her only contribution to agriculture. Starting out, Teresa grew up in a small town in Iowa where her dad drove a truck hauling farm commodities. Teresa started raising livestock with her family when she was 10.  Now, she and her husband, Luke, are the fourth generation on his family’s farm. Their son, Jacob, represents the fifth generation.  She is currently serving on the Kansas Soybean Association Board of Directors, and enjoys working with her husband to raise cattle, corn, milo, soybeans and wheat.

LaVell Winsor from Grantville, Kansas

LaVell has a unique perspective on agriculture, having worked as a farmer with responsibility for merchandising and managing grain sales while keeping financial records, and outside of the farm with other growers as a business consultant specializing in risk-management.  Coupled with her previous experience in succession and estate planning, LaVell understands the vast array of financial issues facing farmers and agriculture as a whole.

Karra James From Clay Center, Kansas

Karra works with her husband Derek on his parent’s farm to grow grain, raise cattle and, more importantly, their elementary school-aged son and daughter.  Having earned a degree in Food Science and worked in the food safety field, Kara understands the science behind many of the questions consumers have about their food. As she increases her involvement on the farm, she also broadens her perspective on the modern technologies and techniques they use every day.

Lori Deyoe From Ulysses, Kansas

Farming is Lori’s heritage from several generations back on both sides of her family, and her work has always reflected that. She is a farmer’s daughter, the wife of a cattleman and mom to two children. Even her education, a degree in agricultural economics with minors in animal science and women’s studies from Kansas State University, is rooted in agriculture. Before Lori and her husband started a family, she worked as the assistant grain manager at an elevator in town. And currently, Lori coordinates logistics for their small beef feed yard; handles the accounting; and writes on their blog about agriculture. No need to say it – this woman is all about farming.

About CommonGround™

CommonGround is a grassroots movement to foster conversation among women – on farms and in cities – about where our food comes from. CommonGround was developed by the United Soybean Board (USB) and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) in an effort to give farm women the opportunity to speak with consumers using a wide range of activities. USB and NCGA provide support and a platform for the volunteers to tell their stories. The opinions and statements made by the volunteers are not necessarily representative of the policies and opinions of USB or NCGA.

In a recent interview with Green State TV, Alex Avery, Director of Research and Education at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Global Food Issues, discusses pesticides, organic agriculture, and the threats that should and shouldn’t concern us.

As Avery explains, “There are far greater risks in life we need to worry about [than pesticides], and in food the biggest is the E. coli, the Salmonella, and the other bacteria that can actually kill you. Evidence indicates that organic is at least as contaminated with these bacteria if not more so.”

For more info, find Green State TV on Facebook and check out their website.

View the full episode here.

While prices have slipped for grains, they are climbing for livestock and dairy. Livestock and dairy interests have continued to clamor for cheaper corn, blaming ethanol for high grain prices and lower profit margins. However, the main factor affecting livestock and dairy is demand for their product, especially overseas. Grain checkoffs continue to be strong and dependable funders of efforts to build meat exports. The Kansas corn checkoff has funded these efforts through the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) for well over 30 years, surpassing $1 million in funding seven years ago. The Kansas Corn Commission was the first grain checkoff to fund USMEF and became a member of USMEF’s elite Million Dollar Club in 2005. Why? Because strong meat exports and strong meat prices, mean strong markets for corn.

Corn prices, which were already low, became unbearable in the late 1990s, with prices from 1998 to 2001 ranging from $1.81 a bushel in 1999 to $2.03 in 2001. Grain producers felt a need to create additional markets for their grain, and many invested in ethanol plants. For many, this wasn’t an easy decision. Many Kansas growers took a big gamble during a multi-year drought to buy shares in ethanol plant projects.  But growers were selling their grains well below the cost of production, realized that a more diversified market for their grain was needed. Ethanol was a good fit, especially for a livestock feeding area like Kansas, where a third of the grain used to make the renewable fuel, returns to the feed trough as distillers grains. Kansas plants can sell their distillers grains wet to local feeders. The synergy between corn production, ethanol plants and cattle feeders is well documented.

