Reason 8,396 why I love ag: We are a community and we take care of each other

It seems I took a bit of a hiatus from my blog. For a year. After one post. Awkward. But, I am back and committed to posting often. Definitely more than once a year. Probably more than once a week even. Get ready.

To start off this new season of blogging, I thought it would be good to share one of the reasons I love agriculture so much, since that's the reason I want to teach about it in the first place: because I love everything about this industry.

Reason 8,396 why I love ag: We are a community and we take care of each other.

If you live in my area, you might have noticed that we got a bit of snow lately. Understatement. And if you live in my area, you know that doesn't happen often. Also an understatement. Farms have lots of different buildings: shops, sheds, warehouses, etc. All that snow weighs a lot and just sits on top of buildings until it melts off.  All the farmers in my area had to deal with that over the last week, and a few of them had to deal with the really negative side of it: a building collapsing under the weight. We were one of those farms. The roof of the shed that we store our cleaned and packaged, ready-for-shipping seed in (we call it the Clean Seed Building, ironic I know) collapsed. No one was in the building, we've been able to get the seed out, and we have insurance. We are blessed and so fortunate for all of those things. Insurance states that once something has happened, it is your own responsibility to prevent further damage. This meant that we needed to get the seed out before it got damaged and lost to the water.

Getting the seed out brings me to why I love ag and my community. It's been quite the project, with a lot of careful skill needed. Farmers always have something to do on their own farms, it's a never ending job, but the farmers around us have taken the time to come by our warehouse and ask if we need help, if we've got the equipment we need, if they can lend something for the job, and even spend the day working with us. They have lent us their forklifts, their compassion, and their time. This includes others too. For instance, the Les Schwab man who takes care of everything for our farm, found out what happened and yesterday he spent the whole day at our warehouse helping direct the forklift drivers and ensure everyone's safety. It was his day off.

Farmers are some of the most caring people I know, and they would do nearly anything for their neighbors (which is a relative term in this area/industry, I consider people 20 miles away "neighbors"). I have seen the farmers around me spray or fertilize another's fields when a tragedy has occurred. They have lent each other combines and drivers to finish harvesting before the rain comes. They check in on each other and share insights that they have gained. They have huge barbecues together to celebrate...nothing in particular, just to celebrate life. Farmers care. A lot.

There are tough things that farmers face. It's can be a hard job/lifestyle. However, when you have a community around you that cares as much as this one does, it's easy to move past the hardships and continue loving what you do. It truly is, as my blog title suggests, For the Love of Agriculture.

*It's perfectly safe to be in here, the building has settled and isn't going to collapse further. 

"You're A Girl"

"You're a girl." A man said this to me when I introduced myself as the guest speaker at that night's ag ambassador presentation. My first thought was "Yes. I'm aware of that...." After a bit of somewhat awkward laughter and ribbing (toward the man, not me) from the others in the room, he told me

"When I saw your name and that you were speaking about agriculture, I just assumed you would be a man." 

First of all, thank you mom and dad for giving me a unisex name, 'cause that's never caused any awkward moments in my life.... Secondly, boy was I excited to break some stereotypes for this man. I truly love changing people's minds and giving them information that completely 180s the way they think about something. Not only was I going to be able to address some important topics though my "Issues Facing Agriculture" presentation, I was also going to be able to show him that those involved in, or knowledgeable about, the agriculture industry are not just men.

Women make up a huge part of agriculture. In fact, in 2007 more than 300,000 women farmed. We (women) are agronomists, researchers, farmers, book keepers, ag lawyers, journalists, engineers, teachers, truck drivers, equipment operators, veterinarians, etc. Women make up a huge part of this industry and it truly wouldn't be the same without us and our contributions. Many people don't realize that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe the common perception of a farmer, or an agriculturalist, is an older man in overalls.

I serve as a National Collegiate Agricultural Ambassador through the National FFA Association. The team is made up of twenty college students from across the nation. The majority of us were born and raised on some sort of farm. We are all studying agriculture. We all plan to work in the agricultural industry. Sixteen of us are women. I have a feeling there have probably been quite a few surprises caused by one of my teammates walking in and not being a man (especially by the girl-Sam on the team).

If we are going to continue growing this industry we are going to have to realize that women are a major part of it. And that they should be. We shouldn't be surprised when we meet a woman in agriculture. And we should encourage women to pursue agricultural degrees (trust me on that, not only is an ag degree wonderful because ag is wonderful, people love to provide scholarships to women pursuing ag degrees).

So...what does this mean? It means the next time you buy food at the grocery store, you shouldn't assume it was all men that got it to that point. It means the next time you drive past a piece of farm equipment in a field, it's possibly a woman driving. It means that the future of agriculture is full of incredible men and women.