Minnesota Arboretum breaks ground on new exhibit sharing story of state’s ag sector

Each year, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum welcomes nearly 500,000 visitors who come to see its sprawling acres of magnificent gardens and model landscapes. Come August 2019, the Arboretum will be using its horticulture expertise to also tell the story of Minnesota agriculture.

Built around the Arboretum’s iconic red barn, the multi-acre field exhibit will feature conventional crops that make up Minnesota’s ag sector, including soybeans, wheat, sugar beets, and of course, corn. Alongside row crops, edible gardens will also be on display featuring fruits and vegetables that Minnesotans can grow in their back yard. Eventually, the Arboretum will also grow all 27 varieties of apples produced in the state.

“The whole idea of this project is to show how these crops and specific foods are produced today,” said Alan Branhagen, who is director of operations at the Arboretum.

With support from the Minnesota Corn Growers Association and other commodity organizations, the farm surrounding the red barn will devote approximately 1/3 to 2/3 of an acre to each conventional crop, Branhagen said. The hope is the farm fields will be an eye opening experience for the Arboretum’s metro area visitors who may not have a connection to agriculture.

“There are a lot of people out there who may know what corn looks like, but have no clue what a soybean plant looks like,” Branhagen said. “We hope this experience is a very educational one for visitors.”

In addition to learning about the appearance of Minnesota crops, visitors will also learn about the conservation tactics used by the state’s farmers. For example, Branhagen said they are exploring the use of cover crops, natural grass waterways, contour plowing and more. Each will be called out to visitors with an explanation of what the conservation practice is and how it impacts our natural resources.

Overall, Branhagen’s goal is to be able to tell the story of our food’s journey, starting in the soil and ending on our table. For example, part of that journey Branhagen plans to detail in the Minnesota agriculture exhibit is the importance of transportation for our state’s food supply.

The iconic Red Barn will also be renovated as part of this project to make it an attractive venue for future events. The barn and the surrounding landscape of growing crops is slated to be unveiled next August in a festival event.