In my role as Southwest Initiative Foundation interim president/CEO, I have crisscrossed our 18-county region and shared highlights from my travels over the last few weeks. I have seen agriculture at its best, with a lot of field work and communities bustling with activity, from the elevators to the repair shops.
We know that our farm families and ag businesses put in LONG hours throughout harvest—the lights were on in the fields late into the night for weeks.
I grew up on a farm in western North Dakota where we raised small grains—wheat, oats and rye. What amazes me now is that those same fields are producing 150 bushel-an-acre corn thanks to the research and development being done in Olivia, Minnesota, the “Corn Capital of the World.” That was unheard of back in the day! And now hybrids that can tolerate the dry conditions of the western plains are transforming farming there.
I have an incredible appreciation for the hard work and dedication it takes to bring in the harvest each year. We just want to say thank you to all who are working hard this fall. I know it’s been a year of ups and downs with the wet spring, cool summer and now even an early blizzard. But as always, our farmers are passionate about what they do and already looking to next year!
Southwest Initiative Foundation is so proud to serve our southwest Minnesota farming community.
