My great-great-grandfather AC Kirchoff moved west as a young man to Mesa, Arizona, to continue his family's legacy of agriculture. He began by raising cotton and citrus. As a farmer in the early 1900s, agriculturalists were large in number but limited in technology. Grandpa AC relied on horse-drawn implements, shovels, and his hands in every stage of his farming career.
Looking back on his life as a farmer, I wish he would have known and had just a fraction of today's technology and tools. Whether crop rotation, precision planters, tractors, plant varieties specific to our area, minimum-till cultivation, or water conservation, farming technology has advanced astronomically. The tools we have to grow food, care for the environment, and conserve our natural resources amaze me!
With the advances agriculture has seen since AC Kirchoff's time, we have the tools needed to grow many different crops at Mortimer Farms. One of my favorites is garlic.
Let's face it. Garlic is a staple. I can't think of one dinner I cook that doesn't have garlic as an ingredient.
In celebration of garlic, let's talk about Mortimer Farms' 2021 Garlic Festival. The festival will be a foodie event unlike any other! On July 23rd, 24th, and 25th, your family will enjoy cooking demonstrations by our farm chefs, farm-to-table meals, garlic desserts, shows, farm-inspired rides, and entertainment by the one and only Prescott Regulators and Their Shady Ladies.
As we are buttoning up the final details for the Garlic Festival, I can't help but think what Grandpa pictured 2021 farming to be. Would he have thought advances in technology allow 2% of the population (farmers) to feed 100% of the population? Did he foresee that most of our population would not have the opportunity to connect to where food comes from? Would he have guessed how important it is for children of 2021 to know the story of the food on their plate? For these reasons and many others, we invite your family to Mortimer Farms. Get your shoes in the dirt, harvest your own food, and connect to where your food comes from!
