Staff writer
Anyone who has ever wanted to learn about the everyday life of a farm and ranch family can go to the Kansas Beef Council Web site, www.Kansasbeef.org, where a new blog is posted by Kim Harms of Harms Plainview Ranch, Lincolnville. A link to “Ranch Family Blog” is provided on the home page.
In words and pictures, Harms portrays normal day-to-day family activities as well as those related to production of beef cattle.
The ranching enterprise, operated by Kim and her husband, Mark, is headquartered at 2528 250th St. It maintains a cowherd that produces purebred Angus, Red Angus, and Charolais bulls and heifers for sale to other farmers and ranchers.
Harms said she was approached by the council to create the blog after it was advised that one of the fastest ways to reach people and promote a product is through personal stories.
“We were asked to put a face on animal agriculture in Kansas,” she said.
The couple hope the blog will show that beef producers do not operate impersonal “factory farms,” but are ordinary people who live ordinary lives and care about their animals.
“Farm and ranch families are the original animal welfarists,” Harms said. “We care about what we do, and we do the best we can to keep our animals healthy.”
The first entry was posted May 20. Harms adds new entries at least once a month. The latest entry, posted Oct. 21, has pictures and a story about chopping silage feed. Other entries are about calving time, gathering cattle, and the children’s 4-H and sports activities.
Harms said she puts a lot of thought into her entries: “I feel I have a responsibility not just to represent Mark and me but all ranchers and beef producers in Kansas.”
The Harms’ three children — Taylor, 15, Cade, 11, and Payton, 9 — are the fifth generation to live and work on the 120-year-old farmstead.