Wake up with the roosters and come have a FREE farm breakfast tomorrow morning, Wednesday, Feb. 17 at the Friends of Agriculture Breakfast, 4H Center in Columbus on Locust Street.

A core program of the Office of Agricultural Economic Development and sponsored by Polk County Farm Bureau, the Friends of Ag breakfast is a family-friendly event open to everyone in the immediate region with interest in agriculture and community. Thanks to food and dollar sponsorships, the meal and program is free of charge. The breakfast begins at 7 a.m. with a formal program that wraps up by 8 a.m. for those who need to get to work. Students attend and sneak out a minute early to avoid being tardy, but with an important community lesson and a healthy full belly on their way. Community building, networking and visiting with neighbors often continues past then.

Ag office staff and volunteers from the community prepare local eggs, grits and sausage with hot coffee and juice. Guest chefs bring a personalized flair like homemade biscuits and muffins using local wheat and fruit jams and jellies.  

This month’s breakfast features a talk from Dr. Brian Ward, a research specialist at the Clemson Coastal Research and Education Center, about utilizing cover crops and winter grain production to build better soils and increase winter profits.

Each month, Friends of Agriculture Breakfasts are organized by Ansley Roberts, the Farm and Consumer Outreach AmeriCorps Member with the Polk County Office of Agricultural Economic Development. Along with the breakfasts, she also works on providing resources to Polk County beekeepers and other educational initiatives to bridge the gap between farmers and consumers in Polk County. She is a recent transplant from Charleston, S.C. and has immensely enjoyed getting to know and serve Polk County’s farmers and food enthusiasts.

Farmers, consumers, foodie entrepreneurs and policy makers learn when attending Friends of Ag Breakfasts. Other topics have included sustainable agriculture, structuring labor on your farm, farmland preservation, soil and water conservation, beekeeping, farmer assistance programs, forest ranger services, high school ag programs, and beginning farmers. Got an idea for a breakfast program topic? Call the good people at the Ag Center and pass the tip along.

Help learn each month – one delicious bite at a time – how to build a resilient and sustainable agricultural community for Polk County. Bring along a food item to donate to Thermal Belt Outreach Ministry, too! Join us tomorrow morning, Wednesday, for breakfast and beyond!