As many of you know, I grew up on a farm. However, my job over the last year has taught me that there is a lot more to agriculture than one person can experience. I mean pitching hay bales in the summer heat and feeding calves taught me A LOT about work ethic and responsibility (and lifting with your legs--not back ;) )-- yet that didn't teach me a lot about growing corn--
Trust me on this. My garden can vouch for it ;)
It has been amazing for me to find out how many men and women in Indiana apply those hard-working principles I am familiar with to everything from milking cows to processing tomatoes to raising pigs to spending hours in a combine.
Over the last year I have had the incredible opportunity to get out and meet farmers and their farms and see agribusiness up close. I have walked through barns and production facilities and each time I have walked away with a sense of pride and a warm heart to have the opportunity to be a part of a group of people who really care about what they do.
One of my first trips out was to Maple Leaf Farms. I had no idea that Indiana is the leading producer of duck in this country. Truth be told--before that day I had never even tasted duck. And, dude I was missing out!
The people there were so nice...really--I passed out in the lab learning about duck food about 30 minutes after getting there. I was MORTIFIED. They were very nice to me. Got me juice, candy and everything. (Darn sugar was low.)
Anyhoo--I remember getting in the car and coming home from our trip that day and all I could keep thinking is how cool it was to have such an awesome company in this state. They all conducted themselves with such excellence. It was inspiring.
I felt the same way after visiting Randy Curless' hog operation. It was so interesting to learn about how our food is raised straight from the folks that do it everyday.
I felt similarly when I visited Red Gold this summer. I have always LOVED Red Gold tomatoes--wayyy before I knew they were an Indiana company. One of my highlights this year was going to Red Gold and actually eating a Red Gold tomato straight out of the field!
I could tell story after story. As Hoosiers, we really do have a lot to be proud of...
That is why I am so excited about the fact that Indiana is now a part of a national website that features farmers, their families and farms. It is SO cool that some of our fellow Hoosiers are going to be represented on that site.
I am looking forward to the rest of the world getting to see and experience what I did this summer from the barns and fields of our hard working neighbors.
You can check them out at: http://www.farmersfeedus.org/in/
But, since these folks are one of us, I wanted to take a minute and introduce them to you in case you may know some of them.
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