ADAMS, Minn. - Gail Clemons brought her daughters, Mya and Ella, to Mower County's Country Breakfast on the Farm for something fun to do.
They arrived around 8:45 a.m., waiting to be sure the weather would hold. The girls "drove'' the tractors, looked at the machinery, rode horse-drawn wagons, ate breakfast, got tattoos, played in the bouncy house, did a scavenger hunt and made their way past the animals three times.
"They leaned a lot from the scavenger hunt," Clemons said.
The scavenger hunt asked agricultural questions and the answers were posted on animals pens. Children who returned their completed forms received either a ball or a cinch sack courtesy of the Mower County Farm Bureau.
More than 800 people were served at the 8th annual Mower County Country Breakfast on the Farm and attendance neared 1,000. The event was June 22.
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It rained overnight and again while organizers finished final preparations between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. The rain may have helped attendance, said Marlin Fay, Mower County Farm Bureau president, because farmers couldn't be in the field. Rain stayed away during the breakfast and a cool breeze kept many in jackets for part of the morning.
Mower County Farm Bureau sponsors the breakfast, with the support of many organizations and businesses throughout the county. Volunteers, including Farm Bureau members, county 4-H ambassadors and FFA members, make sure everything runs smoothly.
"Our biggest thing is to educate the public about what we do, how we do it and why we do it," Fay said.
The breakfast allows farmers to talk to consumers in a fun environment. They can have a conversation about what they're doing to improve the environment and why they do certain farming practices. The Farm Service Agency, milk, beef and dairy producers were on hand as were the corn and soybean producers and the Minnesota Agriculture Water Resource Center. Mower County 4-H was there.
Hosts Jim and Connie Sathre volunteered to host Breakfast on the Farm and were pleased by the way things worked out.
"We do it for the kids," Jim said. "They're not going to go home and forget about it."
Connie said she enjoyed watching eyes light up as the children moved from animal to animal in their petting zoo. The bunnies were petted and cuddled all morning. Some children sat on the grass to watch ducks, turkeys and chicks. Parents walked along with their children.
"Sometimes, we don't have to be little kids to enjoy the animals," Connie said.
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Breakfast on the Farm is a way to share agriculture with the community, she added. Both rural and city folks enjoy it.
The couple spent the week before putting final touches on their place, getting ready for company. Friends and family came to help and they spent evenings around the campfire, Jim said.
Breakfast on the Farm is worth every penny invested, he said.
Fay said Mower County Farm Bureau tries to line up a host farm almost a year before breakfast. Planning intensity picks up in March.
"It doesn't take a long time to set it up . . . it takes a lot of planning," Fay said.
