When Natalina Sents graduated from Iowa State University (ISU) last May, she decided to follow her dream of taking a year off to travel all 50 states.

But her goal wasn’t to visit famous landmarks and take selfie photos. Instead, the ISU agribusiness grad wanted to visit farmers across the country, sharing their stories on social media.

Since embarking May 15, a week after graduation, Sents has met more than 70...