Ethanol production did cause an increase in corn prices. Growers supported growth of the ethanol industry because they needed higher corn prices. In 2008, a so-called “corn shortage” that turned out to be the second largest corn crop in history, created a frenzy among grain speculators. Food companies, oil companies and livestock and dairy organizations jumped on the bandwagon, pointing the finger at corn prices for spikes in food prices. Record fuel prices (transportation and packaging are the main factors in food prices) were ignored as was the fact that the amount paid to farmers is less than 20% of the food dollar. A multi-million dollar campaign was launched by the anti-ethanol groups to highlight the evils of ethanol. All the while, corn farmers quietly continued to fund efforts to build meat exports for their top customers, the livestock industry.

Today, meat prices are surging mainly because of foreign market development which made us ready to take advantage of an increased global demand for protein. Corn prices are slumping mainly because of increased global grain production.  It’s a good time to be in the meat and dairy business, and there are still opportunities for corn producers as well.

Many factors impact the prices we receive for our products, whether we produce grain, meat or energy. In Kansas, there are a number of agricultural producers have income streams from grain, ethanol, livestock plus oil or natural gas. In Kansas, we are fortunate to have good relationships across agriculture, and we treasure our friendships with those involved with livestock and other grains. But some ag groups have affiliations that are not as closely aligned with agriculture, like the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the American Meat Institute. Sometimes we don’t do a good job in sharing our collective influence on these groups when they provide divisive misinformation.

Truly, isn’t it a better business plan for those of us in U.S. agriculture to continue to work together make sure all sectors of agriculture are strong? Like the song from the musical “Oklahoma” says, “The farmer and the cowman should be friends; One man likes to push a plough, the other likes to chase a cow; But that’s no reason why they cain’t be friends.”

Jere White, Executive Director
Kansas Corn

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American agriculture teamed up with NASCAR this past year thanks to your strong support of the Kansas Corn Commission checkoff and state corn checkoff programs across the nation. This past year every race car and truck in the Sprint, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series was powered by Sunoco Green E15 (an unleaded gasoline blend with 15% ethanol).

Why ethanol and why now? NASCAR has made significant steps in conservation by introducing impactful initiatives in recycling, alternative energy and carbon mitigation. The sport has taken their environmental commitment to the next level. The emissions from Sunoco Green E15 are 20% less per gallon of gas. American ethanol, is a renewable source of cleaner burning energy from the bounty of America’s farmers. American ethanol creates tens of thousands of U.S. jobs, which can never be outsourced. What’s not to love?

As we wrap up the year, it’s time to evaluate ethanol’s role in NASCAR. Let’s talk performance. Sunoco Green E15 is a high performance fuel, providing the same drivability without harming engines. The transition on the racetrack was seamless and NASCAR reports that the “E15 fuel blend has met and surpassed expectations”.

What was the “reach” of advertising and promotions? The NASCAR Green commercials ran during race coverage on Fox, ESPN, Turner and the Speed Channel, along with coverage on Sirius XM radio. This coverage translated into 690 million impressions with race fans and a media value more than $10 million.

Besides these commercials, American Ethanol received more than two hours of non-commercial exposure during race and pre-race events which is valued at an additional $14 million. This coverage includes in-car cameras, logo and text exposure with race standings and racing exports discussing the switch to American Ethanol. Additionally, more than 26 million exposures took place on NASCAR.com

To get a statistical measurement of the success of this partnership, a formal analysis of news stories was done. July 2011 was chosen as the sample month, as it was the midway point of the season. Here are the findings:

-          NASCAR Green accounted for one-third of all ethanol industry news coverage in July 2011

