Share your Farm Story

More and more farmers are taking a stab at advocating for agriculture. After all, in the past few years we’ve seen misguided consumer opinions lead to beef processing plants closing, major changes in the egg layer industry, and the uncertain future of gestation stalls. It’s understandable that you want to take back the conversation, but there is not a lot of information out there outlining the best way to do just that.

I’ve been actively advocating for agriculture for more than four years now, and I come at it from a unique perspective.  Just a few years ago, I was part of your target audience. I am a mom and a grocery buyer, and I did not grow up on a farm. Since my husband and I began raising turkeys six years ago, I've immersed myself in the world of farming and learned a lot. But still, I have one foot in each world – I am a farmer, and yet, I do not know a lot about many aspects of agriculture.

I grew up on an acreage in Central Iowa, just 15 minutes away from my husband’s family farm. But I didn’t know there were turkeys in Iowa. I’d never been inside a hog farm, or sat in a modern tractor.  I knew nothing about agriculture.

Now, my husband and I, and our two little boys, live on a farm about an hour north of here, where we raise more than 100,000 turkeys every year. In 2008, we sold our little house in Ames and moved into a farm house that was literally falling down. It was my first year teaching and I was pregnant with our first son. The next year, Bart quit his cushy USDA job (you know, the kind with benefits and 11 Federal holidays AND vacations) and we built brand new turkey barns.

At that time, life was traveling at the speed of light. There were so many changes happening at the same time. It was exciting for us, and I thought others might think it was interesting, so I began blogging.

I’m not going to lie. I didn’t set out to clear up misconceptions about agriculture or change people’s opinions. I just wanted to share my life. And although agriculture is a HUGE part of each and every one of our lives, it’s not the only thing that matters to us, which is a really good thing. It means that we have huge potential to reach an audience outside of agriculture.

I want to help you share your farm story.