During the months of September and October, Missouri Farm Bureau made it possible for some of the members of the Missouri Women Bloggers to tour some Missouri farms. I was blessed to be one of the six women bloggers that attended the September tour in the Kansas City area.
It was so fun to meet some of the other members of Missouri Women Bloggers (and spend the day with a longtime friend, Laurie from Country LINKed).
Our first stop was the Moreland Family Dairy Farm in Harrisonville, MO where Mike, Jay and Matt Moreland were very gracious hosts!
I have always been fond of dairy farms. When I was younger, my aunt and uncle had a dairy farm that I enjoyed visiting.
I especially liked the greenhouse they had set up for their calves. The sunshine helps keep the calves healthy; while they still have the benefit of being out of the extreme elements. The greenhouse also makes it nice for the people feeding the calves, no standing in the rain or snow for them.
Before heading to our second stop, we visited the Red Barn Ranch, where Matt Moreland and his wife have a pumpkin patch. They had the farm set up in such a lovely way!
Next stop was the Roth Irrigation and Roth Hereford Farm
Doug Roth and his wife specialize in growing corn and selling irrigation equipment. (The kids had fun going through these pics and seeing the huge combines!)
Of course what tour would be complete without wonderful food? Following our lunch at Kurzweil Country Meats, we visited the Kurzweil farm. The Kurzweils have beef cattle and a hog farrow to wean operation.
For me, it is always very enjoyable to be able to visit other farms and see what is working well for them and also learn from them on what hasn’t worked as well. There is so much we can learn from others if we are willing to listen.
Although the farms are all structured differently and raise different agricultural products, they all took pride in their work. Like so many other farmers/ranchers that I know, they aren’t just trying to look out for themselves, they really are trying to leave a legacy for their children and grandchildren. They all realize that in order to do that they have to work hard at preserving the natural resources they’ve been entrusted with.
If you get a chance to go on a farm tour to one farm or to many. I would encourage you to go! You never know what you might learn from someone else.
Blessings,
Jennifer
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