GALVA, Ill. – As the “Pink Hat Farmer,” Kate Huffman of north-central Illinois is an international advocate for women, farm mental health, succession planting and more. Her advocacy, which extends to a worldwide social media presence, earned her the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Young Farmers and Ranchers Excellence in Agriculture Award in 2025. In addition to her recognition as an Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leader, Huffman was named an Illinois Soybean Association 20 Under 40 Farmer, adding to her numerous accolades since becoming the “Pink Hat Farmer” after a 2018 chance encounter at the supermarket.

“It started as a fun nickname because I was always wearing pink hats. Somebody shouted out at a grocery store ‘hey, pink hat farmer,’ and it grew out of there to become a platform to promote my life as a female farmer and other female farmers,” Huffman said. “I push on topics that may be difficult for most farm families to talk about, too, like succession planning, helping young and beginning farmers get started, mental health, safety on the farm…all of those things are very big passions of mine. (Pink Hat Farmer) has given me a platform that is really worldwide.”

Huffman’s social media pages – TikTok, Instagram and Facebook – are followed by thousands of people from the U.S. and other nations. Her website (https://pinkhatfarmer.com), which serves as a home base for her outreach and mission statement, is visited by thousands more.

Her international profile is extended through Huffman’s affiliation with Harvest Hosts (https://www.harvesthosts.com), a network of farms, wineries and other locations aligned to offer a safe and unique RV camping experience. Huffman converted a parcel of her sixth-generation sesquicentennial farm to a small RV campground with water and electric hookups for the purpose of accommodating foreign Harvest Hosts travelers.

“People come from all over the world and stay on my farm. Our site for Harvest Hosts is on a spot where I have a grain bin mural painted in 2022 of a pink hat. It’s become a local monument, and to date we’ve had over 160 different guests, including from Bermuda and Canada,” Huffman said.

Profits from Pink Hat Farmer merchandise, available strictly through the website, are poured back into the farm’s Harvest Hosts campground. Among the plans for the campground are a storefront and area for educational programs. “I never thought I’d be this person, but I plan to bring agritourism to my home farm and just continue to share it in real-life time,” Huffman said.

She purchased her family’s farm outside Galva in 2024, and can trace her family’s presence on the farm back to 1867. Originally purchased from the Bishop Hill Colony, the property was the original outpost farm of Swedish immigrants who occupied the area from the 1840s. Huffman has spent much of her time since the purchase working to improve the property and outbuildings.

In her January AFBF presentation, Huffman used her 25 minutes to shed light on a trio of issues including her concern over the USDA’s Farm Service Agency’s “inconsistencies” regarding loan processes, along with farm mental health and carbon sequestration. She also discussed her advocacy efforts for agriculture as Pink Hat Farmer at the local, state, national and international levels.

“It was an incredible opportunity to not only share my passions again, but also to get my voice out on a national level and do interviews like these where we can touch on these topics that maybe a lot of people don’t want to talk about,” Huffman said.

While her social media posts and public-facing advocacy may seem to primarily target farmers, Huffman’s true target audience is the consumer base, she told Farm World. “As farmers we are 1 percent of the population trying to feed the rest of the world, and there are a lot of people out there that think we are poisoning the land, poisoning the food that we are growing, and that’s not the case at all. So just really giving the consumer a boots-on-the-ground view, easing those concerns and having those conversations is my primary reach,” she said.

Huffman’s social media platform has recently allowed her to share her perspective on the war in Iran and its effects on fuel and fertilizer costs at the farm gate. Though she’s tackling tough, sensitive topics, the Pink Hat Farmer plans to continue to speak her mind when it comes to issues affecting the farm community.

“I think this is a great opportunity. I think the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to being a social media influencer, if you will, promoting agriculture,” she said. “I’m honored and blessed to have this role.”