Wordless Wednesday: Summer 2015 Internship Update #2

Overwhelmed. Proud. Inspired. Curious. Tired. Passionate. Excited. Amazed.

Walking up to Beck's facilities for 2015 Becknology Days I was swimming in a cloud of emotions as thick as the chilly morning fog. At the end of August, I attended their three day event as the final assignment of my summer marketing internship. There was so much going on! People to meet, things to learn, food to eat... and work to do.

I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to return to Indiana for this impressive event. Hopefully, you can get a glimpse of my experience in this week's Wordless Wednesday.

(Photo credits: Beck's Hybrids)

Becknology Days was an incredible way to wrap up the fantastic summer experience I had out in Indiana. I look forward to attending again in the future and, as always, sharing my experience with you. Thanks for reading!

Monday Night Movie Night: Frank Doll

It's been a long time since I've shared a Monday Night Movie Night, but with all the exciting Why I Farm releases recently, I can't help myself today.

Today, I'm sharing Frank Doll's Why I Farm video. It's the first video released as Beck's Why I Farm campaign enters its third year. Unfortunately, I've never met Frank, but working on his video as part of my summer internship had an impact on me. 

Hearing friends and community members speak so highly of him really made me think. How would people respond if they were interviewed about me?

There's just something that warms my heart when I hear a mother speaking about her children. I love how Judy supports Frank's agvocacy!

I've always admired women in ag, farm moms and wives! It's pretty neat to hear how much raising their sons on the farm means to Pam, especially since she grew up outside the dairy industry.

I can really relate to Derrik's comments. Back home, there are a handful of farmers that welcomed me to learn from their operation and sparked my interest in agriculture. They are mentors, friends and role models. Like Derrik, I'm thankful for the influence these agvocates have had in my life.

I could talk to farmers like Homer all day. His smile projects his passion for the farm before you hear him say a word. I love his slow storytelling and vision for the future. You can just tell by the twinkle in his eye, he's proud of where his son is leading the farm.

All in all, I was most inspired by Frank himself. On top of working 14+ hours Sunday to Sunday, he never stops sharing his agricultural story. He cares about his cows and the consumers that enjoy the products that come from his farm. 

I hope you're touched by these stories as I have been. I can't wait to see what the Why I Farm campaign will release next! Thanks for reading!

#CowAppreciationDay 2015

Social media is awesome! Every time I log on I learn something new. This morning, #CowAppreciationDay posts filled my news feed. Who knew cows had their own special day?! 

After reading post after post, I thought of Angel. Angel was the big momma cow and boss of the herd at the farm where my 4-H calves were kept back in high school. She was big and gentle. Always the first to greet me when I came to do chores, and first in line for head scratches. We all knew she was a little spoiled, but you could hardly get mad at her when she learned how to lick open her gate. Angel was almost all white and was a great mom to my show calves Heaven and White Cloud. I looked and looked, but I don't have a picture of her to share.

This is Angel's daughter, Heaven. She was the first calf I showed at the fair. Working with her taught me a lot about responsibility and work ethic. Here's a picture from high school. I'm blow drying her after a bath. It didn't matter if I was hot or tired, she needed fed, walked, and washed everyday.

I'm so disappointed that's one of the few pictures I have of the cows I worked with. But it turns out there are lots of awesome Women in Agriculture in one of my Facebook groups who are willing to share their pictures. I hope you enjoy their stories as much as I did!

This is Crystal Wiese's momma cow, Star. She's a Jersey (a dairy breed) and about five years old. Last fall, Star had a calf that Crystal's son showed at the fair this summer. 

These adorable pictures come from Katee Pevler. Their family love of cattle has been passed through more than four generations and looks good for the future with these handsome little cowboys!

Meet Squirt! This dairy cow is Jennifer Donald Neumann's oldest cow. She's 18 and still going strong. The next picture, with the calf, is Squirt's grandson who was born this year.

These pretty ladies are Gretchen Allen's newest Dexter heifers. Heifers are young females that have never given birth.

