The sixth annual Highland County Farm Tour took place on Sept. 14. The farm tour was a result of a collaborative effort between Highland County Farm Bureau and the Highland Soil and Water Conservation District. More than 100 people attended the event in the Fairview area.
The tour featured beautiful, diverse farms and provided beneficial information on local sustainable agriculture. The tour consisted of stops at the following locations: Bonnie Burchwell Farm — featuring a presentation on pond management by Aquatic Biologist Anthony Bruno from Jones Fish; Stroud’s Apiary — where participants learned how to become a beekeeper; Higgins Steel Roofing — which offered a unique look behind the scenes of its performance panel operation, see first-hand how honey is processed, and tour the extensive beekeeping products sold at Higgins.
In addition to learning about these unique farms, participants also enjoyed a pollinator habitat presentation from Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist Barb Bauer after lunch on the importance of maintaining habitat to protect pollinators.
The Highland County Farm Bureau and Highland Soil and Water Conservation District would like to thank the Nationwide, Newman-Barton Group of Hillsboro for donating bottled water to help ensure the event was a great success.
Anyone that was unable to attend this year’s event, but would like to be informed of future events, can call 937-393-1922 ext. 3 or 1-888-378-2212 to be added to the mailing list.
Submitted by Pam Bushelman, Highland SWCD district operations manager.
