In honor of Minnesota’s sesquicentennial celebration, the state Department of Agriculture on Monday will recognize farm families that have owned their land for 150 years or more.

The recognition will take place during a special ceremony at the 2008 Minnesota State Fair in the Sesquicentennial Performance Tent between Heritage Square and the Grandstand.

Freeborn County’s Ole and Aimee Olson will be one of the 90 families recognized at the event. Their family has owned its farm since 1857.

“I’m pretty proud of that,” Ole said. His family’s original 160 acres of farmland was purchased for 25 cents an acre through a military bounty. Now they own 250 acres, most of which they rent out.

The land has been the home of a cattle farm — also growing some pigs, chickens and ducks — and a crop farm, over the years growing oats, alfalfa, corn and beans.

In 2005 when Ole went to serve in Iraq, the farm completely became a crop farm; however, now that he’s back from Iraq, Ole said there is a high possibility they will bring back cattle.

The farm is 12 miles north of Albert Lea.

During the Monday ceremony, the Olsons and the other sesquicentennial farm families will be honored for their support of Minnesota agriculture with a certificate of recognition signed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson.

Then to coincide with the recognition, there will be a display of sesquicentennial farms in the adjacent sesquicentennial exhibit tent from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday and then in the Cattle Barn Moo Booth at the corner of Judson Avenue and Stevens Street for the remaining days of the fair.

Allen Sommerfeld, communications coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, said the idea for the recognition came about because the Agriculture Department wanted to find a way to take part in the state’s sesquicentennial celebration.

“We decided to figure out how many or if there are any farms who have been in continuous ownership,” Sommerfeld said.

Representatives in the department sent out a call in January, asking for sesquicentennial farm families to contact them. Ninety families responded.

Sommerfeld said he is not sure whether there are more sesquicentennial farm families out there other than those who responded.

Because this will now be a continuing program, people will have the opportunity to register for the recognition next year if they missed the chance to do so this year.

For a list of the farms receiving recognition at the State Fair, visit the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Web site at www.mda.state.mn.us.