Indiana farmer displays support for Trump

Apr 22, 2016

Candidate’s name was carved into a corn field

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

A farmer from New Castle, Indiana, who was unable to attend an event in support of Donald Trump in Indianapolis on Wednesday, endorsed the Republican candidate the best way he knew how.

Kade Kroger of L&K farms cut Trump’s name into his field.

“I was out finishing fields to prepare them for planting corn, and I thought it might be a fun way to show my support for Mr. Trump in the upcoming primary election,” he told WISH-TV.

Kroger told the news station it took him about 20 minutes to carve the letters into the field using his tractor.

During the race to the White House, other farmers around the United States have taken measures to show their support or displeasure with a candidate.

In Ohio, Jerry Slankard, who farms south of Canton, took manure from his 15 cows and bulls, loaded it into his spreader and spelled out “no Trump” in letters large enough to be seen from above.

He told WEWS NewsChannel5 he was voicing his opinion knowing full well that there’s people who disagree with him.

Mike Pattavina from Clarinda, Iowa, carved 60 feet tall letters to spell “Bernie” on his field to support Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders after campaign signs were stolen.

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.