"Know How, Know Now" (Part 1)

NOTE: My apologies for not blogging this summer! It was certainly a jam packed and outstanding summer (minus the heat and drought)!

For the 3rd straight summer, I had the privilege of working in the UNL Extension Offices of the Central IV area which include: Howard, Sherman, Valley and Greeley Counties in Central Nebraska. Now, I could go on and tell you everything I accomplished and learned, but that would simply be boring. Therefore, I will discuss (in a 3 part blog series) three aspects of my summer that I believe we all can learn form and have our own "take-away".  These three aspects are: Agvocating, Seed to Flower, and People, People, People! In first part of the series I talk about agvocating and will share (in what I think) is a powerful form of agvocating to utilize with individuals who come from metropolitan and suburban communities.

 AGvocating!

Many of us have heard this word time and time again, but what does it really mean? Those of us in agriculture know that we need to share our story with individuals who are disconnected from the farm. Exactly how do we share that story? I had the privilege of working with a friend this summer who was also my co-worker as well, Miss Kaelen Lagasse. She is from a suburb in Los Angeles, California and by knowing her from college, I knew coming out to rural Nebraska she was going to have many questions about the farm and agricultural life. Kaelen is an awesome friend and anyone who knows both her and myself know that we love to debate.

When it came to ag discussions/debates like branding, castration, crates and cages (just to name a few) she would sometimes present a rebuttal from the "anti-agirculture" side of the debate. While I was able to respond to her, there were times I didn't think my reasoning and response to her questions always came across 100% clear. As the summer progressed, she seemed to have a better understanding of what went on around the farm. How did she gain that understanding? Some of her understanding came from talking to myself, Heather (our Extension Educator), and Penny (our Office Manager), but the practical understanding came when she was able to experience first hand the agricultural life through friends she met around Ord. Kaelen was able to gain better understanding of what goes on in production agriculture through being on the farm/ranch. Kaelen was also a featured speaker on Extension's "Animal Care Wednesdays" webinar (link at the bottom) with other UNL Extension staff. Her presentation was titled "The Questions Only An Outsider Can Ask". Within her discussion, she stated that for other individuals like herself who come from a suburban or metropolitan community, the experience of touring farms, seeing first-hand what happens on a farm, and how our food is produced is a is an outstanding opportunity to give individuals the insight of how our food is produced. By bringing people out to our farms and ranches may also assist in eliminating the agriculture misconceptions that are out in our country and world today.

Case and point: While it's awesome to promote agriculture through airing commercials on TV, placing the faces of producers in newspapers, brocures, etc., giving public presentations about the production of food, or running promotional agricultural ads on the radio, nothing is as powerful as a first hand experience! Every one of us who grew up on a farm have always shared with one another how awesome it was to be brought up on a farm. It has given us appreciation for all the work that goes into producing our food, and in turn, has also given us a strong work ethic and the amazing agriculture passion we each have today. Therefore, we need to be sharing experiences with others who grew up in a non-rural community by showing them in person our outstanding farms and ranches!

Kaelen really taught me a lot this summer about agvocating and how I can truly become a better agvocate by finding ways to bring the farm to people, or even better, bring the people to the farm. Having an "Outsider's" perceptive like Kaelen's is one we all can learn a lesson or two. Learning how we can better share agriculture with others will strengthen our passion and make us us stronger advocates for our amazing agriculture industry!

View Kaelen's Webinar "The Questions Only An Outsider Can Ask" Here!

"I Believe, We Believe, We Are FFA!"

 

Since my last post, a new year was rang in, another college semester started, a National Championship and Super Bowl games in football were played out, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Nebraska 4-H Month (February), and Valentines Day were all part of the first 2 months of the great 2012 year. Wow! Nearly two months of 2012 have passed, all these events happening, and February isn't over! This month, there is a celebration of  the greatest organization (in my opinion) on this planet!  This week, this youth organization is celebrating all of what the organization has to offer, as well as it's members! I'm talking about the FFA. Yes, we are the organization with those blue corduroy jackets that you see in Indianapolis every October, or that you see in Lincoln around late March-early April, and we are proud to say "we are FFA!". This year's national theme "I Believe" showcases the many areas in which FFA members excel including contests, their Supervised Agricultural Experiences, and within their community. FFA members Believe.

