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Farmers growing closer to consumers

A board member for Protect the Harvest says consumers’ interest in farming is on the rise, which is bringing farmers closer to consumers.

Glen Klippenstein tells Brownfield farmers need to continue educating and building trust with consumers.

“We need to be closer to our consumers so that we can let them know who we are, what we’re about, that we really are partners with them, that we too are consumers in our own right,” Klippenstein said.

Klippenstein said today’s farmers produce more food while using fewer resources than ever before and that should be shared with consumers.

“GMOs are a swear word to some, but my goodness,” he said. “They’ve allowed us to grow more stuff with less water, with less insecticide and pesticide and herbicide.”

He says several legislative issues come from the public misunderstandings of different farming practices.

“So many people are away from the farms and ranches over the generations,” Klippenstein said. “And people in our legislature respond to, by in large, to the people that write them letters.”

He says agriculturalists should continue to be who they are and tell their stories to those outside of the industry.