HOPE — The South Central Chapter of the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota is hosting Festival of Farms on Saturday, July 10. Tours are scheduled at three locations. The event will run from 12:30 to 5 p.m. with tours happening at 1 and 2 p.m. at the Hope Creamery and the Sunopta Elevator in Hope. A tour will also be available at 3:30pm at the Wencl Family organic dairy farm near Blooming Prairie. Festival of Farms is an opportunity to learn, network, and have fun while visiting agricultural operations and seeing where your food comes from and how it’s grown. For more information on Festival of Farms, contact Jim Tjepkema at jimkt@frontiernet.net or 256-4876 or visit www.festivaloffarms.com. This event is open to the public at no charge.

Starting at 12:30 information about this event will be available at the snowmobile club building across from the Hope Creamery at the north end of the main street in Hope. Visitors to the creamery will learn how high quality butter is produced in small batches in this historic building. At the Sunopta facility information will be presented on equipment and procedures for receiving, processing, and shipping organic grains, non-GMO grains, and soy beans for producing soy milk. The Wencl family is welcoming the public to tour their 550-acre organic dairy farm which has been in their family for more than three generations.

The Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota is a statewide, grassroots, chapter based, non-profit organization that supports the development and enhancement of sustainable farming systems through innovation, demonstration, education, and farmer-to-farmer networking. For more information about SFA visit www.sfa-mn.org.