Press
KATIE TONN
Sixth-Generation Kansas Farmer • Cattle Producer • Agricultural Communicator
Helping tell the story of American agriculture—from the people producing our food to the economics shaping its future.
About Katie
Katie Tonn is a sixth-generation Kansas farmer and cattle producer whose family has been involved in agriculture for more than 140 years. With experience in both production agriculture and finance, she shares a firsthand perspective on modern farming while helping consumers better understand where their food comes from and how it is produced.
Read full bio ↓
At a Glance
6TH GENERATION Kansas farm family
140+ YEARS of family history in American agriculture
FARM + RANCH
Wheat, row crops, hay, and cattle
FINANCE + AGRICULTURE
Professional experience in finance alongside firsthand production agriculture
FARM → FOOD
Consumer education focused on explaining how food is actually produced
KANSAS
Available for on-farm reporting and interviews
Published Work
Op-ed: The U.S. Has Fewer Cows But We Don’t Have a Beef Shortage
Civil Eats · September 2026
A cattle producer's perspective on America's shrinking beef cow herd, record beef prices, and whether increasing imports will actually make beef more affordable for consumers.
Available for Commentary, Interviews, & Contributed Writing
Katie is available as a source for journalists covering agriculture, food, business and rural America, including:
- American family farms and multigenerational agriculture
- Farm economics and the business of farming
- Farmland values, ownership and land leaving agricultural production
- Wheat production and the wheat-to-food supply chain
- Beef and cattle production
- Crop insurance and agricultural risk management
- Agricultural technology and modern farm equipment
- Food prices and the farm-to-grocery-store supply chain
- Farm succession and barriers facing the next generation
- Consumer misconceptions about agriculture and food production
- Rural communities and the future of American agriculture
THEN | NOW
“Six generations have farmed this land. I want consumers to understand what it takes for there to be a seventh.”
Six Generations on the Kansas Prairie
For more than 140 years, Katie Tonn’s family has made its living in American agriculture.
Across six generations, the tools, technology, crops, markets and economics of farming have changed dramatically—but the fundamental job has remained the same: producing food while caring for the land that makes it possible.
Today, the family’s Kansas agricultural operation includes crop production and cattle, providing Katie with a firsthand view of multiple parts of the food system.
That history also gives her a unique perspective on one of agriculture’s biggest questions: what will it take for family farms like hers to remain viable for another generation?
Katie shares the everyday realities of modern agriculture while helping consumers understand what happens long before food reaches the grocery store.
Potential Story Angles
THE FUTURE OF THE FAMILY FARM
Six generations have farmed this Kansas land. What will it take for there to be a seventh?
WHO WILL OWN AMERICAN FARMLAND?
The farmland debate extends beyond corporations and foreign ownership. What happens when productive acres permanently leave agriculture?
THE ECONOMICS OF GROWING FOOD
Why a farm can require millions of dollars in land and equipment while operating on surprisingly narrow margins.
FROM KANSAS WHEAT FIELD TO GROCERY AISLE
What actually happens between harvesting a bushel of wheat and buying flour or bread.
WHY IS BEEF SO EXPENSIVE?
A cattle producer's view of the long and complicated journey between a calf and the grocery-store meat case.
THE INFORMATION GAP BETWEEN FARMERS AND CONSUMERS
Fewer Americans have a direct connection to agriculture. What happens when the people buying food no longer know the people producing it?
Official Biography
Katie Tonn is a sixth-generation Kansas farmer, cattle producer, and agricultural communicator whose family has been involved in agriculture for more than 140 years. Her family’s operation produces wheat and other crops alongside cattle, giving her firsthand experience across multiple parts of the American food system.
Alongside her involvement in agriculture, Katie has a professional background in finance, bringing a business perspective to conversations about farm economics, land, food production, and the future of family agriculture.
Through social media and consumer education, she works to bridge the growing gap between the people who produce food and the people who buy it. Her approach combines firsthand experience with practical explanations of how modern agriculture actually works—from wheat fields and cattle production to crop insurance, farmland economics, agricultural technology, and the journey food takes from the farm to the grocery store.
Approved for editorial use.
Agriculture, Explained
Beyond the farm, Katie creates consumer-focused agricultural education designed to make complex food and farming topics understandable to people outside agriculture.
What Happens to Wheat After Harvest
Follow Katie on Instagram → @katie__tonn
Media Inquiries
Katie Tonn
Sixth-Generation Kansas Farmer & Cattle Producer
Email: katietonnks@gmail.com
Location: Kansas, USA
Instagram: @katie__tonn
Available for: Print • Digital • Television • Radio • Podcasts • Speaking
On-farm reporting and photography available by arrangement.
CONTACT KATIE
Press information last updated September 2026.