-          Ninety-two percent positive about ethanol in NASCAR Green Stories

-          Six-times as many NASCAR Green stories portrayed ethanol as having a net positive effect on the environment

-          Two-times as many portrayed ethanol as creating jobs

-          Two and a half-times as many portrayed ethanol as helping the American family farmer

How did it change the perception of ethanol to consumers? NASCAR fans and non-fans were both surveyed on their perceptions of American Ethanol. The results found that NASCAR fans are twice as likely to support the fact that ethanol creates hundreds of jobs and are 50 percent more likely to support the use of ethanol to increase American energy independence. Fans are also 50 percent more likely to use ethanol in their own vehicles.

Think this isn’t a big deal? Let’s talk NASCAR fans. NASCAR is the #2-rated sport on U.S. television (behind the NFL) and 30% of the U.S. adult population is a NASCAR fan. On average, viewership is 6.5 million per race and the fan base continues to grow.

As we wrap up the 2011 year, it can be noted that American Ethanol has made great strides on and off the racetrack.

Click to view the video.

Kansas farmers already know that they contribute to the global food supply. But what they may not know is how much their efforts contribute to global peace and security.

In a new interview on Green State TV, Bob Thompson, visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), talks about what happens when food production can’t keep up with population growth: the result can be food riots, social unrest, and geopolitical conflict.

It seems that more and more people are talking about the critical role food prices play in either promoting or undermining political stability. In a recent speech to the World Food Prize and an oped in the Wall Street Journal, Syngenta’s CEO Mike Mack compared the worldwide food riots that broke out in 2007-8 and again 2010-11. The countries were different but the problems were the same: high food prices triggered unrest. Mack explained, “[The countries] are all poor, and their populations spend a large percentage of household income on food.”  Unless we take action to boost agricultural productivity in these nations, he said, food riots and political instability threaten to become the new normal.

In a speech to SAIS, Jessica Adelman, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Syngenta North America, added a key point: “The buffer between supply and demand is being squeezed,” but regularizing the world’s biotech approval process could solve this problem.

What’s the take away from all of this? Food security = global stability.

With agricultural exports exceeding $4.7 billion in 2009, Kansas is a key source of the global food supply. Other countries need to start using Kansas as a model for agricultural production.

For more info, find Green State TV on Facebook and check out their website.

This week Las Vegas has probably seen more cowboy boots, coyboy hats and sparkly belt buckles than usual! The National Finals Rodeo will wrap up on Saturday after ten days of competition and entertainment. I’ve been to more rodeos, roping and bull riding events in the past year than ever in my life thanks to my boyfriend, who may be slightly obsessed.

Last April, I attended my first ever Professional Bull Riders (PBR) event. Not only was I blown away by the entire production (the riders, bulls, clowns, announcers, bullfighters, lights and music) but I was also thoroughly impressed with how the emphasized the safety of the athletes- both the riders and bulls.

PBR: Breneman/Bullstockmedia.com

Like a well-conditioned athlete, an animal can only perform if it is healthy. Any cowboy will tell you he takes home a paycheck only when the animal is in top form. Stock contractors and ranchers, who raise livestock for a living, have a moral and financial interest in keeping their animals healthy.

Stock contractors take great pride in their bucking bulls and take care of them to ensure that they are in top-notch shape to perform. It is no secret that the PBR treats the bulls with as much respect as the humans that ride them. As with any sport, athletes sometimes get hurt. This could be anything from a pulled muscle to a career or life-ending injury.

PBR reports that “one bull will suffer a minor injury such as a muscle pull or scratch every eight events or 786 outs. Bulls that are determined to have an injury are not allowed to compete again until fully recovered, which is generally one to four weeks. One bull will suffer a career-ending injury every 100 events or 9,833 outs. A bucking bull has a .004% chance of sustaining a life-threatening injury at a PBR event.”

