Country star and cookbook author Martina McBride appeared on the first episode of Wide Open Country’s Fan 2 Fan livestream series on Sept. 22 to announce that she’s partnering with Country Crock’s new sustainability initiative, The Cover Crops Project.
In the above video, McBride explains how the Cover Crops Project will help Kansas-area farmers before sharing career-spanning memories of everyone from rock songwriter Bob Seger to Nashville legend Tammy Wynette. She even reveals that at her first concert, she saw bat-biting, ballad-singing rocker Ozzy Osbourne. Those topics came up during the show’s “lighting round” series of questions, which encourage artists to talk about their own fan experiences.
The Cover Crops project aims to help farmers in McBride’s home state of Kansas improve soil health on their farms, which is one of the key benefits of regenerative farming.
“I’m a Kansas native who was raised on a farm and a mom who loves to cook, so I’m passionate about healthier eating, bringing people together around good food and creating a more sustainable future. That’s why I’m excited to team up with Country Crock to share more about The Cover Crops Project,” said McBride in a statement. “The foods we eat are made from crops that are grown by hard-working farmers who make decisions every day about what to grow, when to plant, and how to protect their farms’ soil. More people should know how practices like cover crops help improve the soil underpinning our food supply, which in turn will enable families to enjoy products like Country Crock for generations to come.”
Per a press release, the Cover Crops Project set a goal of enrolling 13,000 acres of cover crops in eastern Kansas and western Missouri on soybean fields that have not been previously planted with a cover crop. The partnership between Country Crock and No-till on the Plains demonstrates the commitment of Country Crock and its parent company, Upfield, to support more sustainable business practices.
In addition, McBride and Country Crock are teaming with the iHeartRadio Red Barn Sessions livestream series to elevate such young country music artists as Gabby Barrett and Jimmie Allen through exclusive interviews and acoustic performances. The first session features Barrett and will debut on Sept. 29 at www.countrycrock.com/RedBarnSessions.
“At Country Crock, we aim to bring a little bit of the country into everything that we do,” said Marisa Kololyan, Brand Director Country Crock, in a press release. “We are now extending this beyond the literal country fresh taste of our spreads and the farm-grown ingredients that we use to make them, to new initiatives like The Cover Crops Project to partner with farmers who share our Kansas country roots, and trusted country voices like Martina McBride, who will help us spread our message to consumers everywhere.”
As part of the Red Barn Sessions, Country Crock has teamed up with McBride to offer one lucky fan the opportunity to win a virtual meet and greet, along with a signed Gibson guitar and a $10,000 cash prize. From October 12th until December 28th, fans can visit www.CountryCrock.com to enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win.