You might not remember that for three days when Kewaunee County shined its brightest for the 2017 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, it actually rained. The 2017 FTD Executive Committee and its 1,900 volunteers are celebrating this week the fifth anniversary of hosting the event that became the first in Farm Technology Days history to draw more people to its three days of exhibitions than the county’s population. It could have been even more if it had not downpoured heading into the event’s second day. Still, the executive committee’s response to the rain was to throw more wood chips down so attendees could visit all the different areas set up at Ebert Enterprises in Algoma. Those three days in 2017 were actually more than three years of hard work and dedication, something the event’s executive chairperson Amber Hewett looks back fondly on.

Wisconsin Farm Technology Days in Kewaunee County funneled more than $300,000 back into the local community through grants and scholarships. The Dana Farm project, which includes rehabilitating the original home of Ransom Moore and adding an ice rink and adjoining shelter, acts as a beacon for the event’s efforts. They also continue to give scholarships to worthy area students going into agriculture over the next five years due to the money raised during the event.