On this week's annual holiday show, we take our annual look back at some of our favorite stories of the year. The pandemic caused major disruptions in the food supply, we'll hear from one business that benefited from it. We profile a local winery developing grapes for cooler climate. We'll check back with a couple Upper Midwest farmers making life better for farmers in Africa and Haiti. And we'll take you to a place where they grow tomatoes all year round.
To watch the full, original versions of the AgweekTV stories featured, follow these links:
Looking back: Ranchers Rebellion
Looking back: Bear Creek Winery
Looking back: Operation Dignity International
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Looking back: Farmer John's Haiti
Looking back: Meadowlark Garden
Looking back: Farm in the Dell
WELCOME TO AGWEEK TV'S ANNUAL HOLIDAY SHOW, I'M MICHELLE ROOK. WE'RE HERE AT SUPERIOR GRAIN EQUIPMENT IN KINDRED, NORTH DAKOTA, AND WE HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS.
2020 HAS BEEN A VERY DIFFICULT YEAR, AND THE HOLIDAYS ARE VERY DIFFERENT FOR MANY OF US. OUR HOLIDAY SHOW ALSO LOOKS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN IN YEARS PAST.
BUT WE WANT TO END 2020 ON A POSITIVE NOTE, AND WE DO SO EVERY YEAR, BY LOOKING BACK AT SOME OF OUR FAVORITE STORIES THAT WE HAD ON AGWEEK THIS YEAR.
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Michelle: OUR REPORTERS ARE SCATTERED AROUND NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA AS WELL AS MINNESOTA, AND THIS IS ONE TIME OF YEAR THAT WE USUALLY ALL GATHER TOGETHER.
BUT FOLLOWING COVID SAFETY PRECAUTIONS, WE WON'T ALL BE ABLE TO DO THAT THIS YEAR, SO SOME REPORTERS WILL JOIN US BY VIDEO TO TALK ABOUT THEIR STORIES. WHILE OTHERS ARE HERE IN PERSON, SOCIALLY DISTANCED.
JOINING ME IN PERSON ARE MIKKEL PATES, EMILY BEAL, AS WELL AS ROSE DUNN.
NOW OBVIOUSLY WE CAN'T IGNORE THE BIGGEST STORY OF THE YEAR, WHICH WAS COVID-19 AND THE PANDEMIC, AND THE BIG IMPACT THAT IT HAD ON HOW WE DO OUR JOBS.
Michelle: AND MIKKEL, HOW DID IT IMPACT HOW YOU DO YOUR JOB?
Mikkel: YOU KNOW, JUST SOCIAL DISTANCING WITH THE PEOPLE WE'RE TRYING TO INTERVIEW. WE'RE OFTEN OUT IN THE FIELD, OUT IN THE AIR OR IN BIG BUILDINGS WHERE YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT THAT EXPOSED, BUT YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT EITHER YOU'RE USING A LONG BOOM, WHICH IS AN APPARATUS TO SET UP. OR YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, USING EQUIPMENT THAT YOU WIPE DOWN AND MAKE SURE THAT THE FARMERS THAT YOU'RE INTERVIEWING OR THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO ARE NOT TOUCHING ANY OF IT.
Michelle: SO EMILY, YOU WERE NEW TO THE AREA, NEW TO REPORTING, AND THEN YOU THROW THE PANDEMIC IN ON TOP OF THAT, SO THAT MADE IT KIND OF CHALLENGING FOR YOU, DIDN'T IT?
Emily: IT DEFINITELY WAS CHALLENGING, I THINK IT'S A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO START A CAREER, LET ALONE START A CAREER IN A PANDEMIC. BUT I'M SO GRATEFUL THAT I WAS ABLE TO JOIN THE AGWEEK TEAM. BEING NEW TO THE REGION, IT REALLY WAS DIFFICULT DURING THE PANDEMIC TO GO OUT AND MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS.
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Michelle: ROSE, ABOUT MARCH, WE ACTUALLY SAW FORUM COMMUNICATIONS ASK PEOPLE TO WORK FROM HOME, INCLUDING YOURSELF.
Rose: I DID NOT THINK I COULD DO MY JOB, AS A PRODUCER, AND WORKING WITH THE VIDEO, FROM HOME, BUT I HAVE TO SAY I WAS VERY IMPRESSED AT HOW QUICKLY OUR COMPANY MOBILIZED EVERYBODY, GOT US EQUIPPED TO WORK FROM HOME, SHUT DOWN THE BUILDING, AND IT REALLY FELT PRETTY SEAMLESS. WE REALLY DIDN'T MISS A BEAT AG AGWEEK.
JUST TO TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE BEHIND THE SCENES THINGS THAT DID HAPPEN. I WOULD BE OUT IN THE FIELD, OUT AT OUR FARM OR OUT IN A SOYBEAN FIELD OR A CORNFIELD. AND I WOULD BE TAPING THE SHOW, AND THEN I WOULD BE SENDING IT TO FARGO SO THAT THEY COULD ASSEMBLE THE SHOW.
Rose: I THINK IT WORKED BEAUTIFULLY. I WORRIED EVERY WEEK ABOUT THE WEATHER, BUT WE WERE SO LUCKY. NOW WE'LL SEE GOING FORWARD, BUT WE'VE HAD SUCH A NICE FALL. AND IT LOOKED PRETTY NATURAL FOR YOU TO BE STANDING OUT IN A FIELD, DOING AN AG SHOW.
Michelle: YEAH, IN FACT I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE SAID TO ME WELL WE LIKE IT BETTER WHEN YOU'RE OUT IN THE FIELD TAPING THE SHOW, BECAUSE IT'S A FARM SHOW AND THAT'S WHERE YOU SHOULD BE.
