As I'm finally getting my head put on straight again, I think of the reasons I got so far behind in my work and it was totally worth it. The first week classes started at Iowa State, I decided to spent a lot of time on airplanes. The back pain, broken suitcase, and loss of sleep was all well worth it as a traveled across the country. It started a few Thursdays ago when I made my way towards Indianapolis, Indiana for the Ag Chat conference. After a delayed flight, I found myself in Indy and ready for a few days of learning how to connect to consumers about agriculture while meeting peers that have the same passion as I do. I read this article out of curiosity, and then went to the barn to see my pigs and while I was there I realized how important the Iowa State Fair is. I began thinking the Iowa State Fair is where I’ve met friends, made memories, and had lots of laughs. It is my family’s favorite (and only) summer vacation, and is a tradition we like to keep. I can’t imagine my life without the Iowa State Fair and it’s a shame some people never get to experience it. Once during my thirteen years as a student at Washington Community Schools the school year start during the state fair, and one time was enough for the district to see that it is not necessary. We still get out at the end of May or the beginning of June. Keep reading below on why it’s OK to start school after the Iowa State Fair:
The birth of Jesus takes place in a barn, and part my Christmas day was spent the same way. Babies don't give you much warning when they are going to be born, so for farmers being close to their animals on Christmas is very important. I had just gotten out of the shower and was getting ready for Christmas after being with the pigs when my dad came inside. We had goats.
In the past week I have seen not one, but two articles stating that agriculture has no future and questioning if the industry is appealing to today’s youth. I would officially set everyone straight by saying, “YES! Agriculture is booming and no fears, the future is in good hands”. First, I would like to address Buzzfeed. First of all, they refer to the degree as “agriculture”. What I doubt they know is “agriculture” is not one degree. In fact, most universities have a whole college designated to agriculture, with thousands of students that have different majors that all fall under the term of “agriculture”. Also, most agriculture colleges are GROWING in numbers, fast. If you talk to a staff member from Iowa State University in the college of Agriculture and Life Sciences, they will tell you class sizes are getting larger and they do not see this stopping any time soon. Next mistake, their reason that agriculture is one of the worst careers to be involved in is that, and I quote, “farm manager opportunities are expected to drop by 5% and continue to do so until 2018”. Yes, farms are consolidating and there are not as many farms as there has been. But is the world population not growing? And people like to eat? And we need more food? And we need to do more than just grow the food, but we need to figure out how to get the food to people, keep it at a good price, and keep it healthy and safe? Trust me, jobs are there. As the population grows, so will careers in agriculture. After sharing my thoughts reflection on the Washington Post article, written about the cost of showing livestock, I was overwhelmed and extremely excited about the positive feedback I received from people who read my blog. I received emails, messages, texts, and phone calls from friends, family, and people I had never met before. My post was shared on Facebook over 90 times; it was tweeted, and even shared with the Washington Post. I once again realized how amazing the livestock industry is. With all the comments and positive feedback, I really enjoyed reading what everyone thought of the article and how showing lifestock has impacting them. My favorite two stories are shown below:
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