AMS: Following Through

My trip to the Agricultural Media Summit in New Orleans was FANTASTIC. I was able to make new friends from my own school and others, eat AWESOME food (I don’t know what I’m going to do without beignets), see where history was made and I wrapped up the week by being elected Second Vice President for the National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow. It was a pretty amazing week that I couldn’t possibly fit into one blog. So, we will talk about the important stuff.

The important stuff: professional development and making connections. During the week, I attended workshops on everything from editing your writing to strategic tweeting. I learned some great new skills and tips to improve myself and my work. Even more important, I met many new people that should prove to be great connections and friends in the future.

As I said earlier, I met a lot of people from other schools- people I will probably be working with in the near future. It always makes me happy when I meet students like myself who are as passionate about agriculture as I am. Not only will I be friends with these people, but we will have the entirety of the agriculture industry to talk about.

I didn’t just meet people my own age though. During the workshops and the Info Expo, I was able to talk to many people already in the industry. I found that everyone was willing to talk to a kid like me and give advice. Just talking to these people made me more confident about my future and what I want to do when I graduate. All were more than willing to accept a resume or exchange business cards, meaning those short little talks could turn into longtime contacts and opportunities. Fingers crossed at least!

After I got home from New Orleans, I decided it was probably a good idea to email those I had talked to and thank them for spending time with me. It couldn’t hurt, right? I sent out those emails, not really expecting to hear back, but hoping they would at least keep me at the front of my new contacts’ minds.

The next morning, my inbox was full of replies from the professionals. I couldn’t believe it. Not only had these men and women gotten back to me, they had replied in less than 24 hours. They were personal emails too, not just form letters. These industry titans had actually taken the time to write back to me!

Their sincere and honest replies showed me how important following up is. If I hadn’t sent those emails, I definitely wouldn’t have gotten an email from them. But since I made the effort, I put myself back in their minds and deepened my connection with them. Now, I will always send a quick little thank you note after someone takes the time to speak with me, because making it to the top is at least partially who you know. Who knows, maybe one of them will hire me!

For pictures ranging from the French Quarter to the AMS Awards night, visit my Facebook page!

Summer, yum!

This summer I am lucky enough to have a roommate interning for a large production agriculture company. That means I see wonderful things like this when I walk in the door after work:

Yes, that is 3 zucchini, 2 spaghetti squash, 1 acorn squash, 4 bell peppers and rapini broccoli. Even with my profuse hatred of bell peppers, I feel like I am in heaven.  We have all the benefits of a backyard garden (can you say “fresh?”) without the hours of watering or mutant zucchini the size of an infant.

Fresh produce is what summer is to me. Growing up, summers meant going to Maddy’s Fruit Stand for apricots and the Farm Stand to get 6 pieces of corn for a dollar with my mom. To this day, it isn’t summer until I walk into the produce section of the grocery store and smell the sweetness of the stone fruit and the heat of the tomatoes. Growing up in California means I have always had fresh produce, but summertime makes all of it ten times better.

One summer my parents got adventurous and planted the largest vegetable garden I have ever seen. Multiple rows of corn, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes and yellow crook neck squash took over a large section of our property. We did not know what we had done to ourselves.  

After the patriotic-ness of having perfectly ripe corn for Fourth of July faded, reality set in. Every afternoon I was bringing in ten gigantic zucchini that hadn’t been there the night before. My brother could fill a five gallon bucket of tomatoes every other day. My mom was watering for hours on end and weeding consumed our weekends. By the end of the summer, the neighbors began declining our offers of free produce. We could no longer come up with new and exciting ideas for cooking zucchini (I’m still not sure if I am ready for another piece of zucchini bread). We finally realized that we had simply planted too much.

While we never planted such a large garden again, I will never forget the summer of 2002. We still talk about that perfect Fourth of July corn and how sick we got of zucchini. All my other summers run together, but the summer of 2002, I remember zucchini, corn and spending time with my family in our garden.

