Farm Family of the Year at Farmfest

The University of Minnesota Farm Family of the Year program was held this afternoon in the forum tent at Farmfest. It is always the wrap-up event at Farmfest. I believe there are 87 counties in Minnesota and about 70 of those were represented at Farmfest this afternoon. Tom Rothman with the University of Minnesota Extension said they were planning on about 450 family members at the program today. For a number of years I have had the honor of helping introduce and read the biographies of the Farm Families.

There were a couple Farm Families that their ancestors homesteaded the farms! Many of the other families were the forth, fifth and even sixth generation to operate the land. The farms were very diverse, with all types of crops and species of livestock represented. There was one similarity among the families. They were all very involved in their communities and all types of organizations.