tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56864476057059656052024-03-13T22:39:53.663-04:00THE WILD SIDEThis blog is my attempt to share my thoughts about agriculture, politics and life with those I encounter. All thoughts are my own.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-10241743556750942462015-10-27T15:47:00.001-04:002015-10-27T15:47:52.605-04:00Antibiotics, Building Relationships and a Sustainable Future<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
Originally posted on Swineweb.com at: <a href="http://bit.ly/1GGYDPe" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1GGYDPe </a></div>
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It's been a very busy week in the food chain. Especially downstream as brands and retailers continue to face large amounts of pressure from antagonist attacks and pressure points related to sourcing policies and initiatives. Most notably in the recent news was SUBWAY and their <a href="http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/about_us/PR_Docs/AntibioticFreeRelease10.20.15.pdf" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #990000; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">statements on sourcing antibiotic free protein</a> in the future. The decision SUBWAY made, while unfortunate from the lens of many in agriculture, was not nearly as bad as the way they handled the PR around the announcement<a href="http://agricultureproud.com/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #990000; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, deleting negative or questioning comments</a> from the agriculture community on their associated social media sites.</div>
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SUBWAY is not the only brand throughout the restaurant/retail sector of the food chain that faces these types of decisions. In fact, all brands will, if they have not yet eventually face a time when they have to make decisions related to how they source their ingredients, proteins and other supplies. At first, I was extremely frustrated and upset with the announcement by SUBWAY, because, as it is noted in many blogs and social media updates, it seems as though SUBWAY made their decision with a variety of misinformation and without speaking to their suppliers (farmers, ranchers, producers).</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700;">Influencing The Brands</span></div>
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If you want to know where SUBWAY and many other’s pressure and influence comes from, begin your search with the always neighborly <a href="http://www.foe.org/projects/food-and-technology/good-food-healthy-planet/chain-reaction" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #990000; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Friends of the Earth (FOE)</a>. This organization has spent years building strategic relationships with brands and their procurement offices as well as public officials. They have the social reach to influence, and by in large, they are able to connect with consumers (however ill-informed they may be). Sure they use the typical scare tactics and antagonist pressure point like building scorecards rating how bad the brands policies are, but that isn’t what really matters, those are all just excuses that get no answers, what really matters are that these people are effective and influential.</div>
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Everything you’ve read up to this point has been a run on for what I’m about to say. I hope you’re still with me and still interested because the next part is what I believe is the most important.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700;">We Can Do Better</span></div>
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When we (in agriculture) discuss advocating for agriculture, we usually mean things like: sharing our story, connecting with consumers, building trust through accurate information, etc. But we are always on the defensive side of things, even when we feel that we are out ahead of the other pressures. The problem that I see is that many times, we view (and want) advocating to be a short term game with long term results where we can count the number of people we influence through sharing our story.</div>
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If advocacy is to be effective throughout the food chain, it cannot be a short term game. It takes strategic, long term thinkers to recognize that we (agriculture) may not be able to change the decisions that are made today related to sourcing and policies, but we can be very effective at laying the foundation for long term relationships throughout the food chain that unite us and position ourselves as the experts, the go-to-for-answer-guys and the friends who support wise decisions throughout the food chain through tangible examples of the positive things agriculture is and does.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Relationships Build Trust</span></div>
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I grew up on a farm in Ohio, and I chose to move to Iowa two weeks after I graduated college to work for a small consultancy focused on making sustainability real throughout meat, milk and eggs. Part of my decision was driven by the need for work income off the farm, but the larger part of the decision came because I recognized that even with social media, it’s difficult to build relationships on the farm. That’s why people farm after all, they feel they can be left alone. By moving to Iowa, I was taking the first step in building new relationships and broadening my network of peers both upstream and downstream in the food chain.</div>
