By MELISSA HART
Truth in the Trenches 

The final Michigan Breakfast On the Farm was the last Saturday in August, and it just happened to be in my neighborhood at Pleasant View Dairy, owned by Bruce and Jennifer Lewis of Jonesville. So of course I couldn’t miss out on the perfect opportunity to watch ag education in action.

Honestly, I didn’t really want to go. It was one Saturday at home and I had so much to do, I just wanted to hide out in my house and get some things done in the yard … okay, and drink coffee. So I waited until the last minute and headed over.

On the way it started to rain – well, it just kind of sprinkled, but it was enough for me to consider going back home. After all, I couldn’t let my camera get wet. It was when I realized I had an umbrella in the car (I never have an umbrella) that I knew I was without excuse and was locked into going.

When I arrived, I thought I would just stand in one spot, snap a few photos and leave. I know, I know, I’m bad. I had a bad attitude; I just wanted to stay home. But as I stood there taking pictures, I realized the enormity of this undertaking and just how much of the farm was going to be inspected by 3,000 people from the community.

As I took photos of the Lewis family interacting with visitors, I saw farmers who genuinely cared about educating consumers. They had spent the last few weeks working to make sure their farm was in good shape for the community on top of their already busy routine of milking, feeding, bedding and cleaning up after 700 head of cattle.

But it was when I finished my interview with Bruce Lewis that I came to the conclusion the entire ag industry owes them a pat on the back and a huge thank-you for the back-breaking undertaking of serving 3,000 people a free breakfast on their farm.

Are they the first and only farm family to host a Breakfast on the Farm? No, of course not. But they are the generous farm family in my neck of the woods who decided they would host this breakfast and take on the weight of making sure their farm was in tip-top shape for consumers to walk through and learn from. This is no small task and any farm owner can attest to it.

But I would be amiss if I didn’t mention the financial sponsors, the committee of people who helped plan the breakfast and the volunteers from the community and the dairy industry who pulled on red volunteer T-shirts and welcomed people in, fed them, answered their questions and helped them understand where their food comes from.

These volunteers were not just Michigan State University extension folks, but neighboring farmers, business owners, veterinarians, hoof trimmers, equipment dealers, semen salesmen and political candidates, who arrived at 7 a.m. and left at 4 p.m. after a long day of feeding and teaching the public.

I have to give a special shout-out to Steve Thelen for coming along in his golf cart and giving me a ride through the entire maze of education. Without him, I would not have been able to soak in the entire Breakfast On the Farm experience. Thanks to all of you for your hard work and dedication!

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.