Connecting the dots: Kansas crops and refugee camps

Wheat ambassador Justin Gilpin is connecting the dots between Kansas crop fields and Kenyan refugee camps. He says the Sunflower State’s farmers depend on symbiotic relationships with global markets.

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State News

June 10, 2025 - 2:59 PM

The Great Plains are a pride and joy for Kansas. Photo by Jill Hummels for Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Justin Gilpin visited a remote, windswept camp in northern Kenya serving hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflicts in Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan.

“To be able to see that and witness that firsthand, it was emotionally exhausting for sure,” said Gilpin, chief executive officer of the Kansas Wheat Commission and Kansas Association of Wheat Growers. “Seeing how many young people — that was probably the thing I wasn’t prepared for.”

Gilpin took part in a food distribution line serving more than 250,000 refugees. Their rations…

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