Interested in eating higher quality, healthier food while supporting small-scale farming that’s less harmful to the environment and more humane to farm animals? Wayne Martin of the University of Minnesota Extension will talk about sustainable agriculture and why it’s a growing trend.
“The consumer is getting a healthier product because there are fewer inputs such as antibiotics and growth hormones,” Martin said. Also, sustainable agriculture methods treat animals more humanely, and added value for its products offer a way for small-scale farmers to survive.
A food tasting featuring restaurants that source local ingredients also is scheduled.
At 4:15 p.m., Brett Olson, co-founder and creative director of Renewing the Countryside, a nonprofit that builds awareness and support for sustainable endeavors in rural areas, will discuss farmstays. “Farmstays are, basically, a bed-and-breakfast on a working farm,” he said. “Some may be a pastoral weekend in the country, others are hands-on.” He said they’re fairly new in the U.S. and more common in Europe. For example, there are about 50 farmstays in Minnesota and Iowa, but in Sweden, which is about the size of Minnesota and Iowa combined, a farmstay association has more than 400 farmstays. Costs of area farmstays are comparable to a hotel room, and some are located near the Twin Cities.
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