Say hello to Annabelle who lives on A Dairyman's Wife's farm. Here's a little story about her:

"Tonight was a bittersweet night on the farm for me. My favorite heifer on the farm, which is really my favorite animal on the farm, she was 'kicked' out with the cows tonight. This means  when heifers get to breeding age, and a good size they are taken out of the big heifer pen and put out in the barnyard with the cows and our two bulls to be bred. Annabelle is a little over a year and a half old, and my first love on the farm! Sorry Farmer! ;)"

For more from A Dairyman's Wife, check out her blog.

I'm so thankful I stumbled across #CowAppreciationDay! These little stories really brightened my busy day. I'd love to hear what things you're learning on social media! Thanks for reading!

Summer 2015 Internship Update #1

By now, if you've been following the Roots Facbook page or Twitter, you know I've been interning in Atlanta, Indiana at Beck's Hybrids this summer. I began the Monday after my finals wrapped up in May and have been loving life "out east" ever since! Today is my 35th day on the job, so I'm way overdue (Imaging that! ;) ) for an update!

Part of my experience at Beck's is writing a weekly Intern Avenue blog post. It's great to have people holding me accountable to blog. I know down the road I'll be glad the stories of my summer have been saved. I'm also thankful for the opportunity this has given me to get more writing advice and critique. My supervisor has been great about kindly pointing out my weaknesses and helping me achieve my goal of being a more engaging/entertaining author.

I think my writing has improved, but check it out for yourself by reading the Intern Avenue blogs I've written so far:

First Impressions of the Beck Experience

Love For Stories

Blessed with the Best

The Road Less Traveled By

Who I Am: A Father's Day Tribute

What If and Why

I've also been able to contribute to the social media pages the Marketing Department manages. Below are all the links to their accounts, so be sure to like or follow them to see some of my work. Lately, I've been having a lot of fun adding to the Beck's Pinterest page!

Beck's Facebook

Beck's Twitter

Beck's Pinterest

Beck's YouTube

Beck's Instagram

This summer it's also been really cool to contribute to the #WhyIFarm movement Beck's started in 2013. You can read more in my first Intern Avenue, but Why I Farm is what got me hooked on the company in the first place. The Love for Stories post tells about my trip to Iowa filming a Why I Farm video. I can't share much on the subject yet because our work hasn't been released, but in the mean time visit WhyIFarm.com and enjoy some of the free download-ables. Keep your eyes peeled for exciting announcements later this summer on Why I Farm's Facebook and Twitter.

This will have to do for now, but I look forward to telling you more about all my experiences in Indiana. Meanwhile, keep a close eye on the Beck's Blog for my posts every Friday. Thanks for reading!

Wordless Wednesday: Wheat Harvest 2015

Growing up in Southeast Iowa, the only commodity crops I've had much exposure to are corn and soybeans. This summer, living in Indiana and interning in the marketing department for Beck's Hybrids, I've learned a tons about wheat in a short time. I still don't know enough to write a blog post about it yet, but I encourage you to check out information from my fellow ag blogger, Jenny (aka Prairie Californian). Meanwhile, enjoy these beautiful photos of #wheatharvest15!

Photo by Abby via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

Photo by Chris Harris via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

Photo by Chris Harris via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

 Photo by Chris Harris via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

Photo by Daniel Maier via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

Photo by DeeAnn Koehler-Nipper via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

Photo by Jill Simmerman via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

Photo by Marti Rene Pfaff via Meteorologist Frank Waugh 

Photo via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

 Photo via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

 Photo via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

Photo via Meteorologist Frank Waugh 

Photo via Meteorologist Frank Waugh 

Photo via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

Photo by Michael Bigley and Vaness Ann via Meteorologist Frank Waugh 

 Photo by Robin Johnson via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

 Photo by Robin Johnson via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

 

 Photo by Ross Stumpf via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

 Photo by Sounya Cornwell via Meteorologist Frank Waugh

I'm eager to learn more about wheat and it's role in feeding the world. I'll keep you updated with what I'm learning over the summer. Thanks for reading!

Confessions of a Bargain Lover

When I started this blog, I had no idea it would morph into what it is today. At that time the Roots journey was just a few wild dreams mixed with a crazy guess or two. Since then, it's become an outlet for me to write about the things I'm passionate about, and opened the door to some great relationships. The exciting part is, when it comes to what it looks like next year, just my imagination (...and time) is the limit. That's why, starting today, I'm blogging about another part of my "roots."

