Caledonia farm to be regcognized as Centruy Farm at Minnesota State Fair
The State Fair announced that they will be honoring 77 Century Farms. This year's honorees represent farms in 38 of Minnesota's 87 counties, including 4 farms in 3 counties right here, in Fox 25/48-land; Luhmann Farms in Olmstead County, Koliha Farms and Duxbury/Jones Farms in Filmore County, and, most closely, Gavin Farms LLC in Caledonia that was founded in 1868.
Be at least 100 years old according to authentic land records
Be in continuous family ownership for at least 100 years
Be at least 50 acres in size and currently be involved in agricultural production.
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Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How this fifth generation Kentuckian says the State Fair shaped her future as a veterinarian
The week before classes started, Callie Derossett moved all her belongings into her dorm at the University of Kentucky. But the Henry County teenager wouldn't experience her first night of college for another seven days. Before the incoming pre-veterinary student began studying how to care for animals at UK, she and her livestock spent a week competing in the 2025 Kentucky State Fair. Callie is the fifth generation of her family involved in Kentucky agriculture, and showing animals at the fair is largely a family affair. Sure, it's a sacrifice to miss those first few nights of the dorm experience, but it's a necessary one. Showing livestock isn't a hobby for Callie — it's a lifestyle that's fostered in her an uncanny sense of determination and responsibility. She has four years to be an undergraduate. Callie only gets about 10 days a year at the Kentucky State Fair. More: 95-year-old man eyes win in 2025 Kentucky State Fair apple pie, pound cake contests 'It's such a dynamic industry,' Callie told The Courier Journal. 'It's about the people. It's about the skills that you learn. If it weren't for showing livestock, I wouldn't have half the amount of work ethic or grit or responsibility that I have now.' And really, it's all she's ever known. 'Somebody to look up to' Agriculture runs in Callie's blood. The generations before her operated a large dairy in Kentucky that milked more than 200 cows and grew tobacco. Her dad, Greg Derossett, and her uncle, Daryl Derossett, showed livestock growing up, and were eager to pass that tradition on to Callie and her cousins. Greg started thinking about animals for her to show before she was even born. He exposed her to life in the barn as soon as she was old enough to walk. At just 3-years-old, she began learning showmanship with a goat named Snowflake. She watched Daryl's stepdaughter, who was about eight years older than her, intently in the ring, and eagerly followed her example. Over the years, Callie has excelled in the show ring with goats, sheep and cattle, but her involvement in 4H and FFA went well beyond that. Anytime she had the opportunity for a leadership role, she took it. Last year, she was chosen as the president of Kentucky 4-H, which was an honor no other Henry County teenager had achieved in more than 25 years. After a lifetime of attending the Kentucky State Fair, she had the opportunity to serve on its board in 2024. With her focus on being a large animal vet in mind, she participates in mentorship program with the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association that's partnered with Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. Last summer she went to the FFA Washington Leadership Conference. More: It's here! The 2025 Kentucky State Fair 'Your Favorite Cake' blue ribbon winner and recipe Her father credits that drive and ambition to some of the early life lessons she learned from working with livestock. Showing animals taught Callie how to win and lose gracefully, but there's also a dynamic level of responsibility that comes from feeding, washing and working with animals daily. It forges an understanding that another life is depending on you. 'It's all her idea,' her dad said. 'I'm just support. If she sees an opportunity for that brass ring, she is jumping.' That work ethic and desire to succeed also sets a prime example for her younger family members. Her 5- and 9-year-old cousins live out of town, but the Kentucky State Fair brings them all together and unites them under a common interest and the thrill of competition. 'Now it's kind of full circle for me,' her uncle, Daryl, said, 'I'm watching my two little kids watch Callie in the shows. They have somebody to look up to and learn from. It's really neat to watch my two little ones want to get into it.' Kentucky has a veterinarian shortage Life in the barn and her involvement in 4-H, FFA and the Kentucky State Fair have set the tone for how Callie wants to spend the rest of her life. She's wanted to be a veterinarian for as long as she can remember. So many kindergarteners dream of being vets because they want to be around puppies, Callie's dad said, but she's always had her eye on caring for cows, sheep, goats and other large animals. His daughter has a deep understanding and respect for the lifecycle of farm animals and the imperative role they play in the country's food supply. 'I've always just known that I want to continue with this,' Callie told The Courier Journal. 