‘I am Farmland’ campaign launched

Sep 04, 2014

New initiative announced at the Farm Progress Show aims to promote the expanded distribution of the documentary film called ‘Farmland’

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) kicked off a new campaign entitled ‘I am Farmland’ which is meant to support the expanded distribution of Farmland, a feature length documentary film that showcases the lives of young farmers and ranchers in the United States. USFRA made the announcement on August 26, at this year’s Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa.

“What we are looking to do is grow a grassroots support for this film at the farmer and agriculturalist level in order to put the film on college campuses and classrooms all across the country,” Randy Krotz CEO of USFRA told a crowd of reporters. The digital distribution of the film starts in October 2014.

Funds raised will be used to bring the film to high school classrooms and college campuses, along with supporting educational materials. USFRA is asking the agricultural community to get behind the campaign, noting that it is important for farmers to donate.

Krotz says that USFRA wants to be able to tell national media that there are thousands of farmers behind the Farmland initiative. “It’s not so much about the amount of money, but the number of farmers that contribute,” he said.

The film provides a glimpse into the lives of six young farmers and ranchers. Brad Bellah, a cattle rancher from Texas told Farms.com that he was surprised when asked if he would be willing to participate in documentary. He said that one evening he was pulling into his driveway when his phone rang, from a California number. Curious as to why someone from California would be calling, he picked up and it was James Moll, the director of Farmland.

Hesitant at first, and after talking with friends and family, Bellah age 27, agreed to participate. “I wanted to make sure that the story would be told from my perspective,” he said, adding that the film turned out to be an authentic depiction of agriculture.

While Bellah got to see the film before it was release in February 2014, he wasn’t provided with an opportunity to see it during the editing stage. “I was really pleased with how it turned out,” he said with a smile. Bellah goes on to say that he has enjoyed the friendships that he has made through the journey of the film being created and now released.

(Photo: Brad Bellah speaking to reporters at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa on August 26, 2014)

Randy Krotz speaks with Farms.com about the “I am Farmland “campaign. See video below:

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.