CSU Ag Day partners bring more than just food to the table

You're bringing up 2,000 pounds of watermelon for this year's BBQ. Where are they coming from?

Oftentimes I get them from local growers from the Rocky Ford Melon Growers Association, but sometimes we grow them ourselves here at the research center. This year the melons will be provided by Knapp Farms, a multi-generational family farm that's been growing melons in the Rocky Ford area for more than 100 years. The goal is to showcase the southeastern part of the state as it can kind of be forgotten. We want to make sure people still understand how big a role agriculture plays here and that we produce a lot of great products. This area is very famous for its melons, especially its watermelons. It's why the local high school's mascot is a meloneer, a fighting melon.

Why is it important to highlight the agricultural industry from Southeastern Colorado at an event like Ag Day?

Ag Day is a great way to communicate that this is a vital agricultural area, and there are some great people here, producing some great products. It's really part of living that land-grant mission that is so critical in this day and age and connecting our urban and rural communities.

The research center is part of CSU, but we're also part of this community, and I think that partnership is really integral to our land grant DNA, and to our mission at Colorado State University. Our goal is not only to disseminate the information that we get from campus to the community through the research that we do, but also to let those on campus and in communities along the front range know about what we do here.

What is one of your favorite parts about participating in Ag Day?

We're moving pretty fast at the BBQ to serve folks, but - for those who don't have that agricultural thread in their past - this event is a great way that we can educate them on the industry, what it's about, and the growers that produce their food.

The Nutrien Ag Day BBQ is just such a great opportunity to experience all the wonderful bounty that we have in the state. Sometimes, we become disconnected from our food sources and from the people that produce it, and really the bounty that we put out at this event is something that can bring us all together and realize that - whether urban or rural - we're not so different.