'Kentucky is facing a shortage of large animal vets right now, and it's something that's going to cause a lot of negative downstream effects on our producers and overall, on our food supply.' The Courier Journal reported in a three-part series in December 2023 that there are 2 million head of cattle, hundreds of thousands of horses, and thousands of household pets that demand the attention of the state's 2,571 active, licensed veterinarians. But as of May 2024, only 1,250 of these veterinarians were employed and working in Kentucky. For Callie, and other families in agriculture, the shortage hits home much harder than these statistics do. They feel the impact on their farms. Background: Where did all the veterinarians go? Shortage across Kentucky impacts pet owners, farmers One of her neighbors up the road in Henry County had to wait days for a veterinarian to see an ill animal, and Callie knows a prolonged wait can hurt any animal's chance of survival. Recently, one of her own steers became sick after a stark shift in the weather, and there wasn't anyone in their veterinarian's office who could help. The Derossettes had to meet the veterinarian out at a stockyard to get medicine for Callie's steer. 'I want to continue to serve our producers that are feeding the world and just be a piece of the solution to the issue that we're facing,' Callie said. 'That would mean the world to me and just to give back to what has been given to me.' For Callie, that dream started with Snowflake the goat and those early days watching her older cousin at the Kentucky State Fair. And while she'll have to wait an extra week or so to really settle into dorm life at UK and begin her career, that's a sacrifice she's willing to make. Her time and involvement in the Kentucky State Fair and being immersed in agriculture have given her so much. Competing with her animals is a significant part of her life today, but it's also positioning her for her future. 'You just kind of have to weigh the pros and cons,' Callie said. 'And I haven't found a con to spending my time in the barn yet. It's made me the person that I am today.' Reach Courier Journal features columnist Maggie Menderski at mmenderski@ 2025 Kentucky State Fair WHAT: The 121st Kentucky State Fair includes dozens of entertainment acts, including the Texas Roadhouse Free Concert featuring Blue Öyster Cult, Sawyer Brown, Sister Sledge and more. The 11-day event also features the best in Kentucky livestock, crowning the Five-Gaited World's Grand Champion at the World's Championship Horse Show, award winning blue ribbon exhibitions, loads of your favorite fair food, a Beerfest, and dozens of other activities. WHERE: Kentucky Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Lane WHEN: now through Aug. 24 MORE INFORMATION: This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: University of Kentucky student to compete in 2025 Kentucky State Fair Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
6 hours ago
- CBS News
How did the Minnesota State Fair end up at its current location?
The Minnesota State Fair is 322 acres of food, fun and all things farming nestled in between Minneapolis and St. Paul in Falcon Heights. It's a location that feels like a no-brainer today, but it wasn't so clear in the mid-1800s. "The fairgrounds used to be in many different places," said Keri Huber, a fair archivist. "It started off in Minneapolis as a territorial fair in 1855-56." Once officially a state fair in 1859, it bounced around the southeast portion of the state, with time spent time in Rochester, Red Wing, Winona, Owatonna, Fort Snelling and, of course, the Twin Cities. Touring, however, became a logistical challenge. "Almost every year there would have to be new buildings created, new fences put up," Huber said. So how did the fairgrounds end up in its current location? "Henry S. Fairchild was part of the St. Paul chamber of commerce and suggested [the current location]," she said. The parcel of land, west of Lake Como and near St. Anthony Park, was farmland owned by Ramsey County. It was a little more than 200 acres in size. The county would go on to donate the land to become the fair's permanent home. There were other locations being considered. "Minnehaha Falls was one of the options as a permanent site, even Shakopee and Rochester suggested to have the fair as a permanent location. But being truly midway between St. Paul and Minneapolis was ideal," she said. How have the grounds expanded since 1885? "The biggest expansion was in 1907 when we had 40 acres that we purchased up north known as Machinery Hill," she said. Decades later, more parking lots and administrative buildings were added in and around the main fairgrounds, pushing the fair's footprint past 300 acres. Minnesota's state fairgrounds are larger than its neighbors' in Wisconsin by nearly 200 acres, South Dakota by 190 acres and North Dakota by 188 acres. Iowa's fair, however, is much larger. Its fairgrounds reach 445 acres, but more than a third of the land is composed of campgrounds. In the History and Heritage Center near West End Market, visitors will see a glimpse of the state fairgrounds from 1934, courtesy of a large map on the floor. The fair's two oldest buildings on the northeast end of the property — the Fine Arts Building and Progress Center — were both built in 1907. "Originally the Fine Arts Center was dairy, and the Progress Center was poultry," she said. Next oldest is the Grandstand, built in 1909, but it's clearly upgraded to accommodate 21st Century entertainment. Nods to the past can be found across the grounds, a historic site ready to write another chapter. "It's just a really special last 12 days of summer," Huber said.
