2025 Farmers and Friends Meeting Recap

Posted on February 7, 2025 by Eric Hemphill

Dear reader,

For 20 years, Cultivate KC has hosted our Farmers and Friends Meeting each winter. I was not in attendance 20 years ago. Mostly because I was quite busy being a teenager. But my understanding is that those first few meetings were intended to recreate, in an urban setting, that age-old small-town farmer tradition: meeting at the local diner for coffee and chit chat. I grew up in small-town Kansas. I’m quite familiar with this tradition.

A group of folks gathered round a table, talking weather and crop yields, current events and sports teams. Coffee flowing. Slices of pie making their way ‘round the table.

In many ways, the scenes at El Torreon Event Space on Saturday were similar. Yes, there was coffee. And pie. Several varieties. I stopped counting at around 15. There was certainly talk of current events, as we are heading into some uncertain times ahead. But the biggest similarity, and the one that was a primary driver when this event started in 2005, was the sense of community. To paraphrase our Executive Director, Brien Darby’s closing comments, there is no way forward if we don’t do this work in community. I felt that sense of community, and I hope attendees did as well.

There was such great content throughout the day. We started with the well-deserved presentation of the John Kaiahua Mentorship Award to Mr. Mike Pearl. Mr. Pearl is continuing the legacy of his multigenerational farm family, and has mentored a number of farmers in our community along the way.

Our breakout sessions featured a ton of experts talking about everything from land access to grant funds, marketing to mental health. A huge shoutout to all panelists and breakout session leaders for lending their time and expertise.

Our keynote speakers, Tepfirah Rushdan and Patrice Brown, offered reflections on lessons learned building food systems policy for the City of Detroit. I found their straightforward approach super encouraging because the lessons they imparted seemed to be replicable here in KC. My main takeaway from them was the importance of the follow up and follow through. As many of us do, I’m sure, I feel the meeting fatigue deeply. Especially if there seems to be little to no progress after said meetings. But Tepfirah pointed out that this is part of the process. The meetings are important. As is the “meeting before the meeting, between meetings, and after meetings.” It may become overwhelming, but persistence is a key component of progress.

Some other pieces of advice they offered:

The job of a leader is to develop other leaders.
Tell your story and speak from your heart.
Find your passion. Find your people.
Build a strong team, you can’t do it on your own.

Cheers to 20 years of Farmers and Friends! It was such a pleasure to share space, ideas, advice, pizza, and pie with all our attendees.

A few things to keep the conversation going:

Check out the digital version of the 2025 Zine
Join our general or farmer-focused email list (scroll to the bottom of each page to sign up) to receive news about future events and opportunities to advocate.
Check out our Farmer Resources Page to learn more about how we can help you and your farm.
Stay tuned for more information about upcoming events, including the return of our Urban Grown Farms and Gardens Tour on June 7, 2025!

If you attended the event, PLEASE take a minute to fill out the post-event survey to share your feedback and help us keep improving this event!