You may have noticed, I missed Monday Night Movie Night last week. No worries! I'm making up for it this week with a few extra movies! One of my favorite bloggers, Dairy Carrie, is one of the nominees for U.S. Farmers & Rancher's Alliance's New Faces of Farming and Ranching. She recently posted her contestant clip on her Facebook page. After looking into the award a little more, I ran across the stories of seven other farmers and ranchers eager to share their passions. Take a few moments to learn about each agvocate by watching their videos below! I hope their passion for ag excites you!
Jay Hill advocates for a variety of crops including pecans and pinto beans. I enjoyed his unique perspective as a grower of non-commodity crops. His 3 T's, trust, transparency, and taste priorities really encouraging to me as a consumer.
Darrell Glaser works hard on his turkey and cattle farm to achieve sustainability. Using the natural resources created by the operations to compliment each other has allowed Darrell and his wife to be better stewards of the business. With sustainability as such a hot topic in the industry, it's great to know producers also see it as a priority.
Carla Wardin is a dairy farmer and blogger who works hard to demonstrate how much farmers care about their land, animals and products. Her unique perspective as a mother allows her to connect with consumers who visit her farm and read her blog in a special way. Women like Carla always inspire me with the many hats they wear in the operation, their families, and community.
Erin Brenneman is from my neck of the woods in Southeast Iowa. Her goal is to share with consumers that big farms have a face too. Large farms like hers are often labeled as factory farms, but as she explains in her video, "there's no conveyor belts here." Check out her video to meet Erin and her family farm operation.
Brian Jones is proud of watching the circle of life over and over on his 4th generation family farm. He's also enjoyed raising his kids on the operation. Much like his peers, Jones enjoys telling the story of agriculture to so many people who haven't experienced raising food.
Jessica Potter is proud of the fact that she and her husband started a ranch from scratch. She's scared cowboys and cowgirls are a dying breed. One of her goals is to preserve that icon of western America and the history that goes along with it. Watch her video for more reasons she feels agvocacy is her calling.
Thomas Titus farms with his family in Illinois. He wants consumers to know that animal welfare is one of his top priorities. Check out some of the things he and his family do to take care of their animals. He enjoys raising his children around the farm and supporting organizations like 4-H and FFA.
Last but not least, Carrie Mess, a city girl turned dairy farmer offers a unique perspective in her agvocacy work. Like many consumers, her farm is concerned with sustainability and animal welfare. I encourage you to take some time to watch her video as well as check out her blog.
I find each of these individuals inspiring and hope I am a positive face for agriculture as they are. Best of luck to each of them as they pursue this honor! Thanks for reading!
Last week was the last organized meeting I had with the Agricultural Business Learning Community I peer mentor. It was actually kind of sad to stand at the front on the class collecting student evaluation forms, congratulating each kid on a successful semester thus far, knowing I would never teach the class again. On the other hand, I couldn't help smile with each "Thank you", "I learned a lot!", or "You helped Iowa State feel like home."
Three faculty members came to class to answer questions about future coursework and their classroom policies. Each shared valuable advice about balancing involvements, studying abroad, and searching for jobs. As a student I feel so fortunate we have the opportunity to get to know our professors personally.
