Annual Farm, Home Show to Feature Speakers, Exhibits
By:
Holli Seehafer
Annual Farm, Home Show
to Feature Speakers, Exhibits
Those who attend the 72nd annual Grant County Farm and Home Show will be treated to a variety of entertainment, including two featured speakers, more than 70 vendors, exhibits in both the home arts and crops divisions, and the LEGO contest.
The event, sponsored by the Milbank Area Chamber of Commerce and the Grant County 4-H office, is slated for Friday and Saturday, January 10 and 11, at the Milbank High School. The show opens at 10 a.m. Friday and goes until 7 p.m. On Saturday, the hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Any area resident can enter crops or home arts exhibits on Thursday, January 9, from 4 to 6 p.m. The judging of the entries will occur between 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Exhibit lots will feature foods, crafts and crops. Foods include breads, cakes, cookies, candies/confections and food preservation. Crafts such as needlework, visual arts, clothing construction, woodworking and photography will be displayed. Grains and forage crops will also be included.
The chamber agriculture committee will have youth scholarship applications available at the Chamber booth. Applications are open to high school seniors in the Milbank School District who are planning to major in an agricultural field. Three $500 scholarships will be awarded.
The vendors who have registered for the farm and home show include businesses presenting implements, seed, equipment, housing, insurance, banking, food and services. There will also be inflatables for kids.
Two speakers will present informational talks on Friday. Greg Vavra, with South Dakota State University Extension, will speak at 10:30 a.m. His presentation will be about the state’s failing infrastructure and how to protect the local roads and bridges. Vavra is the manager of the South Dakota Local Transportation Assistance Program (SDLTAP), which translates the latest highway and bridge technology into understandable terms for local government entities throughout the state. SDLTAP also offers training workshops on topics, such as asphalt maintenance, asphalt paving, culvert installation, defensive driving, geotextiles, personnel management, risk management, safety awareness, surveying, winter maintenance, work-zone traffic control, and gravel roads.
Joel Foster, executive director of the Grant County Farm Service Agency office, will speak at 1:30 p.m. He will present vital information about the national Farm Bill updates and revisions. He said, “The 2018 Farm Bill authorized changes to the agriculture risk coverage (ARC) and price loss coverage (PLC) programs. Some of the changes include the ability to establish new PLC yields based off 2013-2017 production, the ARC-CO payment is now based off the physical location of the land, and the ability to make changes to the ARC/PLC election on an annual basis after 2020. We will be going over some different scenarios between the PLC, ARC-CO, and ARC-IC options. In addition, the 2018 Farm Bill increased the CRP acres to 27 million acres, so we are conducting a general CRP Signup for the first time in several years along with the ongoing continuous CRP signup, so we will explain the various options for CRP.”
Saturday’s activities will start early with the annual farmers appreciation breakfast, which will be served from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Milbank Visitor Center. The staff of the Millstone Family Restaurant will cater the meal, but members of the chamber agriculture committee will be making the pancakes, as has been the tradition over the years. Farmers and retired farmers can get free advance tickets by contacting the chamber office at 605-432-6656 or membershipdirector@milbanksd.com.
In addition to visiting the vendor booths and viewing exhibits on Saturday, those attending the show can take in the annual LEGO contest in the Milbank High School lunchroom. Those competing will check-in at 9:30 a.m. The competition begins at 10 a.m. with awards at 11:30 a.m. There are four age categories from age 4 to adult. LEGO sets and Ol’ Mill Bucks will be awarded to first and second place winners of each age category.
The displays of the first and second-place finishers will be featured at the Grant County Library after the contest until January 31.
Category:
Grant County Review
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