Photo: Chad Leman of Eureka poses for a photo at his farm in Woodford County. Several farm families from Illinois will be featured in a commercial airing during the Super Bowl, as the capstone to the "We Are the 96" campaign honoring farm families. (Clay Jackson/The Pantagraph)
Three Central Illinois farm families featured in a Super Bowl LVIII commercial as part of the "We are the 96%" Illinois Farm Families campaign spoke with The Pantagraph about their involvement and TV debut. Chad Leman, of Eureka, Jason Bunting of Emington, and Matt Boucher, of Dwight, shared stories of their families and how they became involved in the Super Bowl Commercial. Two other farm families will also appear in the commercial.
"It's going to be nice for our family and friends to see some familiar faces in the Super Bowl this year. So they'll have fun with that," said Chad Leman, a third-generation farmer in Eureka. "My youngest daughters are really looking forward to telling their friends about it, and I'm glad to have the opportunity as a farmer, really to highlight what we do to grow food for our fellow man."
Jason Bunting said he is looking forward to seeing the commercial more than the game itself, noting Illinois Farm Families filmed his part in 2022. He called his farm a "family affair" with an open gate and open door policy as they sell directly to consumers.
"I've really enjoyed the experience, being front and center at the Super Bowl and the importance of family farms. Our kids felt like movie stars," Bunting said. "(They) were a great group of people to work with, working together to inform consumers. It's been an absolute honor to be a part of the campaign — anything to educate our consumers on where their food comes from, I'm all for."
"It's an honor to be able to be on a Super Bowl commercial and increase communication between family- and non-family-owned farms," Boucher said. "96% of farms in the state are family-owned and operated, but people think it's only 47%, which is kind of surprising. Great to be a part of the campaign to change that … get out in front of more people's faces."
He added, if consumers have questions about how their food is made, they should go directly to a farmer instead of searching the internet.
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