Talking Ag, from the ground up.

 

After hearing about the possibility of this event for a few months, when I was invited by Wanda of MN Farm Living to attend the event and write a blog post about it, I RSVPed yes within minutes of the invitation, because I was THAT EXCITED.

The event was put on by several great organizations in hopes of creating an opportunity for event goers (both farmers and consumers) to engaging in interesting conversation about Ag production and how it relates to the food we eat and the products that we consume. It also was a fundraiser for both Project 1590 and the local FFA chapters. The event took place on one of the beautiful Becker Farm’s (LB Pork) outside of Northrup, MN.

 

For those who don’t know, I would consider myself somewhere in between a farmer and a consumer.

 What do I mean by that? No, I am not directly a farmer, but I would consider myself a member of a farming/agriculture centered family. I like many people, grew up across the street from a farm, and several of my friends growing up came from farm families, but I was 100% oblivious to everything farming related prior to 2008 (when I met my now husband).

My husband was raised on a family farm in rural Lakefield MN. He lives and breathes farming. He presently works full time as a Service Dispatcher & Supervisor for a local dealership that sells & services Agriculture & construction equipment. Then when he gets home from work you will often (about 99% of the time) find him helping out on his family’s farm, and also taking care of the livestock that we also raise on our own small farm (and hopes to raise full-time someday). I am no stranger to farming, HUGE supporters in fact.

I must honestly admit that I still don’t know a lot about farming. But if I have a question about farming, I will ask someone that is in the AG industry that I know and respect over social media and the internet. I HIGHLY recommend this and encourage you to do the same, and if you don’t know anyone they are pretty friendly people who have a great passion and knowledge for what they do. There are many creditable sources for information on the AG industry on social media and on the internet, but there are probably twice as many sources for information that isn’t very accurate.

The event began with a social hour where attendees were able to enjoy the delicious Chilled Sweet Corn made by Cup N’ Saucer using the ingredients from local farms & gardens, as they enjoyed each other’s company and visited the different booths that gave information about different FFA chapters, local farms, local AG businesses, and other Fairmont area Businesses. My favorite was talking to the members of the local high school’s FFA chapters and hearing their passion about Martin County, FFA, and the AG industry.

 

After the social hours we were all asked to find a seat at one of the several beautifully decorated tables, and continue the conversations as the 3 meal courses, also prepared by Cup N’ Saucer, that were served by the FFA members in full uniform, on a warm day. Impressed once again.

 

 

 

 

What I learned:

Cup N’ Saucer makes AMAZING food.

Check out the Martin County Fair. Specifically the booths for a lot of the local organizations. They have ALOT of cool things going on, alot to be proud of.

Project 1590, is an amazing addition to the Fairmont area and Martin County. One of their big projects right now is the possibility of a Fairmont Civic Center which would be an AMAZING addition to Fairmont and the surrounding communities. Check out their booth at the Martin County Fair going on this week.

I’ve known that Martin County is HUGE in the Pork Producing industry (worldwide), but I honestly didn’t realize how big it was. In 2013 Martin County farmers sold 1,621,000 market hogs. A market hog typically weighs 270 lbs when it is sold, and will be between 5.5 and 6 months in age.

Minnesota pork producing families, hog production creates 22,500 jobs!! Jobs such as swine nutrition and care, construction and building services, trucking, feed milling, and consulting.

The importance of asking questions about the AG industry to actual people that are involved with it, rather than believing what your friends, neighbors and relatives post on social media.