Indianapolis Star
5 days ago
- Indianapolis Star
INdulge: It's corn time. This summery Mexican dish was the best thing I ate this week
I spent a chunk of the past week in a hospital, which, for the sake of not violating HIPAA, we'll pretend was due to a tragic State Fair funnel cake overdose (everyone's fine and no cake was involved). One consequence is that I spent far less time than expected at the Fair, where I had planned to consume a great deal of corn, both in cob and dog form. Fortunately, I did have time for: This time of year I think of the fairgrounds as the corn epicenter of the universe; however that designation might be equally appropriate for Tlaolli, the Near Eastside Mexican restaurant whose name literally means 'corn' in the Aztec Nahuatl language. There I enjoyed a cup of Tlaolli's street corn calabacita ($8), an especially summery take on Mexican esquites. More: Indiana State Fair announces 2025 Taste of the Fair winners Esquites — not to be confused with its cousin on the cob, elote —features cooked corn kernels tossed with a variety of ingredients, in Tloalli's case Cotija cheese, poblano pepper-infused mayonnaise and the popular chili-lime seasoning Tajín. At Tloalli the dish also receives an unconventional scattering of roasted calabacita, a small Mexican varietal of zucchini. As is the case with nearly every dish at Tlaolli, you can order your street corn vegan, with dairy-less mayo and nutritional yeast instead of Cotija. Even with its nontraditional departures, Tlaolli's esquites hits all the crucial notes. The corn is bright and fresh, the semi-melted mayo is tangy but not gratuitously creamy, the Cotija brings a little funk and Tajín remains the one seasoning that might genuinely improve everything it touches. Meanwhile, the roasted bits of zucchini add a subtle earthy flavor without the somewhat slimy texture that can undermine squash. Still, where summer produce is concerned in this dish, the corn is the star. Corn is, obviously, a pretty big deal around here. It's the Hoosier State's second-biggest cash crop behind soybeans, and Indiana regularly ranks among the nation's top five corn producers. At my alma mater Indiana University's home basketball games against Iowa or Nebraska, you can rely on a sizable contingent of students in the stands hoisting signs that read 'our corn is better than yours.' Previously in INdulge: Chinese dish with surprising Hoosier ties is best thing I ate in Indy this week I suppose Indiana has no excuse not to make good corn considering its earliest settlers practically obliterated the state so they could grow the stuff. In his 2003 book 'Corn Country: Celebrating Indiana's Favorite Crop,' author Sam Stall writes that travelers passing through Indiana occasionally remarked on the smell of smoke in the air due to settlers burning vast swaths of forest to make room for cornfields. Those early Hoosiers desperately needed a resilient, calorie-dense foodstuff to sustain both themselves and their livestock year-round. Fortunately for them, the state's original inhabitants had been growing it for thousands of years. Most scholarly research suggests corn was first domesticated nearly 10,000 years ago in southern Mexico's Atoyac River basin by Aztecs who began planting the seeds of a wild grain called teosinte. Teosinte migrated throughout the Americas with multiple tribes who selectively bred the plant to yield a higher nutritional value and, if you'll allow me to venture a guess, so it wouldn't taste like dirt. At some point that proto-corn became known among Native Mesoamericans as tlaolli, which some Aztecs used in the early versions of now-ubiquitous Mexican foods like tamales and tortillas. Millennia later, sweet corn likely originated as a spontaneous mutation in dent corn — the kind you typically see growing en masse alongside the highway — that inhibited the corn's sugars from turning to starch. The first recorded sweet corn harvest was in 1779 by the Iroquois tribe in New York, a bounty that was promptly pillaged by colonial soldiers and replanted on the same land from which the natives were forcibly removed. The history of corn is laden with similar examples of Europeans exploiting the same indigenous peoples who taught them how to survive by growing corn in the first place. The current result of that exploitation is, in a cruel twist of irony, a delicious bit of seasonal produce. Regardless of how much you choose to confront corn's uncomfortable history, you can find excellent preparations of its kernels at Tlaollli, whose street corn calabacita combines a Mexican culinary staple with Indiana's cherished crop to yield a refreshing, concentrated dose of summer. And, as I can attest, it is way better than hospital food. What: Street corn calabacita, $8 for 8 ounces Where: Tlaolli, 2830 E. Washington St., (317) 410-9507, In case that's not your thing: Tamales are the name of the game at Tlaolli, but you'll also find tacos and a handful of other Mexican staples reimagined to suit Hoosier preferences. Owner Carlos Hutchinson last year told IndyStar that while his food isn't quite like what you would find in his home state of Monterrey, Mexico, 'that doesn't mean that it's not Mexican.' Nearly every dish at Tlaolli has a vegan version, from jackfruit and mushroom 'birria' tacos to the NoNoNo tamales filled with soy chorizo, roasted poblanos, potatoes and black beans.
