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CommonGround celebrates 10 years of connecting farmers with consumers

CommonGround, a group of women farmers helping consumers sort through misinformation about food and agriculture, is celebrating its 10^th anniversary.

Southwestern Minnesota Farmer Lauren Biegler says farmer volunteers talk with consumers about decisions made on the farm including what crop they grow and how they grow it.   

“Once we can establish that we’re coming from the same place even though we have different occupations and live in different places and different lifestyles, then we can start talking about some of the bigger issues and concerns that they might have about food,” she says.

She tells Brownfield the volunteers have even found ways to connect with mothers in urban and suburban areas during the pandemic.

“These online events that they’ve done— earlier this fall, one for Thanksgiving, and one coming up in December–  provide a really neat way to bring a whole host of farmers to consumers together and nobody has to leave their house,” she says.

Biegler says the 10-year milestone is a testament to the staff who plan and organize events and the farmer volunteers who talk about what they do and connect with consumers.

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More than 200 volunteers in 20 states make up the CommonGround. The grassroots effort was developed by the National Corn Growers Association with support from state corn and soybean associations.

Audio: Lauren Biegler