The farmers and ranchers’ combine harvesters, tractors, grain silos, or heated calving barns that are on the gift list are not in most of our budget.
However, we can find small and well-thought-out gifts within a realistic budget.
Our Agweek staff provided some gift ideas that might help you shop this season.
If your farmers like to eat mushrooms with their favorite protein — or if they can’t get enough food — consider buying them a mushroom growing kit.
A box kit for indoor production of edible mushrooms throughout the year can be purchased from North Shore LLC in Westbrook, Maine, for $28. Farmers who cannot grow crops may like an off-season project as a Christmas gift. Photo courtesy of Beispore Co., Ltd.
One source is North Spore LLC in Westbrook, Maine. The company was founded in 2014 and provides indoor fungus production for farmers and family growers-from beginners to experts-throughout the year.
Farmers who cannot get enough planting and harvesting in winter may like to grow their own edible mushroom kits as Christmas gifts. These are pink oyster mushrooms, produced by a $28 kit from North Spore LLC in Maine. Photo courtesy of Beispore Co., Ltd.
The company produces sawdust, bar and grain strains, a series of sterile substrates and medicinal mushroom supplements. An introductory mushroom kit for growing edible mushrooms named "Pink Oyster", "Lion Mane" or "Golden Oyster". The complete sterile substrate series allows happy growers to produce their favorite species that like manure or wood. The kit starts at $28.
The Black Rifle Coffee Company x Fellow Carter Move mug is a mug that farmers and ranches can carry with them without worrying about spelling content. Black Rifle Coffee Co. photo. My late father, Adrian Bailey, was a farmer. He liked coffee, no matter how weak or strong it was, or how long it was in the pot. He takes coffee with him and puts the cups wherever he wants; on the fence, on the seat of his tractor, in the shop, a few weeks or months later, someone will find them filled with a kind of coffee that was once a coffee. Slightly salty substance.
After my father retired from agriculture, he almost always carried foam cups when he went to elevators, tool dealers and banks every day. Sometimes the coffee he carried with him spilled out, like when he was buying a card for my mother's birthday at the drugstore when his cup was overturned. Over the next few years, I, my mother, and my siblings received coffee-stained cards on our birthday.
I have to believe that my father would like to drink hot coffee in an insulated, splash-proof cup like Black Rifle Coffee Co. x Fellow Carter Move. This coffee cup uses a heat-locking double-wall vacuum cleaner that keeps the beverage hot for 12 hours or cold for 24 hours. It also has a snap-in splash guard and leak-proof seal to prevent liquid overflow.
I know that my father is a World War II veteran, and he would also thank Black Rifle Coffee Co. for being owned by the veterans and supporting them, law enforcement personnel and first responders. The company will give back every time it buys.
The 16-ounce BRCC x Fellow Carter Move is priced at $35. You can find it at https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/collections/mugs.
A good set of binoculars can help around farms and pastures. Knowing that a good set of binoculars can definitely come in handy in the field or pasture, and sometimes even from your own kitchen window, especially in the cold winter. This is a project that you don't want to be stingy on quality. Cheap binoculars can be frustrating to use and will be left in the trash drawer. Of course, in addition to using them on the farm, they can also be used to amplify wild animals, live sports events, concerts, and other events. There are very good binoculars here in Haol' America. We hope to free up those West Coast ports for export of agricultural products!
Air fryer can make restaurant quality dishes in a healthier way. Photo. If you have always wondered if an air fryer is worth it, or just another stylish device that will mess up your countertop, let us consult some experts. My niece: "This is the best chicken nuggets I have ever eaten." My daughter: "These wings are as good as the wings of [the big wing chain we like]." Last year I gave some of them as family gifts, They are very popular. If you can't go to the restaurant, you can easily copy some of your favorite dishes at home, or even healthier, because you use little or no oil for frying. Most retailers seem to offer products of various sizes, prices, and types during this holiday season, and some retailers also perform various other tasks, such as toasters. The samples I've seen range from a 2-quart drawer (suitable for cooking one or two servings) for less than $40 to a luxury model for $300, which can make a whole roast chicken and also serve as your side dish.
Redhead Creamery is named after Sjostrom and her three redhead sisters. Every year, I try to find different small rural businesses to support gifts to share with my agricultural family, farm (and city) friends, and my husband’s small business customers. Julie Peterson of Peterson Farm Seeds shared with me this year that she had previously purchased Redhead Creamery cheese gifts, so I contacted the redhead Alise Sjostrom of Redhead Creamery on their easy-to-use website. She and her own the company, her husband and parents. The company made some changes during the pandemic and continues to thrive.
North Dakota's honey production is in a leading position in the country, and honey is produced in the state during the summer. Danze Honey ships most of the honey to honey packers, but packs a small amount for local sales. Jenny Schlecht / Forum News Service Earlier this fall, I gave Jon Knutson a cheese birthday/retirement gift from Redhead Creamery. Then, in December of this year, I ordered the holiday gift box cheese to pick it up on their Fargo delivery route, share it, and give it to family, friends, and small business customers. Cheese is a gift that will never fail. You can share, give and enjoy with your family during the holidays. I think using honey to make gifts sweeter, so I ordered Honey Bears from Danzig Honey in Wisek, North Dakota, another agricultural family business.
Every farm family I know likes to learn about other farm families, their agribusiness, and bring the added value back to the farm. Give gifts of cheese and honey in this holiday season, sharing the agricultural products of our beloved land with the people we care about most this season.
Jigsaw puzzles can be a great family activity, but it can also be a great way to clear your mind and relieve stress. For a different view of traditional puzzles, the puzzle created by a Minnesota company called PuzzleTwist is slightly different from the one shown on the box. Check the local game store (available at Game Giant in Fargo) or order from the website. Put it in the house or store and let the winter entertain you. And it does not involve the screen!
Bluetooth headsets, such as this headset from BlueParrot, can be a useful gift for farmers or ranchers in your life. Blue parrot photo. I remember the summer when I drove the tractor for my father. I just want to say that I am not good at it. My attention is not suitable for field trips. I want to blame the radio, it bores me playing the same song over and over again throughout the day. That was before the ubiquity of mobile phones, of course, before smart phones provided us with countless entertainment opportunities.
Now, we have more entertainment possibilities, but most old tractors still only have bulky AM/FM radios. I suggest letting the farmer or rancher in your life listen to podcasts, music or games hands-free. Over the years, I have bought several BlueParrot headphones for my husband. These are not only very useful when he wants to listen to things, but also make it safer to answer calls when he is on a tractor or pickup. He has completed a lot of commercial work and also completed farm work, which would be almost impossible without his headphones.
There are many styles and many other brands to choose from. My husband likes sturdy headphones that can eliminate noise. I prefer something lighter.
Ag News is a moving target. Policies, markets, weather and news are constantly changing. There is always something new to learn, and some information can help provide information for decision-making on farms and pastures.
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