HUTCHINSON, Minn. — The Farm Family Recognition Program has existed for over 30 years and honors farm families from throughout Minnesota for their contributions to the agriculture industry and their local communities. This program exists through the continued support of and coordination by University of Minnesota Extension, the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station and Farmfest. Each year, a family from McLeod County and another from Meeker County are recognized as farm families of the year. To select the families, we solicit nominations from the agribusinesses in the community. The nominations are then forwarded to the selection committees who select the new Farm Family.
At this time, we ask you to complete the nomination form for either McLeod or Meeker County, indicating the individuals, couples, or families whom you feel would be deserving of this honor. Links to the nomination forms are provided below. Recipients will be recognized during the state-wide Farmfest awards program.
Nomination Criteria
Please nominate an individual or family, using the criteria below. Farm Families should:
- Be Minnesota food producers actively involved in agricultural production with one or more agricultural enterprises. Beyond the usual agricultural endeavors, please also include these production areas for consideration: potato, vegetable, fruits, berries, aquaculture, agriforestry, and renewable energy supplies.
OR - Have made significant short‐term progress and/or innovative contributions with their agricultural endeavors. For example, consider producers who are relatively new to this country, someone who has developed an innovative method for a particular environmental problem, adopted a rotational grazing system, added alternative or value‐added crops, etc.
All nominees should also:
- Have demonstrated a commitment to enhancing and supporting the fields of agriculture and production.
- Have some involvement in their communities and/or related organizations.
- Not have been previously recognized by the Farm Family Program.
Please utilize the nomination form to nominate future farm families for the recognition. Send your completed nomination form to the county in which the nominee lives (either McLeod or Meeker County) by Friday, March 29, 2019. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Karen Johnson, Extension Educator at either the McLeod or Meeker County Extension Office. Thank you for your help.
McLeod County nomination form: http://z.umn.edu/mcleodfarmfamily19
Meeker County nomination form: http://z.umn.edu/meekerfarmfamily19
— Karen Johnson, McLeod & Meeker County Extension Educator
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