Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Missouri Corn Talk, your go to weekly agriculture podcast delivering fast, reliable updates on market development efforts, ethanol demand, and the issues shaping today's corn industry. I'm your host, David Geiger. This week we're looking at a partnership that brings agriculture and baseball together in a way that connects with folks far beyond the farm. You have probably heard of it during a Cardinals broadcast or seen it inside Busch Stadium. The Race to the Plate campaign is a joint effort through Missouri Farmer's care and the St. Louis Cardinals. And it's all about helping consumers better understand where their food comes from. Joining us is Patrick Sire, a corn grower from southeast Missouri and chairman of the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council. Patrick is one of the farmers featured in this year's campaign, and he's here to talk about how they're working to connect with fans in a real and meaningful way. Patrick, thank you so much for your time today. Can you describe this partnership? Why is it important?
[00:00:52] Speaker B: Well, David, most people are removed from the farm and don't have a real good idea of where their food actually comes from. So with this coalition with us and, you know, the Cardinals, we're trying to educate and let people know that, hey, us as producers out here, we're striving to raise a safe, affordable, consumable product for the American people. And it's just a way of educating them that what we're doing out here on the farm, whether it's a row crop farm or livestock farm, whatever farm it is that Missouri farmers care. We're here for the people.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: Why baseball in particular? Is this an interesting way to connect with people over there? Is baseball that connecting force that can draw both farmers and non farmers?
[00:01:36] Speaker B: Yes. You know, baseball, apple pie in America, it's, you know, it all goes together. So it's kind of a unique coalition or unique joining of people. You know, everybody likes baseball, everybody likes apple pieces, you know, so why not put them both together?
[00:01:51] Speaker A: It makes me think of how to the north you'd have the field of dreams connotations right in the middle of of corn fields. It says such a deep connection between baseball and farming or just rural life in general.
And this is another way to go about that, maybe even more to the South.
[00:02:09] Speaker B: That is correct. That's correct. You know, matter of fact, we actually have a field of dreams down here in southeast Missouri too.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: Oh, really?
[00:02:17] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. We actually. It's a cousin of mine. He's got a baseball field out there out at his house next to his barn and stuff. Got the lights on there you know, just dealing. And as kids, as kids growing up, all the grandkids would show up and they'd have their Sunday afternoon ball game. It was quite interesting, quite something to see.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: Well, maybe that's where the Cardinals should head off next for a little bit of a fun time in the Southeast.
Because agriculture is Missouri's number one industry. It's a very important part of the culture of the state. And having that chance to interact with the checkoff can really show off farmers directly to millions of people.
[00:02:59] Speaker B: That's correct. Our industry supports $90 billion annually. So, you know, every little bit that you put into that affects the whole economy of Missouri. Every little interaction it goes along with the Cardinals, with agriculture, with Missouri in general, it affects everybody.
[00:03:15] Speaker A: This partnership put a video on Facebook, and I was watching.
I like the concept, this idea of transitions between, you know, you're pouring the chalk on the field and you're pouring the grain into the bins, and these very visual elements connecting agriculture to baseball. How is that leveraging to you, this concept of connection between farm to city?
[00:03:43] Speaker B: How is that leveraging?
That's a good question there, David.
[00:03:47] Speaker A: Sometimes just. It's the thought process, right? It may not be a specific answer. It's more of the idea, right?
[00:03:54] Speaker B: That's correct. You know, it's a visual. A visual concept of, hey, you know, everybody has a product that they're using to get the job done out here. It's corn to feed and fuel, and on the ball field, it's chalk and baseball gloves. Everybody has their tools.
[00:04:09] Speaker A: I think trustworthiness is very much associated with the familiar. It's difficult to have something strange or unknown and trust in it. And so these visuals, this connection, this direct association with baseball is a way to potentially build consumer trust.
How do you take that idea, and why do you think it's important to continue to invest in trust, progress between urban and rural people?
[00:04:40] Speaker B: Well, as the story is, you know, here on my farm, my family feed my family too, with the same. Same food that the rest of the world eats, the rest of the America eats. So I would say showing that is, if I trust it with my own family, you should be able to trust it with yours, too. Just a visual part of expressing what we're doing out here.
[00:04:59] Speaker A: A deeper point of. I think what you've been saying and what the partnership that we're going over is talking about is this concept of education and having this local education aspect to how farms work and why they're important for us and for the state.
How do you view Education.
And what do you think is important to look for and participate in as folks learn more about the farm?
[00:05:29] Speaker B: As human beings, we're all continually learning, educating, or we should be. We should always keep our eyes open, keep our views open to the changes and what the world gives to us. Constantly relearning as things on the farm change. You know, our technology changes.
We use GPS now. We use biotechnology so we can provide a safe product for our consumers. So continue educating our consumers and the populace. It will be a constant duty as producers that we're going to have to do. We got the Race to the Plate and I guess on Missouri Farmers Care, we have our night at the ballpark, where we'll be at Ford Plaza, where we'll be conversing with whoever wants to come by, you know, mainly the kids. So it's a constant deal where we're educating education in the classroom. Several events go on to educate the people.
[00:06:21] Speaker A: What's going on, Patrick? Is there a good place to follow up and continue to watch this conversation going on between the ball field and the farm?
[00:06:30] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, keep your ears tuned to the Cardinal Campaign, the Cardinal radio station. They're constantly giving little excerpts from the commodity groups, whether it's pork, dairy, beef or corn growers. Kind of get a little tidbits of information going on out here in the agriculture industry and then watch Cardinal campaign, watch Cardinal game. Occasionally the videos come up of the Fred Bird being on the farm out here, different locations. See what we're doing out here.
[00:06:56] Speaker A: Patrick, I'm going to let you go here because I know you're actually heading to the Cardinals game later today as well. But is there anything you'd like to add about all this progress in communicating between the farm and the urban areas?
[00:07:10] Speaker B: Yes. Hey, we're, we're all in this thing together. Don't feel like we're opposition to each other. We're all here to help each other survive. So let's keep it together and always remember we're we're in it. We're in this world together. So let's keep it together.
[00:07:24] Speaker A: That is Patrick Sire. He is a southeast Missouri corn grower as well as the chairman of the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council. Talking about the Missouri Farmers Care Race to the Plate campaign and the work being done to help connect with fans and tell agriculture story beyond. The farm plays a big role in building trust and demand for what we grow. Patrick, thank you so much for your time today.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: Thank you, David.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: And that's it for this week's Missouri Corn talk. This podcast is made possible by the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council and the Missouri Corn Growers Association. To learn more about the work being done on behalf of Missouri corn farmers, visit mocorn.org I'm David Geiger. Thanks for listening.
