2023 Ag Day Gala Recap

Here at the Caves of Faribault, we are proud to be a part of Minnesota’s rich agricultural past, present and future.  From our humble beginnings, when the first commercially-produced American Blue cheese was produced in our caves in 1936, to today where we continue to make award-winning Blue cheeses, being a Minnesota cheese producer is who we are.  One part of the industry we love are the people.  Our friends, peers and supporters are the reason we keep striving to make the best Blue cheese and cave-aged products that we possibly can.

This past month, we were fortunate enough to connect with the MN Farm Bureau Foundation. The MN Farm Bureau Foundation’s mission is to provide opportunities to invest in people and programs focused on supporting farmers and agriculturalists, connecting agriculture to consumers and providing resources to rural communities.  They host a variety of fundraisers throughout the year that raise money to support their efforts, including an Ag Day Gala.  This year we attended the 2nd Annual MN Farm Bureau Ag Day Gala on National Ag Day.  The Ag Gala is a night that brings together hundreds of MN Agriculture fans to celebrate Minnesota's rich, diverse agricultural landscape.

The Ag Day Gala features a Social Hour that features MN cheeses, meats, cocktails and flowers.  Our wonderful cheeses were featured alongside some of our favorite other MN producers like CannonBelles, Bongards, Ellsworth (okay, Ellsworth is from WI, but the curds we ate were made using MN milk), Greg’s Meat Processing, Cash Wise Foods, Schmidt’s Meat Market and Steve’s Meats.  A silent auction was held at the Social Hour, with proceeds benefitting the Minnesota Farm Bureau Foundation. This writer can safely say the Spam-themed gift package may have been her favorite.*

Students from Howard Lake Waverly Winsted High School arranged the flower bouquets at the Social Hour and the dinner.  The students created purposeful designs to highlight the different crops that are MN grown.  The placement of many of these bouquets was deliberate; for example, the MN Corn Growers table featured a beautiful bouquet with a corn base, and the MN Sugar Growers table featured an equally stunning bouquet with a sugar base.  Beyond just the picturesque table settings, the entire Gala was spectacular.  We heard from speakers from companies such as Land O’Lakes, The MN Department of Agriculture, Compeer (a farmer-owned credit union), The Minnesota State Fair Foundation, The Minnesota Farm Bureau President and The Minnesota Farm Bureau Foundation Director.  We even started the dinner with a Milk Salute (a milk cheers!) given by Rachel Rynda, the 69^th Princess Kay of the Milky Way.  After dinner, a live auction commenced, featuring auctioneer Frank Fox, which included incredible packages from local companies like O’Shaughnessy Distillery (maker of the signature cocktail at the Social Hour).

One of our favorite moments was when Ruth Meirick, the Director or the Minnesota Farm Bureau Foundation and a champion for all things MN Ag, made a speech.  She shared stories from her past, speaking highly of a one-of-a-kind woman who made the trip there from Arizona to support her, her mother.  Ruth mentioned that she would not be who she is today without her mother, and her five rules to live by.  This author may have teared up a bit during this speech and wanted to share Ruth’s Mom’s rules with all our readers (see below).  This fun-filled, joyous evening celebrated every aspect of the MN Agriculture community and truly was a fantastic way to celebrate the 50^th Annual National Ag Day and our peers in the industry.

* Sorry to all the other auction items, but there were spam flip-flops and a spam coffee mug!

 

Ruth’s “Mom’s 5 Rules To Live By”

1. We are family and family is what we will always be.  The Gala meal was deliberately served family-style to build unity and conversation among the tables.
2. Work hard and be compassionate.
3. Help others especially the hungry and less fortunate.  One of the core values of the MN Farm Bureau Foundation is to support activities and programs aimed at serving rural communities including supporting hunger initiatives.  Check out the MN Hunger Initiative.
4. Tend to your garden.  Gardening and farming are diverse and challenging.  Tend to your garden, whatever your garden may be.  Take time for it and love it.  Know that you can have multiple gardens, like Ruth, who sees every MN Ag producer and sector of our industry as one of her many gardens.
5. Build relationships and friendships and learn from each other.  Remember everyone has a story and you just have to listen.