What do you get when you mix two street artists from the Netherlands, two Texas technicians, an Australian documentary director, a couple of producers from London and farmers in rural Missouri?
The answer is art.
Loose Creek turkey farmer Glenn Robertson is one of three farmers in the country who have been chosen by Honeysuckle White for the Beautiful Barn project.
For the next few days, Robertson is playing host to a documentary film crew and international street artists Telmo Pieper and Miel Krutzmaan as they paint a giant mural of a turkey on one of his barns.
"It's really great to have all these different perspectives and all these different people here to talk with the farmer and work on this together," said Jane Chandler, account manager for Honeysuckle White. "We are really excited to be here we are just really excited that Honeysuckle White can be a part of this project. Honeysuckle White as a part of Cargill has 700 independent farmers and that is what the inspiration for this project is, to celebrate them."
His father purchased the farm in 1952, Robertson said, and he has been working in the business his entire life, adding his children and even his 14 grandchildren help out.
"I really didn't know what to expect when they approached us about putting a mural on the barn, but the more I see the more excited I am," Robertson said. "I am just grateful that they chose us to do the mural, and I love farming. I love feeding the world."
The two artists are used to working in more urban areas and street art festivals, they said. They have known each other for 10 years after meeting in art school and realizing their styles, when combined, supplement each other well.
The theme in this piece is generations, according to a release from the artists. The statement said the main inspiration was not only the family farm, but also the new techniques and practices of poultry farming that improve conditions for the animals and consumers.
"In other words, a new way for the next generation of farmers to do their work in an even better way, which benefits the next generation of turkeys and consumers," the statement read.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday the outline of a giant turkey's head was halfway colored on the side of Robertson's barn.
The pair of street artists used spray cans of multiple colors to create depth and shadow to the mural, while overlaying purple, brown, white and orange to give the bird realistic color around its dark green eyes.
As they stood strapped in on top of their scissor lift with their faces covered by gas masks, a film crew was also hard at work documenting the project. The director, Selina Miles, was shooting photos from the bottom as the rest were filming rising shots from the ditch near the road by the farm's sign.
For just a few moments the Robertson's family farm in the middle of nowhere was a crux for art, business, journalism, and agriculture.