Compare these injury statistics to football. An estimated 40,000 concussions are suffered every year among high school football players, alone. From 1991-2006 the average direct fatalities due to participation in organized football (professional, college, high school and sandlot) was 4.3 per year. (Source)

It’s obvious that the stock contractors and the PBR pay very attention to animal welfare. The bucking bulls are treated like training athletes when it comes to diet, exercise and medical treatment. The same story goes for rodeos across the nation.

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) turns to the experts when it comes to the treatment and care of rodeo livestock. The experts are the on-site rodeo veterinarians who are required by PRCA rules to attend each rodeo performance.

It is great to know that the livestock in the pasture and the arena are being cared for by farmers, ranchers, cowboys and veterinarians. Furthermore, I feel fortunate to live in the United States, where I can be assured that because animals are well cared for, the food on my table is the best and safest on the market.

In a recent interview with CropLife’s Leonard Gianessi on Green State TV, Gianessi discusses the how much herbicide use has benefited the ecology and the environmental disaster we would unleash if the activists go their way. Water resources would be depleted faster, and the gains against soil erosion — down 90 percent on farms that replaced tillage with herbicides — would be reversed. In fact, if the whole country went “organic,” we’d return to the dust-bowl days of the great depression. In another interview available on Green State TV, Gianessi talks about how the invention of modern herbicides make it possible for California to pass historic legislation that outlawed the “short handled hoe” that forced farm workers — mostly migrant laborers — to stoop for 8 to 10 hours a day and destroy their backs. Later, the state realized that they’d left an exception for hand weeding, so they outlawed that too — but due to lobbying by the organic lobby, wrote in an exception for organic farms.

Meanwhile, on the economic side, Crop Life has just issued a report showing that crop protection products add over $476 million to the Kansas economy and $166.5 billion nationally. Families in the U.S. save roughly $280 per year thanks to crop protection.

So if you care about the environment, human rights, keeping U.S. jobs and affordable prices at the grocery store — not to mention our farms — you can tell the activists to go take a hike!

Find Green State TV on Facebook and be sure to view their website!

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has launched Food Day, a campaign to “change the way Americans eat and think about food.” CSPI says that Food Day is designed to “encourage people to support healthy, affordable food grown in a sustainable, humane way.” Sounds like a slogan for agriculture to me! Farmers want to produce healthy food for their families, their communities and the rest of the world. We all want affordable food. Farmers and ranchers are practicing sustainability and humane animal welfare daily.

On the Food Day website, there are six key points outlined as goals. I’ve got beef with some of these points and would like to go through each of them to share some thoughts.

1) Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods.
Of course! Farmers and ranchers want to provide the world with safe, healthy and affordable food. Remember that these folks feed their families the food they produce.

2) Support sustainable farms and limit subsidies to big agribusiness.
Farmers were the first environmentalists. With today’s farming techniques, it’s possible to have great yields, while improving the soil and protecting the environment. By caring for the land and the environment, farmers can continue producing great crops that help provide quality, safe food. Often times, farm land is passed down through generations so growers want to ensure that their land is well cared for. I won’t get into subsidies but Caci, a farm wife from South Carolina, explains farm subsidies further on her blog.

3) Expand access to food and alleviate hunger.
Farmers and ranchers support efforts to alleviate hunger in our own country, as well as across the globe. You will find that these folks donate to food banks and a variety of charitable causes. Here’s just one example. Today, one farmer produces enough food in one year to feed 156 people. If we relied on the food production systems of 1950, as some are suggesting, approximately 150 million people living in the U.S. today would be without food. That’s everyone in the 13 largest U.S. states, hungry! Additionally, placing restrictions of the U.S. food system that limit the ability to produce the food we need will increase the cost of food and limit healthy, affordable food choices for all of us, including those who can least afford it. Today’s food system works to address hunger and food insecurity, and to meet the challenge of feeding a growing global population.

4) Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms.
Wait, what exactly is a factory farm? As Chuck Jolley, a Kansas City freelance writer wrote for The Pork Network, “Those big, bad, evil factory farms? Most of them are run by your neighbor, his wife and kids. Maybe there are even a few grandchildren lending a hand. And they offer employment in areas where there aren’t a lot of other opportunities. They are the leading businesses in rural America, producing billions of dollars worth of goods at a scant few pennies on the dollar. They feed most Americans and a stunning portion of the rest of the world and, hopefully, your neighbor, his wife and kids can go to bed at night, satisfied with a job well-done and a lifestyle they love.”

As Dawn Caldwell, a Nebraska producer writes in her blog. “Regardless, if we have 10 or 10,000 animals, if we don’t treat them well, they won’t treat us well. It takes a special kind of person to own or work on a farm – there aren’t many of us left here in the U.S. We are a few proud folks doing our best to continually improve farming methods and products for a rapidly growing population.”

Today, 98 percent of all farms are owned by individuals, family partnerships or family corporations. Actually, just two percent of America’s farms and ranches are owned by non-family corporations. Size shouldn’t define a family farm or “factory farm”. If global food production is to more than double by 2050, there’s enough work to be done by both large and small farms.

Like you, farmers and ranchers expect every ounce of their food to be healthy, affordable, and most importantly, safe. That is why they go to great lengths to care for their animals. Not only is the right thing to do, but animals that are threatened or sick simply will not produce as well as healthy animals. With constant temperature monitoring and on-call veterinary care, America’s farmer and ranchers pride themselves on adhering to the strictest quality assurance and certification standards.

5) Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
The farmers I know are supportive of free enterprise. Parents are best equipped to make nutritional decisions for their families. The agricultural community wants to continue an open dialogue with consumers. If you have questions concerning the production of your food, ask a farmer. Here is a list of producers who would be happy to address your questions and concerns.

6) Support fair conditions for food and farm workers.
Agriculture is a vital part of our lives and our economy. U.S. agriculture and related industries account for one in 12 jobs nationwide. We want to provide fair wages and conditions for all workers.

Food Day conversations and activities will be taking place across the nation on October 24 but farmers and ranchers are speaking up about the food they produce every day. Now, more than ever, farmers are noticing the disconnect between agriculture and the consumer and are doing something about it. Join the conversations on Twitter regarding food production by following #FoodD, #FoodDay365 and #CGconvo. Below is a list of resources that may be helpful in answering your questions about food.

Resources:
Registered Dietitian’s Food Day Pledge Takes Aim at What’s Wrong With Most Advice

Shouldn’t Every Day be Food Day?, The Center For Food Integrity

Real Farmers, Real Food

Food Dialogues, U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance

CommonGround

Cause Matters, Connecting Gate to Plate

 Acting on this new information on the coolness of frogs, EPA sprang into action, and on September 14 announced it was seeking public comment on the petition from Save the Frogs to ban atrazine.

 Most of those who will comment fall into two categories:

1.       Those who like frogs and want atrazine banned.

2.       Those who like frogs know there is no valid scientific evidence that shows that atrazine harms frogs, and would like atrazine to remain available to farmers so they can safely control weeds in their fields, and produce feed and food for our growing, hungry population.

To be inclusive, we’d like to point out that depending on their age, supporters and detractors of atrazine may claim that frogs are sweet (suh-weeeet!) da bomb, phat, totally awesome, most excellent, far out, or the cat’s pajamas. While others may mention the deliciousness of frog legs at their favorite restaurant, that is a separate issue also opposed by Save the Frogs.

 As recently as April 2010, EPA stated:
Status Update – April 2010

EPA concluded in 2007 that atrazine does not adversely affect amphibian gonadal development based on a review of laboratory and field studies, including studies submitted by the registrant and studies published in the scientific literature. At this time, EPA believes that no additional testing is warranted to address this issue.

