Farm Tour Across Kansas
Earlier this fall I had the opportunity with Kansas Soybean Association and Kansas Farm Bureau to tour farms across Kansas to learn more about where our food comes from. Over the course of three days, we saw everything from the harvest process to a pork farm to a cattle feedlot. I was able to ask farmers firsthand about their farming practices and about some hot-button issues like vaccine and antibiotic use.
Kansas Farm Food Tour Day 1: Juniper Hill Farms and Harvest in Northeast Kansas
Our first stop was Juniper Hill Farms located in Douglas County, Kansas. Scott Thellman is a first-generation farmer who grew his operation little by little. It now includes 150 acres of USDA Certified Organic land, 400 acres of sustainably grown land, and will grow more than 50 acres of vegetables. Juniper Hill grows a wide variety of produce from watermelons to radishes.
Juniper Hill Farms is one of the top 5 vegetable growers in the state of Kansas. Since the climate in Kansas isn’t the best for year-round growing they use greenhouses to start vegetables and then transplant them. Tomatoes start in greenhouses around Thanksgiving and are transplanted in March. These greenhouses were impressive to see and even more impressive to learn how they can withstand a Kansas winter.
Since the farm is certified organic, they do have to follow certain regulations like crop rotation. According to the USDA, crop rotation is planting a different crop on a particular piece of land each growing season and is required in organic crop production because it is such a useful tool in preventing soil diseases, insect pests, weed problems, and for building healthy soils.
When Scott was asked what motivated him to be a farmer he replied, “I’m building a legacy for future generations as a first generation farmer and enjoy specialty crops so much because it’s feeding the community directly. It’s so neat to be able to go to a restaurant and eat your own produce. I don’t think agriculturist get enough respect for what they do and that in part has to do with people not understanding how much work they put into it.”
After leaving Juniper Hill Farms we headed North to participate in the harvest.
According to the Kansas Farm Bureau, 88% of the land in Kansas is used for agricultural production and a large portion of that is wheat, soybean, and corn fields. In fact, Kansas produces 20% of the wheat grown in the U.S. which makes Kansas the 1 wheat-producing state. I think that’s something for Kansans to brag about.
What I always find most impressive is the amount of technology and science that is going on in these fields. I had the chance to ride along in a combine and there were multiple screens displaying all sorts of information like how much the crop was yielding in real-time. The technology collected by the combines is downloaded for farmers to study and determine what seeds did well and if they need more fertilizer in a certain field. This helps them make decisions to increase yields and reduce costs in the years to come.
Hot button question: are pesticides used on the crops?
The crops that I was able to see harvested were corn and soybean. One common question is if pesticides are used on crops. The answer is yes, but farmers wait a certain amount of time after spraying to harvest. Also, farmers are using other techniques to prevent pests and weeds like selecting crop varieties that are more resistant to pests, using narrow row spacing so weeds don’t have room to grow, and using companion crops or cover crops where appropriate.
Check out this article from Kansas Farm Food Connection to learn more about pesticide use on crops.
Kansas Farm Food Tour Day 2: Rezac Family farms and Hildebrand Dairy
Day 2 we started out at Rezac Family Farms, a 6th generation pork farm in Onaga, Kansas. On the farm, there is a feed center and grain storage. This is where they mix and measure the feed for the pigs.
These pigs actually have their own nutritionist, a Ph.D. in animal nutrition from Kansas State helps the farm decide what feed the hogs should be fed as they grow. A major component of their feed is soybeans that provide a great source of protein. Throughout their lifecycle nutrients like vitamin D and E are added to the feed. Pregnant hogs even receive folic acid, similar to women when pregnant.
Hot button question: Are hormones used in pork?
Another hot button question consumers often have when it comes to pork is added hormones but pork won’t receive any added hormones throughout their life. As Lance Rezac explained packers won’t allow any hormone use so farmers never use any otherwise they wouldn’t be able to sell their pork at market.
