Surprise! Winter is making its return to Minnesota once again.
While most of us aren’t too excited about the 10-day forecast, we need to remember it really is only March. The calendar may say that it is officially Spring, but we know that early Spring in Minnesota can bring us some of the biggest snowstorms.
While the warm weather has made our outdoor projects such as apple tree pruning much more enjoyable, we know the snow that is forecasted won’t stick around too long.
The flowers that are growing in our greenhouses will soon be ready to make their way to your homes in just over a month!
Agriculture in the World Today: A New Spotlight Series
This past Tuesday, March 19, we celebrated National Agriculture Day by attending the Ag Day Gala hosted by the Minnesota Farm Bureau Foundation with our great local partners, Kowalski’s Markets.
This event brought together over 350 people from across various sectors of agriculture including educators, students, producers, grocers, government agencies, and countless others. It’s an evening where differences are set aside, and everyone comes together to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by American agriculture.
Talking about the world of agriculture today is becoming more important as the average American is 3 generations removed from the land. In the early 1970s, farmers made up 4.3% of America’s labor force. Today, that number is 1.3%. We must continue to speak up about what it takes to produce food and the challenges we face so that farmers are not forgotten.
At Untiedt’s, we want our customers to have the option to buy fresh and local produce, which is why we are passionate about our operation.
Our passion is not only in our growing practices that ensure our customers have the highest quality produce. We also want to educate our lawmakers at the state and federal level, as they are often unaware of the effects their policies are having on local agricultural production. Do we want to pass blame? Absolutely not, but we want to take the time to educate them and work with them to find solutions that keep farmers in business and food production in the United States.
As people in policy-making positions are farther removed personally from the land, we find it necessary to invest our time to educate them about food production.
Farming isn’t a 9am-5pm job. We can’t just shut it down on a Friday afternoon and resume Monday morning, although some have told us that’s how we should operate. Food doesn’t just end up in the grocery store, and there are seasons for the availability of produce, which is a shock to many.
The world of agriculture isn’t for the faint of heart, but for those of us who remain, it’s a lifestyle that we have come to love. We can’t imagine living any other way. The days are challenging as there are fewer and fewer of us in the industry. That’s why we will be sharing some of the challenges agriculture is facing, not only at Untiedt’s but across Minnesota and the United States.
Be on the lookout for more about this series on our website and in our regular emails throughout the season!