My mother has always been a bargain shopper. As I grew up, she was lovingly known as the "return queen" for making end of the season clothing hauls, letting us kids pick out a few of our favorites that fit, and returning the rest. I'm sure the shopping at home gig was much easier than dragging 3 small children to the store. Plus, as a kid I loved the surprise of what she'd bring home. When I did go to the store with her, I quickly learned to make a beeline for the clearance rack. Before we ever covered it in school, I learned to calculate 10, 20, and 50% off!

However, my love for a good deal goes even deeper than that. At Christmas, my Grandma would show up with neatly wrapped presents overflowing from the car. The treasures of her outlet mall adventures would fill the living room as we excitedly opened our presents on Christmas morning. Even when it wasn't Christmas, each time my grandparents visited, there would be a new book, doll clothes, or a truck she'd "just picked up for a quarter." When my brother and I would go stay with Opa and Grandma, a morning of garage sales was always on the agenda. Someone would give us a buck or two, and we'd spend hours strategizing the best way to stretch our little budget. Our parents were never as thrilled with the bang for our buck we were so proud of when it was time to pack and head back to Iowa.

They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and I suppose in my case this is true. You see, I'm a bargain lover too. After a crummy day on campus, I love to take some me time and head to the Goodwill a couple blocks from my house. I feel so much better after finding a cute shirt with the tags still on it, even if I did fail my pop quiz or struggled to stay awake during lecture. Until this past weekend, Ames was the best Goodwill I'd ever been to. I swear mothers send their kids to college with brand new dress pants, sweaters, you name it! Kids' styles change, mom doesn't get what's cool anymore, or they won't need dress up clothes (which is the biggest lie ever)... I don't know, but somehow it all ends up two blocks from my house, brand-spankin-new just the way mom dropped it off, calling my name. 

I didn't know Goodwill could get any better than that, but this week it did! In case you haven't read on the Roots Facebook page, I'm interning at Beck's Hybrids in Atlanta, Indiana. It's just north of Indianapolis, and I'm staying in a beautiful old farmhouse with four other girls. This past weekend, in celebration of payday, three of us decided to venture to the big city to see what the 50% off Saturday at Goodwill was all about. Boy, did we hit the jackpot! I got 15 items for a grand total of ....drumroll...please... $35.19! Sunday afternoon was spent doing laundry to get our purchases washed up just in time for the work week. 

Yesterday, it took forever to pick out what to wear, but I finally settled on this:

Don't mind the already worn look as this blog post was a post-dressed-daydream! And I promise I'll learn to take better outfit pictures! :)

Following in the steps of my mother and grandmother, I paid regular price for nothing. Just for fun, I decided to break down the cost of a few of my favorite outfits just to see how thrifty I really am. Here's yesterday's breakdown:

• Dark Red American Eagle Skinny Jeans: $3.15 - These were one of my weekend Goodwill finds. They fit well and are a bold color that I can wear with my large cardigan collection (...more on that later)
• White Target T-shirt (new): $8.00 - Just ask my mom, I love a fresh, bright white t-shirt! Come to think of it, I wear this with cardigans a lot too!
• Black and Gray Target 3/4 Sleeve Cardigan: $3.48 - This was one of my Ames Goodwill finds that still had the store tag on it! It's super soft and perfect for the chilly air conditioned office.
• Black Target Flats (new): $17ish - I got these shoes at Target last summer when I was working at the Iowa State Fair and needed a pair of cute flats that had some cushion. Their so comfortable I went back and got a brown pair too! They've gotten plenty of love!
• Black Leather Aeropostale Belt (new): <$5.00 - I remember this one of my first clothing purchases for myself way back in middle school when it was sooo cool to buy my own clothes. Ha! See, I was in to bargains even then!
• Silver Vanity Cross Necklace (new): $1.98 - These days I get all my cheap, faddy jewelry at Vanity after I wait for it to get to their lowest clearance price, $1.98. I don't feel as bad when I don't wear it much, it breaks, or it disappears after lending it to a friend if I only paid a couple bucks.

Grand Total: $38.91

That's right! Head to toe, my outfit cost less than $40! The best part is, this $38.91 was used to create job opportunities for individuals with disabilities or facing other barriers for employment. Stay tuned for the breakdown of more of my favorite outfits and tips for making the most of your thrifting trip. Thanks for reading!