Today we are proud to join others across the U.S. to celebrate National Agriculture Day. But then again, we try to celebrate agriculture every day at ETS.

Our company is headquartered in Faribault, Minnesota, which is a thriving metro community about an hour south of the Twin Cities. We are surrounded by farms and fields. We work with universities, cooperatives, agronomists, and other equipment manufacturers. It would be very difficult for us to ignore the many ways agriculture impacts our business and out lives on a daily basis.

One of our favorite ways to celebrate is hosting people at our facility. Whether it’s a client or potential client, vendor, student group, or international farmers learning more about soil health, we enjoy showcasing what we do at ETS because we believe it is has a significant impact on the future of farming.

This group of European farmers visited us in June 2014.

Young people are especially important to us. In the past year we have welcomed students of all ages who are interested in learning about a variety of topics, including farming, engineering, precision technology, welding, and manufacturing. There’s nothing better than explaining conservation tillage, soil health, and how farmers are using innovative technology to protect and defend the land.

Filmmaking was the focus of our most recent group from Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minnesota. We paused production for an afternoon so four young people could “get in the zone” with us and film a television show for class. They saw how the SoilWarrior is made and learned about the many benefits of strip-tillage. None of them had any experience with agriculture or manufacturing prior to this project, which made it really fun.

Josh, David, Al (show host), Alycia, & Zac got in the zone with us earlier this month. They spent a half day learning how and why we build the SoilWarrior. The show they produce will air on KEYC (Mankato tv station) this spring. 

We do this because it’s important to get people of all ages excited about agriculture 365 days a year. For young people it could turn into a job. For vendors and members of the business community it could mean new business connections. And for everyone else who eats food that they didn’t grow themselves, it’s a gentle reminder to thank the farmers who feed us.

So if you're ever heading our way and want to learn more about conservation tillage or the SoilWarrior, let us know. You may even get a high five out of it.

Kevin Born, ETS CEO, gets high fives from local third graders after their tour last summer.