 In September 2009, in response to an onerous study by an environmental activist group and a successful coordinated media campaign, EPA announced that it would open an unprecedented re-review of atrazine through a series of Science Advisory Panels (SAPs).

 Save the Frogs has a lot of neat merchandise on their website—t-shirts, wristbands, posters and more. The Triazine Network doesn’t have any neat merchandise. Made up of farmers and agricultural groups, the Triazine Network is a coalition that seeks a science based decision on atrazine and other triazine herbicides.

 “We won’t send you a t-shirt or bracelet if you take action in support of atrazine and a science based outcome on EPA’s decisions,” Triazine Network Chairman Jere White said. “But we think it is important to continually remind EPA that there is a right way to do things. I encourage our growers and others who support agriculture to submit a comment in support of sound science in EPA’s re-review of atrazine.”

Those that know me, know that I have a serious love and passion for the Iowa State Fair. I grew up in southwest Iowa, showed at the Fair through 4-H, interned there for several summers with the Blue Ribbon Foundation, and 4-H and now I take vacation time to volunteer selling water and merchandise. In my 24 years of life, I’m proud to say I’ve attended each of the last 24 Iowa State Fairs.

Something struck me as interesting this year however. I was very impressed by the consumer outreach done by agricultural groups. Though I realize all things “on a stick” are popular at the fair, my family always heads for the Cattleman’s tent showcasing Iowa Beef or the Iowa Pork tent. Occasionally, we hit up the Iowa Turkey Federation and the Iowa Sheep producers as well. These commodity groups are known for their outstanding Iowa products. What’s a better opportunity to show consumers a local cattleman doing what he loves- raising and producing safe and healthy and abundant beef than while they are eating a phenomenal prime rib dinner? Or in my case, a taco potato!

Meet a cattle farmer!

Fun facts

So many groups did a great job in using the fair as an opportunity to connect with consumers. After all, they were right there cooking and serving so folks could ask questions face-to-face with the farmers and ranchers.

The Paul R. Knapp Animal Learning Center was another central location for farm facts and children’s activities. At different times they had representatives talk to the audience usually hundred’s at a time about farming, food, and health guidelines. I was pleased as punch when I walked in to the building and heard a woman doing an excellent job at addressing questions and parents’ fears about high fructose corn syrup.

Gotta love corn facts!

More corn!

Egg facts

In addition to presentations, cows, sheep, lambs, goats, chickens, turkeys and pigs are being born daily in the Animal Learning Center. Baby pigs are my favorite!

There's always a line to see the baby pigs!

One of the biggest attractions at the Iowa State Fair is the famous butter cow! This year, the Iowa State Fair celebrated 100 years of the butter cow with deep-fried butter on a stick (yes, you just read that correctly) and butter carving! Each day fair-goers were at the Bill Riley Stage carving a block of butter. Of course the E85 themed one was my favorite!

E85 Butter Carving

My brother and a friend pose with the dairy facts

I also had the opportunity to learn a little about the Iowa Food & Family  initiative at the fair, which is funded by the Iowa Soybean Checkoff. It involves families, farmers, farm and commodity organizations, retailers, food relief organizations and a variety of interested and capable partners.

Its mission is ”To inspire positive relationships between farmers and consumers through personal engagement, advocacy and education to the benefit of human vitality, environmental quality and economic prosperity.”

Kansas Corn and Grain Sorghum has been gearing up for Agriland at the Kansas State Fair- September 9-18. Agriland is a collective effort of several agricultural groups including Kansas Corn, Kansas Grain Sorghum, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Kansas Soybeans, Kansas Wheat, Kansas Dairy, Kansas Agri-Women, Kansas Beef, Kansas Sunflowers, and the Kansas Foundation for Ag in the Classroom.

It is important for ag groups to promote the healthy and abundant food at events but never stop using valuable time in the grocery store checkout line or while waiting to fuel up at the gas station as a “teaching moment”. Consumers want the facts and farmers have them.