Slow Food Upstate unveiled the new “Future of Agriculture” room, which has a series of posters for children revolving around sustainable agriculture. All of the posters have QR codes, so folks can scan with smart phones and read more about each subject. For example, terms like free-range, composting, beneficial bugs, predator habitat, animal welfare, fair labor rights and more are topics. There is also a hands-on activity table where kids can trace all the parts of a pizza back to the farm. It’s an important part of the connection between children and the food they eat, and the soil and water and air in our region.

“Bart” Garrison, for whom South Carolina’s Agricultural Museum is named, grew up just 6.5 miles from the museum’s 120 History Lane location. His is the fourth generation of the Garrison family at Denver Downs Farm. Bart and his brother, Tom, leased the family farm in 1989 and had been running it on their own for a year before tragedy struck. On May 9, 1990, a grain silo accident took Bart’s life and the life of Matthew Pickens, a long-time Denver Downs employee. Tom, who was working alongside his brother, miraculously survived the accident.

Bart, like many others, made the decision to become a farmer during a time when America had nearly forgotten her agricultural roots. It is in Bart’s memory and in memory and honor of heritage and modern-day family farms all over our Carolina’s that we can dedicate a day-trip with children and friends to one or both of these agricultural museum experiences.