 Central Lakes College hosted its Energy and Agricultural Field Day today by its Staples campus. Sarah Winkleman stopped by the event to see the impact of their agricultural studies. Community members, local supporters and Central Lakes College faculty spent an afternoon out at the farm. The organizers gave tours of different research projects currently underway on the grounds. Protecting groundwater was a main topic of discussion today as the large group gathered. I love to see people take ownership of their food system and for some it's just a consumer and understanding where that food comes from. For others they're obviously producing and so they want to improve their operation and of course there's that whole gamut in between. No matter how you are involved, agriculture affects everybody and CLC wants to make sure that students get the opportunity to try real agricultural equipment. Well I love agriculture and you can't get that anywhere else really. There's a whole bunch of programs all across the state that have a little bit to do with agriculture but agriculture in a sense is only taught on the farm. The education reaches farther than just those who are enrolled at Central Lakes College. It's good to get on the community and show people that aren't traditionally involved in agriculture equipment. The ride and drives, get kids that maybe that plants will see them and say this is something I want to pursue and get involved in the industry. Going forward it's critical that we get more people involved in agriculture and get a better understanding of really what puts the food on the plate. Many local organizations support the work at CLC but their efforts go far beyond local impact. There's some really phenomenal work going on that you know sometimes it will generate interest or benefit for others that are right around us but there's a regional impact and even a state impact when we think about it. Our soils here represent about 600,000 acres across the state of Minnesota that we consider more sandy or coarse sandy and irrigated. So our research can be applied to a lot of different areas of the state. Technology, research and most importantly food are all growing at CLC's agricultural campus reporting in Staples, Sarah Winckelman, Lakeland News. After three successful years in a row CLC plants continue to host this event. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.