So yes, I love summer produce. It just isn’t summer without it. Thanks to my roommate, I get my pick of fresh vegetables every day, and that keeps this girl happy. Remember, it’s summer. Take advantage of everything it has to offer, including the fresh fruit and vegetables brought to you by an American Farmer!

Lists, lists and more lists

I’m a list person. In fact, I’m a little obsessed with lists. When I get bored, I make lists. When I am stressed, I make lists. I make to-do lists (both short term and long term), goal lists, lists of what I’m going to do to entertain myself that weekend, and the list literally goes on and on. I make lists of all my lists so I don’t lose track of my lists. And don’t even get me started on grocery lists. My roommates often share their concern over my OCD tendencies when they find multiple lists scattered around the house. 

Most of my lists don’t survive more than twenty-four hours. The tasks are checked off and the list is thrown away or rewritten onto a new clean piece of paper.  There are some lists though, that will probably last the rest of my life. Yes, I am a twenty-one year old with a bucket list. I need to see the world, learn to rope, earn my PhD, go on a cattle drive and own a 1960s Mustang Convertible.  This list of goals keeps me motivated and reminds me why I must work so hard.

Yesterday, I allowed myself to start making lists in preparation for this year’s Agricultural Media Summit. Yes, allowed. In addition to planning outfits, starting packing lists, and figuring out what I need from Target (yay, Target trip!), I began figuring out my AMS game plan.

 I attended AMS in Fort Worth two summers ago. I had just finished my freshman year of college and the whole experience was a little overwhelming. Since I was so young, I was able to simply soak up the entire experience and learn about all the different aspects of agricultural communications and where I would fit in.

But I’m going into my senior year of college now. I can sense reality creeping closer and now is the time to put on my big girl shoes and start figuring out what I want to do with my life. This week at least,  I’m fairly certain I would like to become a college professor, but the thought of going to grad school right after I graduate makes me feel a little ill. So that means I need to find a job that will help me achieve my goal of making the lives of farmers easier and educating the public about agriculture possible. What better place to start connecting with people in the industry than the Ag. Media Summit? Thus, my preparation has commenced.

I think I may be more excited about AMS this time around than the last. While I kinda know what to expect, I also realize that the prospect of me meeting my future employer and co-workers is entirely possible. This also makes me a little nervous, so of course, I am making copious amounts of lists to calm myself. What booths to stop by, what workshops to go to, what outfit to wear each day. The more lists I make, the more excited I get, and the more excited I get, the more lists I make (it’s a vicious circle). I literally cannot wait for this year’s AMS. So much to learn, so many people to meet, so much New Orleans food to eat! Can I start my countdown yet?? Well, maybe I’ll put that on my to-do list for later this week.

Farmers Are People Too

Thursday evening, my roommates and I headed down to San Luis Obispo’s famous Farmer’s Market. While it wasn’t out of the ordinary for us to go on the prowl for some tasty tri-tip on any given Thursday night, this Thursday was special. Besides from never having gone to Farmer’s during the summer before, we had more than just deliciously over priced tri-tip on our mind. We were going to buy fresh, summer produce. 

Artichokes, corn, squash, apricots, peaches, nectarines. Everywhere we looked, there was delicious looking produce, just begging to be bought. After walking the length of Higuera Street and scoping out our options, I pushed my way to the front of the pack at the Hayashi stand. 

Hayashi always has the best selection and largest variety, in addition to being from right down the road. I quickly grabbed a bunch of celery (marked $1.00), and started heading down to the artichokes. As I sifted through the bin, one of the men working the stand started a conversation with me. He was clearly one of the owners and eager to talk one of his customers. 

He asked me what I was looking for and what he could help me with. I told him that I was looking for a couple of big artichokes and jokingly added that all of his seemed to be pretty small. He laughed and said he would go look to see if he had any bigger on the truck. I started thinking about how just talking to someone can go a long way, especially with farmers. He returned and said they were all about the same size, so I should take two for the price of one (they were marked $0.75 each, so yes, I was getting them for about $0.38 cents at this point). 

