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.
We started by touring the National FFA Center, learning about the history of the largest national student organization. My favorite part of the tour was seeing the wall of past state officers, who have developed the organization over the years. I also noticed the trends and changes that were made over the years, with gender, race, and style of clothing. The blue jacket hasn't changed much but I am grateful for a few changes, especially in 1969. Women are now allowed to be involved in FFA and make a difference in agriculture. Thank goodness!
We then traveled to JBS United, learning about a family owned feed company. Started by John B. Swisher, with the goal of providing high quality feed for pigs. Since then, the company has grown into a successful, national business. It was great to hear that John B. Swisher still visits the cooperate office everyday, that proves dedication and passion is important in owning a business.
Our last stop on Friday was at Elanco Animal Health. We spent most of our time in the new Elanco Pulse Institute, a room where analytics can be tracked of any topic at any time. The goal is to stay ahead of the conversation, and the Pulse Institute team can watch the conversation happen as consumers talk about hot topics, By searching hashtags, the computer system can give lots of different information down to the negative or positive outcomes of the conversations. We were able to see the results of the search on a large screen as we talked about why tracking conversations and being involved in the conversation is important.
The day was full of great and successful companies sharing their stories. I thought I learned a lot on Friday, and then Saturday came. Stay tuned for that adventure!
The day was full of great and successful companies sharing their stories. I thought I learned a lot on Friday, and then Saturday came. Stay tuned for that adventure!