Farmers Get Trendy

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Stewart Truelsen

According to Phil Lempert, best known as the Supermarket Guru, “Farmers are becoming the latest food celebrities.” He goes so far as to predict that celebrity chefs are out, celebrity farmers are in.

Lempert is an astute food industry observer, journalist and trend watcher. He created a virtual grocery store and consumer information center, Phil’s Supermarket, on Second Life, a rapidly growing online world. If you have time for a second life you might want to check it out. Otherwise there is his website, www.supermarketguru.com.

The notion that farmers are becoming celebrities is one of Lempert’s Top Ten Food Trends for 2012. He may have gone a bit too far with this one. Most farmers don’t have time to be celebrities, but they do recognize the value in opening lines of communication with consumers.

Lempert believes the “farm to fork” journey has become increasingly important. Shoppers want to know where their food comes from. “We’ve seen ‘buy local’ become one of the most important supermarket offerings; now we get to meet the people who are the producers, farmers and ranchers,” he said in describing the trend.

The American Farm Bureau Federation has facilitated this trend with an emphasis on social media. AFBF’s FBLog has opinions and perspectives from the nation’s top producers. Want to know what cold-climate farmers do all winter? It can be found there at www.fb.org/blog.

Farm Bureau also reaches out to consumers with Foodie News, an electronic newsletter that appeals to those most passionate about food and food trends. Individual farms and ranches are represented on Facebook and Twitter and are eager to have friends and followers.

For many years farmers have wanted to tell their story to consumers, but it was always hard to reach an urban audience. Print and broadcast media just didn’t get the job done. The only time consumers paid much attention was when food prices were rising or a drought, freeze or some other calamity affected farmers.

The growing consumer interest in the “farm to fork journey” and how it is promoted through social media and the Internet is a huge breakthrough for the farming and ranching community, and the trend is only just beginning.

Lempert isn’t the only one noticing the higher profile or celebrity status of farmers and ranchers. One of The Food Channel’s top trends for 2012 is the rise of the agri-chef, a new breed of chefs who like to grow their own food. TFC expects this trend to evolve from gardens to full-fledged farms. One thing we know for sure is that growers have reached out to renowned chefs, and they are almost as likely to be on the agenda for a major farm convention as an economist.

It’s no secret that people like to visit farmers and ranchers and see firsthand how their food is grown, but it is impossible in today’s world for everyone to do that. Social media connections help make the farm to fork journey possible for more people.

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Aloha from Spam Country

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Malissa Fritz Schentzel

“I’m starving,” I said.

“Me too,” said my sister.

“Well, let’s get some breakfast,” said my dad.

We knew what that meant. We’re going to McDonald’s – my dad’s restaurant of choice.

It’s gotten to be a family joke that wherever we travel, we will visit at least one McDonald’s on the trip. Why should this get-away be any different? Hawaii has to have one somewhere, right?

The three of us were in Honolulu, Hawaii for the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting for five days, but had yet to adjust to the new schedule. A 7 a.m. wake-up call in Hawaii was nearly 11 a.m. back home in Minnesota. So, starving for breakfast was likely an understatement.

After navigating through oodles of people carrying surf boards, beach balls, and towels, we found it. Across the street from Waikiki Beach, there it was nestled between two tourist souvenir shops. The golden arches.

We immediately began surveying the menu. It’s McDonald’s so after years of visits you, like us, have probably come to expect certain items – an Egg McMuffin, a Sausage Biscuit, and a Big Breakfast with Spam?

“Does that say Spam?” I questioned.

My sister said, “Um, yeah I think so.”

The McDonald’s waitress overheard our questioning of the breakfast item and jumped in to help these tourists in a very Aloha spirit.

“Hawaiians eat more Spam per capita than any other place on Earth,” the smiling, very tan waitress said.

“That’s cool. Spam is made in Minnesota. That’s where we’re from.”

As a young girl growing up on a small sheep farm in rural Minnesota, I always knew of the blue can. It was my Dad’s meat of choice when he had to make supper. Whenever my Mom traveled or was away from home, he’d open up a can, slice the meat, and fry it up. A couple of pieces of bread, a bit of mayonnaise, and a tomato topped off Dad’s specialty. You may have guessed. My Dad’s delicacy was the fried Spam sandwich.

As a native Minnesotan, I knew Spam came from a town in Minnesota. Created back in 1937, Spam became a staple for many families around the country, including mine. Spam (officially styled SPAM; derived from spiced ham) is a canned precooked meat product made by the Hormel Foods Corporation.

Spam was introduced to the Pacific during the United States military occupation in World War II. Since fresh meat was difficult to get to the soldiers on the front, World War II saw the largest use of Spam. Soldiers started eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Army soldiers commonly refer to SPAM as Special Army Meat due to its introduction during the war.

Surpluses of Spam from the soldiers’ supplies made their way into native diets. Consequently, Spam is a unique part of the history and effects of U.S. influence in the Pacific. It is so popular in Hawaii that it is sometimes referred to as “The Hawaiian Steak”. Islanders celebrate the meat by holding cook-offs featuring Spam recipes. Spam flavored macadamia nuts are also on store shelves.

Four thousand miles from Minnesota and here’s a Minnesota product on the menu at McDonalds. It’s amazing just how small our world is. It’s just another example of how our products feed consumers across the globe. It was a terrific reminder for me that my farm grows for people all over, including Hawaii.

On average, 3.8 cans of Spam are consumed every second in the United States. Thanks to farmers across the United States and one Minnesota company, we will always know that there’s another blue can of Spam waiting on store shelves.

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Starting over

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Jonathan Cavin

The smell of freshly plowed soil, what a wonderful smell.  If you have ever lived in the country or drivien through it in the spring, you cannot forget that wonderful smell that fills the air.  The warmth of the sun, the ideas of a new beginning, and the future are all tied to that wonderful smell.  That is my favorite time on the farm, it is a chance to put the past behind us, forget about bad crop years and dream of what is going to happen in the upcoming months.  Fields turning from the greys of winter to the brown of freshly tilled earth, soon to be green with crops that will help feed this country and the world.  I belive that it is the most exciting time to be on the farm, putting your faith in the seed to come up, God to deliver the rain needed to raise the crop, and the promise of an abundant harvest that will provide for my family.    

This photo was taken out of the tractor a few weeks back when I caught some spare time to plow a field up for our produce operation.  Most people cannot see the beauty of this, but as the cold air blows through this winter and the rain or snow keeps falling, this is an image of hope for my farm in 2012.  We will be starting over, considering the past, and looking at the bright future for our farm and American Agriculture.   So as your travels take you through the countryside of America this spring, just take time to enjoy the beauty and smells that make it a special place for those who live there.

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