ELK RIVER, Minn. – (April 28, 2017) – “It’s a museum that’s a farm and a farm that’s a museum,” said Oliver Kelley Farm site manager Bob Quist.
The Oliver Kelley Farm dates back to 1850. It has been under the care of the Minnesota Historical Society since 1961. Today thousands of visitors tour the farmstead each year.
“We have the historic farmstead that is set up to the late 1850s. And then we have, what we call our farm lab area which is our newest feature…where we really examine agriculture of today, ” said Quist.
With the addition of a new the new visitor center and farm lab area guests are able to compare farming of today with farming from more than 150 years ago. The new spaces are part of a $10.5 million upgrade aimed at telling a broader story of agricultural history.
“The new spaces really feature outdoor and indoor spaces. Over an acre of new garden space. Our farm lab barn area. These areas all give us a way to look at farming and agriculture today and make that comparison to the 1860 version,” said Quist.
The Oliver Kelley Farm is a popular field trip spot for local students. Busses roll in everyday in the spring and fall.
“This spring we are going to see about 9,000 students…they are interacting with livestock and with crops. We have sold our for 15 years our number of spaces,” said Quist.
The Minnesota Historical Society offers many different types of experiences from there 26 different sites, your experience at the Oliver Kelley Farm is sure to be unique.
“We are a different kind of museum…you have people who interact with you…and we do things,” said Quist
The farm is still a working farm, much of the food grown on the farm goes to feed the livestock that live on the farm. But, some items such as the soybeans are sold off to be processed for eating. Bob wants visitors to leave with a reminder that everything that ends up on their table in some way starts on a farm.
“Food comes from farms, it may get processed along the way but in the end everything starts on a farm,” said Quist.
The Oliver Kelley Farm is open weekends in May and they will be open six days a week starting Memorial Day weekend. They will be celebrating all the new spaces with a grand opening on May 6 and 7. That weekend will include special exhibits, demos and live music.
