A little over a month ago, I recorded my impressions of farm activity I saw in Vermont. After that trip I moved on to a conference in Saint Paul, the capital of Minnesota, treating a similar theme: rural life in the US mid-west. After two days of paper sessions, the conference then took to the road visiting rural communities and their surrounding farming hinterlands and this is the focus of this rather lengthy post. For 4 days we roamed mainly around Wisconsin but spent some time in rural Minnesota. Many years ago I spent two months based in Madison, Wisconsin, but that trip traveled widely around that state and I looked forward this time to reminisce my earlier exploration of the mid-west.
This post covers events after our departure from Saint Paul to Eau Claire (French for clear water) in Wisconsin. First up we examined the regeneration farms project near Northfield in Minnesota. This pursued environmentally sound, but commercially viable farming. The first three pictures below show a free-range poultry operation.
And from our bus window en route we could see some really lush countryside!
Moving on we came to HAFA farms near Vermillion, also in Minnesota. HAFA stands for Hmong American Farmers Association. Believe it or not, the Hmong people originally came from the border zone between Laos and China. During the Vietnam war they supported US operations and, of course, at the end of the war, when US troops left the region, the Hmong people were persecuted and many fled. Some found their way to the US mid-west and they often took up farming. The site we visited had only 155 acres (c. 70 Ha.) and that was split between several families, who farmed their lots intensively, but cooperatively.
Here's our tour guide and some of the rather antiquated machinery they use on the farm - above and below.
As you can see from these pictures, much of the production amounts to intensive horticulture. And, although I cannot identify many of the crops, especially in the long-distance photos, I recall our guide talking about chili peppers and Bok Choy.
We also visit a zone where produce was packed for sale either under contract to various distributors or via farmers' markets. After departing from HAFA, we headed to Eau Claire, where we stayed the first night of the field trip. The following morning, the 24th July, we were advised to visit the farmers' markets after breakfast and this was interesting.
Unlike the farmers' markets here in Armidale where there's a huge range of goods on sale, including ethnic dining, coffee and other drinks, machinery, second-hand goods, soaps and so on, the Eau Claire version was mostly about the sale of food stuffs or other farm produce like flowers.
I loved the name of this farm: Lambalot Acres. Perhaps the owners gained inspiration for their business after seeing a film about Camelot.
That's all for stage 1 of our trip.
AS
This post covers events after our departure from Saint Paul to Eau Claire (French for clear water) in Wisconsin. First up we examined the regeneration farms project near Northfield in Minnesota. This pursued environmentally sound, but commercially viable farming. The first three pictures below show a free-range poultry operation.
And from our bus window en route we could see some really lush countryside!
At one pit stop I found myself playing an accordion, something I'd never managed before!
Moving on we came to HAFA farms near Vermillion, also in Minnesota. HAFA stands for Hmong American Farmers Association. Believe it or not, the Hmong people originally came from the border zone between Laos and China. During the Vietnam war they supported US operations and, of course, at the end of the war, when US troops left the region, the Hmong people were persecuted and many fled. Some found their way to the US mid-west and they often took up farming. The site we visited had only 155 acres (c. 70 Ha.) and that was split between several families, who farmed their lots intensively, but cooperatively.
Here's our tour guide and some of the rather antiquated machinery they use on the farm - above and below.
As you can see from these pictures, much of the production amounts to intensive horticulture. And, although I cannot identify many of the crops, especially in the long-distance photos, I recall our guide talking about chili peppers and Bok Choy.
We also visit a zone where produce was packed for sale either under contract to various distributors or via farmers' markets. After departing from HAFA, we headed to Eau Claire, where we stayed the first night of the field trip. The following morning, the 24th July, we were advised to visit the farmers' markets after breakfast and this was interesting.
Unlike the farmers' markets here in Armidale where there's a huge range of goods on sale, including ethnic dining, coffee and other drinks, machinery, second-hand goods, soaps and so on, the Eau Claire version was mostly about the sale of food stuffs or other farm produce like flowers.
I loved the name of this farm: Lambalot Acres. Perhaps the owners gained inspiration for their business after seeing a film about Camelot.
That's all for stage 1 of our trip.
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