Thanksgiving Blessings on Both Sides of the Plate
On the fourth Thursday of November, we gather with friends and family and give thanks for our blessings and livelihood. Even with the challenges we faced over the last year, we as farmers and ranchers have so much to be grateful for!
We enjoy decorating on the ranch for fall!
As we begin to sit down around the table, there will be a plethora of tasty food to choose from…turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, rolls, pies and all the family favorites. To make the Thanksgiving meal happen, a lot of Kansas farmers and ranchers were up before dawn every day.
Let’s take a look behind the scenes of the Thanksgiving meal with a few facts from Kansas Farm Food Connection.
· Commercial feed for turkeys is a balance of proteins, fiber, vitamins and minerals. In fact, the feed includes soybeans (meal and oil) and corn produced from Kansas farmers.
· Kansas produces about 365 million gallons of milk each year, which is a key ingredient in making gravy!
· As we make our favorite stuffing, there is a good chance we are using flour made from the 340 million bushels of wheat grown in the state.
· Kansas is the fourth largest producer of summer potatoes in the U.S., helping to make mashed potatoes a Thanksgiving staple.
· There are 300 dairy farms in Kansas producing milk to make butter for those delicious flaky dinner rolls.
Gathering at Thanksgiving reminds us of when the Pilgrims first settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts. They held a feast to celebrate their harvest in 1621 but the first national Thanksgiving Day Holiday did not become a regular holiday in the U.S. until 1863. Since then, Americans have gathered to give thanks for our many blessings and started many traditions centered around fall, family, and Thanksgiving.
One of our family traditions is cheering on the Kansas State University Wildcats each fall!
Happy Thanksgiving to all celebrating our many blessings and traditions with friends and family!
