You Are Made for This!

Latham® Dealers from across the Upper Midwest gather each July to kick off a new sales year. Months ago – long before the COVID-19 pandemic altered our lives – our team selected “Made for This” as the theme for our 2020-2021 sales year. Now this theme is more fitting than ever.

Farming takes grit. Farmers across Latham Country overcome many challenges each year. Markets are uncertain, and weather is always unpredictable. Although we have faced even more challenges since March 15, 2020, we continue to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps because that’s what those of in agriculture do!

We feel called to live our legacies. It’s a passion that drives us to get up early and work late to get the job done. After all, we are MADE FOR THIS.

Those of us in agriculture are resilient. We innovate and adapt to change. For the Latham Team, adapting to change meant we had to take our annual Latham Dealer Kickoff online this week rather than meeting in beautiful Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as we had originally planned.

A small group of Team Latham members gathered in Ames, Iowa, to produce a virtual Kickoff meeting. Why Ames? Ames is centrally located between our Alexander headquarters and our team members who live in Des Moines. Ames also has beautiful rental facilities and, most importantly, it offers reliable internet service. Plus, Iowa State alumni like John and me welcome the opportunity to return to their alma mater. This beautiful community also offers a wonderful farmer’s market. (Click here for a related blog post about one of the vendors and a recipe for cucumber brine.)

Each July I look forward to writing a recap of Kickoff that posts on our blog, sharing presentation highlights and local points of interest. One highlight of our time in Ames this week was a visit to Cornbred Barbecue where you can dine on the beautiful outdoor patio or inside the beautifully restored train depot. I also stopped outside my old dorm to admire a few of the Christian Petersen sculptures. If anyone has time for a road trip to Ames this summer, be sure to stop by Reiman Gardens where the “Wild and Whimsical” exhibit will be open through Oct. 4.

Here are links to Kickoff blog posts from the past three years:

• Prairie Meadows Racetrack in Altoona, Iowa with a recipe for Crumb-Crusted Top Sirloin and Roasted Garlic Potatoes with Bourbon Sauce.
• Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota with a recipe for Honey Lavender Cheesecake Bites.
• Branson, Missouri with links to several southern recipes.

Today I’m linking to a recipe for Fresh Strawberry Moscow Mule like the one I enjoyed at Cornbred Barbecue. We’re also sharing with you one of our family’s favorite recipes for BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. This “fix it and forget it recipe” is one that I make in the summer when we’re busy working outside. I hope you and your family enjoy it, too!

Special thanks to the Iowa Food & Family Project for granting us permission to reprint this recipe, which was shared with them by Iowa Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Julie Kenney.