Here are a couple of FFA fun facts. This agricultural, leadership, and service based organization is comprised of over 540,000 members! No, I didn't go crazy on the 0's... I said OVER 540,000 members! FFA is also the largest student-led organization in the world! Throughout my time as an FFA member I learned the importance of service. I have made serving others my passion and want to educate others about the great agricultural industry and work to unlock the individual potential in students and adults alike. It is now 10 years ago that I began my FFA journey. Even though I'm out of high school, and finished wearing the blue jacket, my service to this organization (and others) remains strong and will continue to remain strong. The FFA has impacted me and thousands of others over the years and I want to take this time to share a couple experiences and stories from being a part of the FFA that are truly exciting, as well as inspirational.

This FFA member I know truly made an impact on me when I met him almost three years ago. He has the ability to make a person laugh, he loves to meet new people and most of all, he enjoys having a conversation! With FFA, he started a couple different Supervised Agricultural Experience programs. One of them was a test plot of corn in which he was testing a nitrogen stabilizer, and he also started an SAE with his own bee farm. Being just a sophomore at the time, he had these two excellent SAE’s. For having them only one year, he applied for five proficiencies early that spring! He illustrated to me that potential is going above and beyond what we normally do to accomplish so much more, even through individual limitations.  This individual was born with cerebral palsy, which is a condition that causes physical limitations in movement. He could have entered high school with the attitude that he was born with his disability and do nothing; however, he chose to break away from his limitation and embrace opportunities. I'm proud to say I know this individual, and can imagine he's filled out proficiencies this year, as well as his State FFA Degree. This is an FFA member who can break away from limitations, explore the endless opportunities, and experience great success.

Throughout one's FFA journey, a number of people are met and friends are made. About three years ago I began a journey with six other individuals which I will never forget. While we had the time of our life, there were challenges, excitement, hard work, and memories made throughout our year together. I'm talking about my State Officer Teammates from 2009-2010. Since we retired in May of 2010, we have all gone our separate directions. While we don't see or even talk to each other on a daily or weekly basis, when we do see each other, it's always a great time to catch up. While we would love to all hang out and talk more, we each have developed our own passions we want to pursue. From my personal opinion, I feel that our passions were strengthened and/or developed through FFA and our State Officer year. Every one of us is pursuing a career within agriculture, and we are enthused about joining the force of our many friends and business leaders in "agvocating" the amazing industry of agriculture. There's not a day that goes by that I am not thinking about my teammates, and those memories that were made during our year of service to the Nebraska FFA Association. I saw myself and them grow as individuals and leaders. FFA opens up many doors of opportunities, friendships, and everlasting memories.

We are the National FFA Organization. We Believe in the future of agriculture, we Believe in opportunities, we Believe in hard work, we Believe in one another, we Believe in success, we Believe in ourselves, we Believe in service, we Believe in Doing to Learn, Learning to Do, Earning to Live, and Living to serve.

I Believe, We Believe, We Are FFA!

 

FFA Mission

The National FFA Organization is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

 Source: National FFA Webpage (www.ffa.org)

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Atmosphere as defined by dictionary.com: a surrounding or pervading mood, environment, or influence. The most wonderful time of the year is now upon us, and you all are probably traveling somewhere, or family is coming to your house. What an exciting time to be with the people you love most! While family is a vital part of the Christmas season, sometimes we can take for granted what this holiday is really all about. Think about your everyday life for a second... what is the surrounding or pervading mood, environment or influence that really makes or could make your Christmas season a spectacular one? One might say, the decorations, the presents from Santa, Christmas tree, caroling, the cheer, the food, football games, basketball games... but really, what is the big deal surrounding all the hype? What is the meaning of all this? In reality there is no meaning of all this. Now, I'm not saying I don't love all the hype surrounding Christmas, because I do! However, there is something that is way more powerful and stronger that really gives this holiday the excitement. The reason for the season as most of us know is the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Going to church on Christmas Eve is a tradition that has been held by my family for as long as I can remember. The atmosphere in the church is full of liveliness, cheer, joy, and happiness. Greetings of "Merry Christmas" and shaking hands come from all at the start of mass. Christmas songs sang throughout the Mass lift the hopes and spirits of all. The readings really bring out an image of the spirit of Christmas. The reading I love hearing year after year comes from Luke 2:8-20: 

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

As we are listening to Christmas songs, going to church, spending time with family, we enjoy the high spirits all around us.  As we open our presents from our loved ones, just think, we have the greatest gift given to us each year as we celebrate and praise God for the birth of His son, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus. It is the our Lord that is the gift that keeps on giving, every year, every month, every day, every hour, every minute and every second of our lives. We truly all have something grateful to be praising this and every Christmas season, and every day!

Christmas...throughout this joyful time of the year, may your families enjoy the company of each other, the food, the fun, and the happiness of one another. Safe travels and as Santa Claus always says, Merry Christmas to all and too all a good night!