I of course thanked him profusely. I mean, the man was practically giving me his produce for free! He then saw that I had grabbed a zucchini and a crook neck squash ($0.75 each as well). Hayashi told me that those were pretty small too, so go ahead and grab another of each. He then told my roommates to each grab an artichoke and throw them in my bag (yes, four artichokes for about $0.75). 

He asked if we wanted anything else. At this point, even if I had wanted more, I would have said no and avoided risking taking advantage of this new friendship. I told him I was ready to pay, and he started doing some quick calculations. When he told me the total, I had to do a mental double take. For one bunch of celery, four artichokes and four summer squash, he wanted only $2.75! 

$2.75! We walked away pretty impressed with ourselves- we got farm fresh produce for under $3.00, just because we took the time to talk to the farmer and formed a relationship with him. I felt a little guilty, like I had taken advantage of him. But farmers don’t do anything they don’t want to, and he wouldn’t have given me practically free produce if he hadn’t wanted to. 

I guess the moral of this story is this: Farmers are people too. They like to have conversations with the people around them and will take care of the people they like. People have a hard time putting a face to farmers, simply because they have never met one. Trust me: they are very real, very nice people. 

I know we can’t all go to farmer’s markets and befriend our local friendly farmer over the artichoke bin, but we can think about our farmers. When you are perusing the produce aisle and selecting your veggies or fruits, you can think about the real person who produced those products, just for you.

If you can though, go to a farmer’s market. Not all the farmers will charge you pennies for their products, but they will all talk to you. Ask them a question or make a joke with them, and they will quickly engage you in conversation. Farmers love nothing more than talking about their products and how they are produced and sharing their story with those interested.

Well, I guess I will step off my soap box now. But before I do, I hope you will think about the real farmer that is responsible for your full refrigerator and strike up a conversation the next time you head down to your local farmer’s market. You never know, you might get the entire produce aisle for $2.75 and forge a friendship while you’re at it.

Cows, Tractors and Grapes, Oh My!

So here it goes folks- I’m blogging! I’ll be sharing my thoughts, feelings, ideas and musings on all things agriculture, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

What makes me qualified to be an agricultural blogger, you ask? Well, agriculture is my passion. I have always lived a county lifestyle, but it wasn’t until I joined the Future Farmers of America in high school that I began to understand how much I loved agriculture.  My time in the FFA has led me to study agricultural communications at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.  Since coming to Cal Poly, I have learned how to advocate for the industry I love and educate those who aren’t aware of the vital role agriculture plays in their lives.

Most people’s agricultural expertise is focused in one area, based on what they grew up with. If you grew up on a dairy, chances are your future isn’t going to involve managing an almond orchard. Since I didn’t grow up in agriculture, I had no ties to one particular sector, which meant I felt the need to try everything.

 I raised market dairy calves for county fairs, judged vegetables at Career Development Events, studied tractors in my high school shop and learned all about wine grapes while working as a harvest intern for a vineyard and winery. All my exploits had me falling in love with all things American agriculture, and I haven’t looked back since. 

Those exploits also proved that my purpose in life is to advocate for agriculture by educating others on the role agriculture plays in their daily lives. The majority of Americans don’t think about how their fruits and vegetables got to the grocery store, let alone the American farmer that worked hard to produce such a quality product. This isn’t the average consumer’s fault- they haven’t been given a reason to think beyond the produce aisle or meat counter. This must change. 

 I hope blogging helps me spread the word and makes people more aware of agriculture. If one person starts thinking about where their food comes from and begins to respect the American agriculture industry, I have done my job. 

Well, this concludes my first blog. Hopefully this entry at least piqued your interest and convinced you to check back for more entries in the future. Thanks for reading! J