Local Farm Bureau, Conservation District celebrate National Agriculture Week

Home City News Local Farm Bureau, Conservation District celebrate National Agriculture Week
Local Farm Bureau, Conservation District celebrate National Agriculture Week
The Hillsdale County Farm Bureau tables near Sharon’s House of Pancakes Courtesy | Facebook

The Hillsdale County Farm Bureau and Hillsdale Conservation District partnered on March 22 to inform shoppers at the Market House Supermarket about local produce, dairy and meat products. The event kicked off their celebration of National Agriculture Week. 

“This year we went above and beyond and really focused on Michigan grown and Michigan made and, of course, focused on local products as well,” said Allison Grimm, Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program technician. “We put little tags up on items with nutrient checks as well as tags marking things grown in Michigan.” 

Grimm, who works for the Conservation District, a local government unit that provides resource management for residents of Hillsdale county, owns her own poultry farm and sells her meat products at the local farmer’s market. 

“Where does our food come from?” Grimm said. “We can get any food we want but we don’t think about where it comes from. That’s the questions we should be asking.” 

The two organizations also raffled gift baskets. Many local farmers and members of the Hillsdale County Farm Bureau were present to answer shoppers’ questions about where their food comes from and how it is produced. 

The American Farm Bureau is a non-profit organization that provides insurance and lobbying for the agricultural industry. Each county has its own board of directors that drafts policies to protect local farms and educates their communities on the importance of agriculture.  

“It’s a grass roots policy organization,” said Hillsdale County Farm Bureau Board President Kayla Lewis. “A lot of issues your neighboring farmer may have you share, so we meet to correct and approve policy to keep us safe.” 

Like all members of the Farm Bureau Board, Lewis is a farmer herself. She works at Pleasant View Dairy and Beef in Jonesville, Michigan, a fourth-generation family farm that has been in operation for 80 years. 

“Farmers represent just two percent of the population. If you want to eat, you need us, but we are not good at promoting ourselves,” Lewis said. “That is the importance of this week.” 

Chris Brooks, vice president of the Hillsdale County Farm Bureau Board and a fourth generation cattle farmer said that farming often gets overlooked by consumers. 

“Don’t be afraid to ask us questions,” Brooks said. “We want to share with you knowledge that you might not have had before. It’s a very satisfying job—it means family, tradition, and history.”  

In addition to the event at the Market House, the Hillsdale County Farm Bureau will be partnering with Pro-Edge arena on Saturday night to host an event for young farmers and the Conservation District will be profiling different farmers throughout the week.