By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN
Michigan Correspondent

GREENVILLE, Mich. — About 300 people got a sample of what Michigan agriculture is all about during Montcalm County Farm Bureau’s first ever Taste of Montcalm County at Klackle’s Orchard in Greenville.

The Aug. 22 event featured representatives from 15 agricultural commodities that are grown in West Michigan. Attendees were treated to a variety of food samples including cheese, milk, beef sandwiches, fresh fruit, potato chips, pork, corn dogs, honey, cotton candy and a variety of other items.

Heather Waldron, chairperson of the county Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer Committee and event organizer, said the day was put together to educate the public about production agriculture and to give them a flavor for locally-grown commodities.

“We wanted to promote agriculture and give the public an awareness of what agriculture in Montcalm County offers,” Waldron said. “This event allows people to sample commodities and get a taste for what’s grown in the county.”

The Waldron family grows more than 2,000 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and dry beans in the Stanton and Crystal areas. In addition, they raise beef, from which they served samples during the event.

“We want to remind people where their food comes from,” Waldron said.

“We also want to educate the public about what is available and to get them to purchase locally-grown produce and other agricultural commodities,” she added.

Montcalm County Farm Bureau President Chris Rader displayed raw sugar beets and offered cotton candy samples to attendees.
“This is an opportunity for us to make people aware of what is produced here in the county. We’re one of the only sugar beet growers left in the county,” he said adding that many people don’t realize that sugar beets are grown locally and shipped to a processor to be made into sugar.

Fran Arbogast-Carlson, a Howard City-area dry bean grower and president of the Michigan Bean Commission, and Karen Redman, the commission’s secretary, served a salad made of kidney beans and corn relish.

“We’re here promoting how healthy beans are for people,” Redman said.

“Dry beans can be used for salads, side dishes, toppings for sandwiches and more. We want people to think of dry beans when they are planning their meals,” Arbogast-Carlson said.
Steve Klackle, owner of Klackle’s Orchard, was pleased with the traffic the event generated for his farm market and said he hopes hosting the gathering was beneficial to the agriculture industry as a whole.

“People are more concerned now about where their food is coming from,” Klackle said, “and events like this help raise their awareness.”

In addition to food samples, some other commodity groups were represented.

Elaine Muilenburg of Rainbow’s End Farm near Stanton, and her brother-in-law, Kem Muilenburg, displayed a variety of products including a fresh pine wreath, yarn made from alpaca wool and other products grown and produced on the farm.

“We wanted to show how other agricultural products are used,” Elaine Muilenburg said.