Farm-Chair Travel: Experience the Fun of the Farm Through the Eyes of Your Favorite Bloggers
In the winter, we can’t help but daydream of warmer days. (My mind has wandered to Florida more times than I can count!) But, let’s face it, traveling isn’t always an option (certainly not time traveling to summer, anyway!). The good news is we have the next best thing: a vicarious visit to fascinating farms!
You know we’re passionate about farming, right? And we do our best to introduce you to some of Kansas’ finest farms and foods right here on our website. But sometimes it’s fun to get a fresh perspective — especially from fellow Midwest moms!
Several of our organizations like Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Soybeans and Kansas Corn have hosted bloggers on farm tours. The bloggers visit with farmers across the state to get an up-close-and-personal look at farm life. Best of all, they share their experiences with their readers, from their own uncensored perspectives. So, sit back and enjoy these fresh, quirky and unfiltered accounts of life on Kansas farms.
Midwestern Moms
This mom and DIY-er blogs about all things parenting, crafting and food. As a lover of delicious recipes, she joined the tour to see where all those ingredients come from. And, like many of us, even though she passes by farms nearly every day, she said the tour opened her eyes to aspects of food she’d never considered.
“I have to admit, getting your milk from the store, you don’t realize the hard work that goes into just getting that gallon…. The [robotic milking] process works pretty close to how it would be done by hand, except by a robot. It will clean the cow’s teat, dry it, attach the milkers (sorry not sure of the scientific word), and then afterwards it applies a lotion to the cow’s teat. We watched the whole process and it was very interesting. The cows didn’t mind one bit.”
Midwestern Moms Farm Tour Article
Pretty Polished Perfect
This stylist and mother of three ventures out of her high-fashion comfort zone in favor of some rubber boots — and still manages to look ah-mazing! But even better than some drool-worthy farm fashion pics is her enthusiasm for meeting farmers and learning the reality behind a lot of misinformation we get fed about our food.
“Standing in the midst of the [Holle] farm — their livelihood — taking care of their heifers, sifting through their wheat and climbing the silo, I knew without a doubt that these were honest, good people. Their education and understanding of agriculture and science means that they are well aware that the symbiotic relationship they have with both their animals and their grains meant they could not cut corners, or allow greed to support unethical products and actions.”
Pretty Polished Perfect Farm Tour Article
Mommypalooza
This mom of five loves to blog about parenting, Kansas City and travel. From family traditions to Tex-Mex inspired recipes, her blog is full of great ideas. One great idea she had was to go on the Kansas Corn Tour to learn about farming corn and ethanol production.
“Before this trip, I honestly had no clue about what ethanol really was or how it was made or what the benefit of it was…. It boggles my mind (still!) that the corn crop can actually produce a sustainable fuel. Did you know that most cars year 2001 or newer can run on ethanol E15 gas? If you ask me, we as a country need to focus and push the production of ethanol and ethanol-friendly vehicles so that our future generations won't have to depend on fossil fuels in their lifetime. The state of Kansas with its 12 ethanol plants produce nearly half a billion gallons of this clean-burning, sustainable fuel.”
Mommypalooza Farm Tour Article
Low Carb Zen
This real-world blogger shares her personal experience of going the low-carb route, and how that dietary change has changed much more in her life. She wanted to dig deeper — to learn more about her food from the people who produce it. Her verdict? We are in good hands!
“I was impressed. The amount of technology employed to run even a small, family farm was more in keeping with what you’d expect in a hospital than a barn! And the knowledge base these folks had about both the land and animals was staggering. But what I’ve found sticking with me more than the facts and figures were impressions–a picture of the people producing the food most of us are blessed enough to take for granted.”
Low Carb Zen Farm Tour Article
Meet the Farmers on Tour
Wish you could meet some of the farmers on these tours? You’re in luck! We’ve got some great features spotlighting several of them. (And if you want to go on a farm tour yourself, keep an eye on our events page! We post upcoming local events and national holidays with a farm spin!) Enjoy!
