News

Faces of Farming & Ranching chosen

A dairy farmer, row crop farmer, and two pork and beef producers have been chosen to be the “Faces of Farming & Ranching” to spread the word outside of agriculture about modern ag production. The contest, sponsored by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA), is about educating consumers and others about how food is produced.

The Faces of Farming & Ranching are: Chris Chinn, a Missouri hog and cattle producer; Katie Pratt, a row crop farmer in Illinois; Will Gilmer, a dairy farmer in Alabama; and, Bo Stone, a hog and cattle producer in North Carolina. ALL have family farming operations. They have committed 30 days this year to a calendar of events that includes meeting with restaurant and food retailers, bloggers, and attending Food Day, Earth Day and National Ag Day. Nine finalists were chosen last fall out of 100 applicants. Online voting led to the four winners.

Chris Chinn of Clarence, Missouri, says it will be her goal in this position to listen and respond to specific concerns.  She says, “I think this is more about explaining what happens on the farm and the ranch but ALSO about addressing the concerns that people might have that they’ve heard through the media or through friends and acquaintances.”

Katie Pratt, of Dixon, Illinois, says she’s ready for face to face conversations.  Pratt tells reporters,  “I have discovered that the one-on-one connection, you can’t duplicate that on the internet. You can’t duplicate that in a panel discussion. One-on-one is the best way to go and I find myself learning SO much.”

Will Gilmer of Sulligent, Alabama, says consumers deserve answers, “Our consumers, without them, we have no product to put out there. So, it’s important that we’re all on the same page and understand what’s happening.”

Bo Stone, of Rowland, North Carolina, says he wants to speak not only as a farmer but as a consumer….to other consumers, “I want to tell you about the products I’m very comfortable with, how my family is on this farm and how I want to make sure that it’s safe for your family as well.”

Chris Novak, CEO of the National Pork Board and spokesman for the USFRA, says, “We know that we’ve got challenges. There’s a lot about today’s modern agriculture that consumers don’t understand and yet we also have found that there are things that are important to them that they WANT to hear from those of us in agriculture.”

AUDIO: USFRA Faces Of Farming (29:00 mp3)

USFRA – Food Dialogues – Winners