Annual banquet set for March 21

by Luke Fritz

March 07, 2011 Last Updated: March 07, 2011 12:30 PM Agriculture

Reminder goes out to all that March 16 is the final day to make reservations for the Butler County Farm-City and Annual Awards Banquet. Previously the Farm-City Banquet was always held in November but was changed to coincide with National Ag week and National Ag day.

The Farm-City Banquet is co-sponsored by Butler Rotary, Butler County Conservation District, Penn State Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Agencies.

An added feature this year will be the 50th anniversary celebration of the Butler County Conservation District.

This year’s banquet will be held March 21 at the Butler Community College Founder’s Hall. Light refreshments will be served at 6 followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. The program will include a presentation by Jack Cohen, Butler County Tourism.

Tickets can be purchased from the Penn State Extension Office, 724-287-4761, Farm Service Agency, 724-482-4800 Ext. 2, or by contacting the Butler Conservation District, 724-284-5270.

Reservations are required; no tickets will be sold at the door. Cost per person is $15 paid in advance with checks made payable to “Extension Special Account.” Tickets may also be purchased from any Butler Rotarian member.

Farm-City relations continue to be a challenge, even more so in a county like Butler that is seeing more and more of a population increase. Farmers need to take every opportunity to inform and educate their non-farming neighbors.

The fact that most of society is at least one and maybe two generations removed from production agriculture will only mean intensifying this effort in the future.

Generally, non-farmers are supportive of agriculture. This is especially true if they understand what all is involved to operate a farm today. Farm-City alliances need formed so that when community support is needed for various proposals the entire community understands the positive and negative aspects of each.

In the U.S., our food is cheap compared to other countries. Americans spend only 11 percent of their disposable income on food. The U.S. has the safest, most abundant food supply in the world.

With respect to the Farm-City banquet, the highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the Bullshipper Award. The honor is presented each year to the individual that excels in promoting Farm-City relations in and around Butler County.

Previous year Bullshipper Award recipients have been:

• 1968: A. Wendel Weihe

• 1969: Loyal Ramsey

• 1970: Lee Roy Miller

• 1971: A. Gus Bachman

• 1972: John Graham

• 1973: Robert Kaufman

• 1974: Dick Rau

• 1975: Russ Pizor

• 1976: Art Wick

• 1977: Judy Cranmer

• 1978: Dale Fleming