There are still opportunities to enjoy this year’s Minnesota State Fair, despite the cancellation of most on-site events. One example: the fair’s new Crop Art to Go kits. Minnesota Crop Improvement Association provided crop seeds for these kits, continuing a tradition of more than 100 years of involvement with the fair. Everything needed to create your own work of art is included in the kits: seven varieties of seeds, eight beginner illustrations to use as design patterns, a 5 x 7-inch canvas, glue, paintbrush, toothpicks, a pencil, and directions. To order a Crop Art to Go kit, visit the State Fair’s online shop.
Crop art at the Minnesota State Fair was the inspiration of Orris Shulstad, a former manager of MCIA’s seed laboratory who was also superintendent of the State Fair’s farm crops division. In 1965, Shulstad added crop art to the Certified Seed Show and Field Crop Competition. The annual crop art display remains a popular attraction to this day. Creations from the Crop Art to Go kits can be entered in the 2021 Minnesota State Fair competition.