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Gail and Sue Johnson, Johnson Farms Country Market

By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

“Bring your best.” Perhaps you received that advice from a schoolteacher or coach. Today we’ll meet a rural Kansas farmer who has built a business by bringing the best of his family’s products to farmers markets.

Gail and Sue Johnson are owners of Johnson Farms Country Market, which specializes in producing and selling produce, canned items, and baked goods at local farmers markets. Gail grew up on a farm near Bennington. Sue’s family lived at Burdick and Enterprise before she and Gail were married.

Poster of a farmers market where Johnsons sell their products
Poster of a farmers market where Johnsons sell their products

Sue became a nurse, and Gail worked as a lab technician at a plant in Salina. In 1999, they bought a farm near Hope. “Our families both had big gardens growing up,” Gail said. They put in a garden at their new place. One day they stopped at the farmers market in Abilene. “We thought that would be fun to do,” Gail said.

They set up a stand to sell their garden vegetables at the weekly farmers market in Abilene, and it went well. Then they added some jams and jellies. When they wanted to make and sell pickles from their cucumbers, they needed a license and an approved kitchen. “Our first commercial kitchen was in 2015,” Gail said.

Sue’s mom and grandma had an old German family recipe for bierocks, and people said they were good enough to sell. The bierocks are now their No. 1 seller. Continue reading “Gail and Sue Johnson, Johnson Farms Country Market”

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Brad Roth, rural pastor and author

Leaf through the November issue of the national magazine Christianity Today and you will find an excerpt of a new book. The book focuses on the dynamics of the rural church in America today and was written by a young pastor in rural Kansas.

Brad Roth is the pastor of West Zion Mennonite Church in Moundridge, Kansas, where he lives with his wife Lici and their two children. Brad grew up on a farm in Illinois, went to Augustana College and then to Harvard Divinity School.

When asked by a fellow Ivy League student where he came from, Brad replied, “Illinois.” His classmate responded that this was “flyover country.” “Where are you from?” Brad asked. “New York City,” said the classmate. Brad responded, “Don’t you know where your food comes from?” It was a classic example of rural meets urban.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Brad Roth, rural pastor and author”