Silver City Siblings Represent Young Farmers on Chipotle Rose Parade Float

Dane Kruse and his sister Kelsey had a unique vantage point for Pasadena’s famous Rose Parade on New Year’s Day - aboard one of the floats.

The Kruses were two of the five young hog farmers from southwest Iowa riding on the float for Chipotle Mexican Grill.

“It was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Dane Kruse said.

The Kruses and members of the Mardesen family from Elliott were invited to ride on the Chipotle float because of their longstanding ties to Niman Ranch, a niche company that supplies pork products to Chipotle, a popular restaurant chain that boasts of using only fresh and natural ingredients in their products.

“Chipotle’s big deal is no antibiotics – fresh, all natural,” Kelsey Kruse said. “We raise all natural pork. No antibiotics.”

The Kruses sell the hogs they raise on their family farm near Silver City to Niman Ranch, who in turn sells pork to Chipotle.

“In 2001, we started raising pigs for Niman Ranch and we have ever since,” Dane said.

Chipotle used the Rose Parade Float to help kick off the company’s 2020 “Cultivate the Future of Farming” initiative. The campaign includes not only the float in the Rose Parade, but also Chipotle’s new television commercial devoted to “the passion and resilience of young people in agriculture.”  The float, which featured a red flowered tractor and grain silo, received the Grand Marshal’s Trophy for having the most outstanding creative concept and float design.

Dane and Kelsey are featured in the Chipotle commercial, which aired for the first time on television during the national broadcast of the Rose Parade.

Film crews representing Chipotle, photographers from National Geographic and reporters for National Public Radio came to the Kruse farm last fall where they interviewed Dane and Kelsey and shot footage for the advertising campaign.

“Chipotle reached out to Niman Ranch about getting some younger farmers or producers they could contact to do some interviews, photo ops – those kind of things for their initiative in 2020,” Kelseyy said. “Our names got thrown in the hat.”

Dane said the full day of interviewing and filming for the commercials was a unique experience in itself, but then came the invitation to ride on the Rose Parade float.

“When they were about to leave our house, they said, ‘Hey, you ought to come be on our float in the Rose Parade. We’ll fly you out and we’ll house you for a few days. It will be a good time,’” Dane recalled. “We were like, ‘Oh, really?’”

Dane and Kelsey didn’t need much time to consider Chipotle’s offer.

“I guess it was like their ‘thank you for letting us invade your house for a day,’” Kelsey said.

Kelsey called their experience in California “incredible.”

There was time for sightseeing, but also an opportunity to get an up-close look at the floats being built.

“We went to Pasadena on the day judging was taking place. We wore our Carhartt coats because we had to be in full costume,” she said. “We got to see the inside detail of how much work and time goes into the whole process.

“We’re talking floats that are made with all natural materials – coconut, sweet potatoes, seaweed, flowers from all over the globe – all the different components  that make these floats super vibrant.”

Dane said he and his family have watched the Rose Parade on television over the years, but he had no idea what a spectacle the event actually is.

“It was crazy,” he said. “I never really understood how big of a deal the parade is until we got there and heard how many people were there. It was astronomical. I really couldn’t believe it.”

The Rose Parade began at 8 a.m. (Pacific time), which meant Dane and Kelsey had to be up early on New Year’s Day.

They were actually on the float from 7:30 – 10:30 a.m.

“Three hours of being strapped and having to smile and wave a lot,” Kelsey said. “It was an incredible experience.”

After the parade, Dane and Kelsey found dozens of text and social media messages on their phones from friends and relatives who had seen them on the float and in the Chipotle commercial.  It was a memorable experience they’ll be reminded of when they’re watching future Rose Parades on New Year’s Day.

“I will obviously be paying more attention to the parade in years to come,” Kelsey said.

Dane and Kelsey, the children of Jeff and Carol Kruse, are sixth generation farmers. Their ancestors settled in Mills County in 1866 and the family has been farming ever since.

Dane, who is also a field agent for Niman Ranch, said his family’s hog operation has grown over the past two decades and will continue to expand. They’re currently raising about 1,000 hogs a year and hope to double that number in the future.
 

The Opinion-Tribune

116 S Walnut St Glenwood, IA 51534-1665
P.O. Box 377, Red Oak, IA 51566
Phone: 712-527-3191
Phone: 712-623-2566
Fax: 712-527-3193

Comment Here