Des Moines, Iowa, Sept. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Last weekend, Niman Ranch brought hundreds of farm families together with acclaimed chefs, customers and food and agriculture leaders from across the country for its 28th annual Hog Farmer Appreciation Weekend – a three-day celebration built around a belief that has defined Niman Ranch for decades: the people who raise our food deserve to be known, valued and celebrated.
What began as a way to honor Niman Ranch hog farmers has grown into a celebration of the community surrounding them – and a reflection of what makes Niman Ranch unique. This year, that meant honoring farmers leading by example, investing nearly $300,000 in the next generation, recognizing customers who create opportunity for independent family farms and welcoming acclaimed chefs to cook for the farmers themselves.
New Niman Ranch General Manager Jeff Amoscato first attended the weekend in 2012 as a Shake Shack customer. “I left my first Hog Farmer Appreciation weekend believing in Niman Ranch in a completely different way,” Amoscato said. “Meeting the farming families made it clear that this was much bigger than a supplier relationship. Returning now, I feel an enormous responsibility and privilege to help ensure these farmers – and the next generation who want to follow them – have the opportunity to thrive.”
Creating Opportunity for the Next Generation
At a time when the average American farmer is 60 years old, the average Niman Ranch farmer is 43 – a distinction Niman Ranch attributes in part to a more accessible farming model and nearly two decades of investment through the Niman Ranch Next Generation Foundation.
This year, the Foundation awarded $293,000 to 52 young farmers, students and emerging rural leaders, including 41 higher-education scholarships and grants supporting farm improvements, regenerative agriculture and breeding stock. Since 2006, more than $2.3 million has been distributed to help Niman Ranch farm families pursue education and invest in their farms.
“I'm constantly inspired by the young people in our network,” said Sean Flynn, Niman Ranch Senior Director of Retail Sales and Executive Director of the Niman Ranch Next Generation Foundation. “Their determination, strong work ethic, and commitment to their communities give me great confidence in the future of agriculture and the rural way of life that helps sustain it.”
Link: Meet the 2026 Niman Ranch Next Generation Foundation recipients.
Honoring Farmers Who Lead by Example
Phil Kramer, named 2026 Hog Farmer of the Year, began working with Niman Ranch as a field agent in 2003, becoming a trusted resource to hundreds of producers while building his own family hog operation. Now farming full time, Kramer and his family market approximately 1,000 hogs to Niman Ranch annually – continuing a partnership that spans three generations.
Link: Meet the 2026 Niman Ranch Farmer of the Year, Phil Kramer.
Doug and Traci Steffen of northeastern Nebraska, Niman Ranch’s 2026 Sustainable Farm of the Year, are raising eight children on a farm designed around soil health, animal care and long-term resilience. The Steffens have increased soil organic matter from 2% to 6.5%, eliminated chemical fertilizers and developed a closed-loop system that transforms deep-bedded hog manure into biological inputs for their fields.
Partners Who Help Farmers Succeed
Niman Ranch also introduced its inaugural “Partners in Purpose” Awards, recognizing customers who champion its farmers, share their stories and create new markets for the food they raise.
The honorees included Marczyk Fine Foods, Voice of the Farm Award; Thrive Market, Breakout Partner of the Year – Retail; 2Fifty Texas BBQ, Breakout Partner of the Year – Food Service; and Baldor Specialty Foods, Horizon Partner of the Year.
The awards reflect an important part of the Niman Ranch model: farmers and ranchers raise the food, while committed partners help it reach more people – creating demand and opportunity for independent family farmers.
Link: Meet the inaugural Partners in Purpose honorees.
Celebrating Farmers Through the Food They Raise
The weekend culminated with one of Niman Ranch’s most cherished traditions: acclaimed chefs traveling to Iowa to cook for the farmers and families behind the food they serve.
Niman Ranch Executive Chef Andrew Hunter, marking his 19th year leading the culinary program, was joined by chefs Charlie Foster, Riley Huddleston, Jennifer Jasinski, David Zimmerman and Sarah Stegner, with KC Zinn preparing dessert. Together, they created a multi-course dinner expressly to honor the people who raised its ingredients.
“The greatest honor a chef can have is a relationship with farmers,” Hunter said. “Niman Ranch has created a means for chefs and farmers to know each other and to rely on each other for a greater good.”
Link: Meet the chefs and explore the 2026 dinner menu.
Carrying It Forward
Today, Niman Ranch is a community of more than 600 independent family farmers and ranchers raising pork, beef and lamb, supported by chefs, retailers, restaurants, distributors and consumers who create demand for food raised to higher standards.
Twenty-eight years after the first Hog Farmer Appreciation gathering, the community has grown. Its center has not.
“You can’t manufacture what exists here,” Amoscato said. “These are relationships built over decades – between farmers and chefs, customers and communities, parents and children who hope to keep farming. Our responsibility is to protect what makes Niman Ranch special while creating more opportunity around it. If we can grow this brand while giving more independent family farmers a reason to believe there is a future for them here, that is success.”
To learn more about Niman Ranch and its network of independent family farmers and ranchers, visit NimanRanch.com.
About Niman Ranch
Niman Ranch is a network of more than 600 independent family farmers and ranchers who raise pork, beef and lamb according to the highest standards of animal care and sustainable agriculture. The protein of choice for many of America’s most celebrated chefs, Niman Ranch products are also available at grocery stores nationwide for home cooks seeking exceptional flavor from animals Raised with Care®. Learn more at NimanRanch.com.
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Diana Souder Niman Ranch diana.souder@nimanranch.com
