Each year, the University of Minnesota’s Agricultural Education club hosts Ag Awareness Day in the heart of the Minneapolis main campus. More than 3,000 students, faculty and staff visit the event each year to learn a little more about how their food, fiber and fuel is produce while meeting the men and women behind the product.

Greta Thormodson, a junior at the University of Minnesota, serves as the overall co-chair for the event.

“I grew up on a farm and have been involved in agriculture my whole life,” Thormodson said. “Through Ag Awareness Day, I get to inform people how ag impacts their everyday lives.”

Thormodson’s family farms near Dalton, Minn., in Otter Tail and Grant County. Her dad, Bob Thormodson, is a member of the Otter Tail/Grant County Corn & Soybean Growers Association.

At the Minnesota Soybean booth, visitors participated in soy trivia and had a chance to win a prize. The booth also had a variety of soy-based products.

“We like to bring in other organizations to share their own story with the public,” Thormodson said. “It is also nice to show that agriculture is not restricted to just one area. It is not just beef or pork, but also includes soybeans, corn and even organic farming.”

The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) continues to support Ag Awareness Day in its seventh year.

“It’s important that we have a presence at Ag Awareness Day because it allows us to get out in front of students and consumers,” Minnesota Soybean CEO Tom Slunecka said. “We are able to connect with those that don’t have a background in agriculture.”