Our next stop was Hildrebrand Dairy in Junction City, Kansas. This dairy farm is unique because they are direct to customers meaning you can buy their milk in their custom glass bottles throughout Kansas. Of course, I got to try some and can attest that the chocolate and root beer flavored milk is amazing.
Hot button question: Are antibiotics in milk?
Sick cows are treated with antibiotics which are overseen by a veterinarian. Each antibiotic has a specific withdraw period which is the time while they recover and the antibiotic is out of their system. During this period their milk is not used for human consumption.
Milk is tested three times before reaching the grocery store to ensure there are no traces of antibiotics. If any traces are found it is the farmer is fined and milk has to be dumped. Because of this and the desire to make the highest quality dairy products for consumers, dairy farmers take extreme care when it comes to antibiotic use in cows.
To learn more about the process milk takes before it reaches the shelves check out this article from Dairy Discovery Zone. And for some recipe inspiration using dairy check out this Apple Butter Grilled Cheese and Butternut Squash Soup.
Kansas Farm Food Tour Day 3: Tiffany Cattle Company and Leffler Prime Performance
Day 3 started out at Tiffany Cattle Company in Herington, Kansas. Tiffany Cattle Company is a feedlot that finishes cattle after being raised on grass. Once they arrive at the feedlot cattle are started on high roughage diet and then slowly move to more corn and higher nutrients. Just like the pork, these cattle also have a consulting nutritionist that comes out about once a month.
Cattle are excellent recyclers and perfect for the Kansas prairie that can’t be used for crops. They convert natural resources that would otherwise be wasted into 10 essential nutrients such as iron and zinc and a high-quality protein. Much of this pastureland is in the Flint Hills and fans out over 183 miles from north to south, stretching 30 to 40 miles wide in parts. Cattle lose their ability to convert grass to muscle or meat as they age. This is when they are transferred to a feedlot. Grain contains more energy allowing cattle to maintain greater growth rates later in their lives when compared to feeding only grass or forage.
Hot button question: are the cows stressed?
Above is one of the feedlots at Tiffany Cattle Company. One of the things I was surprised about when we got there was the lack of noise. You could hear the occasional cow mooing but that was it. Cows moo frequently when they are in distress. One of the goals farmers have is to keep the cows as happy and healthy as possible because a relaxed cow is a good producing cow. A technique to keep the environment low stress is using horses to separate any cows that may be showing signs of being sick. The farmers want to separate the sick cow from the herd in the least disruptive way possible and treat him with antibiotics as needed to only the cows that need it and not the entire herd.
Another takeaway from Tiffany Cattle Company was something Shawn Tiffany said about his passion for farming, “Farmers don’t get into agriculture to get rich, they do it because they love it”
Our final stop was Leffler Farms, Inc. Pictured above is Jacquelyne Leffler who accompanied our group throughout the entire tour and was our go-to for any questions we had. Her family’s farm was established in 1941 and has been in the family for four generations. I had the opportunity to talk with Jacquelyne quite a bit and found her story fascinating. She admitted growing up she never wanted to return to the farm and actually studied exercise physiology at Kansas State where she was a thrower on the track team. Fast forward to now and she has become a leader in her region and super passionate about what she does.
In the past couple of years, Jacquelyne has added a direct-to-consumer branch of her business that allows consumers to order straight from the farmer. Her beef is high quality and aged for 14 days, unlike most grocery store beef. I can vouch for the quality of this beef as well and as a foodie and dietitian can 100% say a good recipe starts with high-quality ingredients.
For some recipe inspiration using beef check out this Steak, Sweet Potato, and Avocado Salad with Blue Cheese Butter.
My hope for anyone reading about my Kansas Food Farm Tour is to provide some education to the farming process. Most consumers are so far removed from a farm or food production and this allows a lot of skepticism and fear to enter. A big takeaway from any farm I tour or farmer I talk to is the care that they put into the land and animals.
Disclosure: This post was created in partnership with Kansas Soybean and Kansas Farm Bureau as a way to connect farmers to readers to encourage understanding and conversations about farming and our food systems. I was compensated for my time and all opinions are my own.
