Wordless Wednesday: Highlights

Being a student at Iowa State University has given me so many unique opportunities! I wish I could write a blog post explaining each one. For now, here are a few photo highlights. Since school started I've had the chance to play the campanile, mentor Ag Business freshmen, and attend several picnics welcoming back all the students to campus. Meetings and homework fill my schedule, but every once in a while I get the chance to enjoy the beautiful fall weather. 

I'm so thankful for all I've been able to do so far this school year and that I can share a glimpse of it through these photos. Stay tuned for details of all my adventures. Thanks for reading!

Monday Night Movie Night, 4th Edition!

Monday Night Movie Night seems to be a hit and I love the excuse to geek out and watch YouTube videos, so keep reading for the 4th edition!

I know this is a promotion for AgPhD's YouTube channel, and unless you are a serious farmer or researcher some of their videos may not appeal to you, but I thought this clip was pretty neat. You can see many of the major steps in an entire crop year reduced to less than 30 second. This one definitely made me think about all the effort that is put into each kernel of corn that is produced here in Iowa. (Click on the picture below for the link.)

Here's a homemade music video from Huitt Farms, Inc. out of Perry, Iowa. It's getting to be about harvest time so this clip seemed appropriate. For all you country music lovers, take a peek at their YouTube channel for more harvest and planting videos set to some toe tapping tunes. 

Here in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State, we here about the 9 billion people that will populate the world by 2050 almost daily. All those people will need food and fuel. The demands on the agricultural industry and the need for leaders has never been greater. This short clip from Dupont Pioneer was particularly inspiring to me as a reminder that there are lots of people my own age already engaged in finding a solution. It certainly encourages me, and hopefully you, to be among the ranks of those working to achieve food security for the entire globe. 

That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed this week's Monday Night Movie Night as much as I enjoyed creating it. Thanks for reading!

Wordless Wednesday: ISU Campus

Yesterday, my English class got out a little early and it was the perfect opportunity to break out my camera again. For a long time I've been wanting to explore some of the art on campus and buildings where I don't have class. My friend Dan and I got so caught up in exploring the new bio systems building we only made it through a small section of the campus, so I'm sure there will be a part two to this post in the near future. If you're in the Ames area see if you can find some of these pieces for yourself. 

I'm so thankful for the beautiful weather yesterday and such a gorgeous campus to enjoy. If you've never seen the sculptures or other artwork around Iowa State, take advantage of the nice fall weather while it lasts! Thanks for reading! 

Monday Night Movie Night, 3rd Edition!

It's been a while since I've posted a Monday Night Movie Night, but I ran across a few videos I want to share with you this past week. 

At Farm Progress Show last week the Beck's Hybrids Why I Farm campaign greeted me as I approached the gates. Here's another one of my favorites from them. As always, let me highly recommend their Youtube channel for more heart warming videos.

I hope you've had a chance to read about my experience at the Iowa Corn Indy 300 this past July. (If not you can catch up here.) Even if you're not a big race fan, check out this short clip from Indy Car of some of the highlights. Notice how incredibly fast the cars are going... even though the video doesn't really do it justice. I've said it a bunch already, but I am so thankful to see the performance of ethanol powered racing, and so many other things through my Market Development Internship with Iowa Corn. 

The GMO/organic discussion is all over the news, social media, and editorials today and has been a hot topic for several years. Last year I was fortunate enough to attend the Food Dialogues Event at Iowa State University. Even though this isn't a short clip, let me encourage you to watch and learn the science behind the debate. Katie Olthoff and Wayne Humphreys, who've been featured in my blog before are on the panel. 

Hope you've enjoyed these videos and learned something new! As always, I'd love to hear about any new clips you find! Thanks for reading!

Wordless Wednesday: Iowa Corn

This Monday school started again at Iowa State, which means my summer internship at Iowa Corn came to an end. For my second Wordless Wednesday, I'm sharing some of my favorite shots of the last 12 weeks. Check out my other blog posts to learn the details about each special memory captured in these photos.

It's so hard to share all these photos without exploding with stories. I want so badly to add a little caption of lessons learned and people encountered, but then it wouldn't be Wordless Wednesday! It'll have to wait for another day. Thanks for reading!

Wordless Wednesday: Iowa State Fair

I'm going to steal an idea from A First Generation Farm Wife and share a Wordless Wednesday post with you. As I worked so many booths at the Iowa State Fair last week I really enjoyed watching people take in the fair. It encouraged me to look at things through a new perspective and I enjoyed taking in all the details. Here are a few of the shots I gathered.

I hope you had the chance to see the Iowa State Fair for yourself! I'd love to see your pictures. Thanks for reading!

Northwest Iowa Livestock Tour: Bar-K Cattle

Bar-K Cattle was the second stop on the Iowa Corn Northwest Iowa Livestock Tour. If you missed the details of our visit to Center Fresh, be sure to check that out here. 

The Iowa Corn AAE Committee enjoyed learning from Chad and Brent of Bar-K Cattle.

When our group first arrived, Chad and Brent gave us an overview of the operation. The location we visited holds 10,000 plus head of cattle. We discussed where their cattle come from, the careful care each animal gets, and their rations of corn and other agricultural products. I learned the heifers and steers are bed on corn stalks. What a great way to recycle!

After we looked at the loading facility and sheltered area where the cattle live, the guys showed us their manure handling practices. Many farmers use manure rather than chemical fertilizer for various reasons. In this particular part of Iowa, with all of the livestock, manure is easily sourced. This isn't necessarily great news for Bar-K because it means the market is saturated, and they have a lot of waste to get rid of. They must find some way to differentiate their product. 

Bar-K uses an innovative system to compost their manure. It's piled and turned regularly to ensure the highest quality. Their agronomist samples and analyzes it often to help his farmer customers know exactly what they are getting in their fertilizer.

It was thought provoking to see so many people who raise our food in one place learning about each other's production practices. Not that I ever doubted their intentions, but it definitely makes me feel good to know these farmers care enough about the people who consume what they harvest to take a day away from their operation to learn how to do their job better.