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Building relationships is the key to trust. Trust comes from developing common ground. Leaders who are able to share common ground and common values with their friends create not just friends, but followers. Simon Sinek does a nice job of explaining this theory of shared values in his work on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqZyg2XAmDk" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #990000; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">golden circle</a> and in his book <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Start With Why. </em>These relationships built on shared values are what truly make us trustworthy and effective as advocates and leaders.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Paradigm Shift</span></div>
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I’m willing to bet that a majority of the CEOs and organizations that are making decisions today will be retired in ten years. The mid level folks that really get the work done in so many of these organizations will be rising to top leadership roles around that same time.</div>
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In agriculture, we face a similar paradigm shift as well. Older farmers and producers are looking for ways to retire or take a step back and the younger generations are rising to the top leadership roles. However, the younger generations have the advantage of growing up in the 2.0 era where they not only see the value of connecting with others and building those lasting relationships on and off the farm, but they are able to do it effectively in a low-stress environment because it’s what they are already used to doing.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What’s the End Game?</span></div>
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I believe that when you look at those two paradigms that are happening in the agriculture industry and downstream in the restaurant/retail industry, agriculture has not even begun to reach its greatest opportunity to effect change and influence decisions. By strategically laying the foundation for solid relationships now, we are creating future opportunities to be invited into the circle of influence when future decisions are made. The real problem I see us facing in agriculture isn’t our lack of influence, it’s our lack of vision for the future.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So what’s The Good News?</span></div>
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The good news is, we already have common ground and values with many people throughout the food chain! We all want to have a safe, nutritious and affordable food source, we all want to have a business and community to hand over to the next generation when the time comes, and we all want a healthy planet to eat, sleep and breathe in. Those simple things are the beginning of the foundation, so what’s your end game? What’s your next step to building a vision for the future that enables you to influence the future and even change the decisions made in the past? A sustainable future always has to start with a vision for where we want to go, what we want to achieve, and if done right, it will get back to those same simple values we all share.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-56900768181398181772015-01-14T20:51:00.001-05:002015-01-14T20:51:56.996-05:00A Father's Advice Goes A Long WayI have a confession to make. When I wrote out my list of goals for the new year, I made sure to give myself some easy ones to check off to get the ball rolling. This weekend, I'll be in Indianapolis for the #<a href="http://www.agchat.rocks/indy/" target="_blank">Agchat Foundation's Collegiate Congress</a> with a couple dozen up and coming advocates for the agriculture industry.<br />
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You see, I had a goal of making new friends and growing my network, both personally and professionally. And I know from past experience early on in my blogging career that the #Agchat conference is a great place to make new friends.<br />
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Whenever I prepare for a meeting or a conference, I try to apply a lesson I learned from my father which is simply to ask yourself, "What is the one piece of information, advice or guidance you couldn't gain if you didn't attend, meet new people or ask?"<br />
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For me, at this point in time, there's two responses....<br />
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<ol>
<li>How do I advocate while off the farm? I used to speak about how consumers are at least one generation removed from the farm, but now I wake up and find myself removed from the farm as well. That's turned out to be both a physical and mental change for me. I've done alright with the change, and I know it's a journey that is worth taking, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't have it's ups and downs. So hopefully I can make new friends and get some friendly pointers.</li>
<li>I work for a very small company, and I have an opportunity to help build an online brand and presence for our company. This opportunity presents itself with many unknowns and challenges, but also allows for an unprecedented amount of opportunity for creativity, design and promoting the brand. Hopefully I can glean some insights from my peers as to how they've built their own brands and kept their creativity rocking.</li>
</ol>
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Perhaps the best part about this conference will be getting an opportunity to revisit my old workplace at <a href="http://www.fofarms.com/" target="_blank">Fair Oaks Farms</a> and see what kind of exciting changes and improvements have come their way!</div>
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Because I know my father is such wise man, and his advice has been helpful in the past, I think I can look at this conference as a great opportunity to expand my networks, views and skills. So hopefully Indy rocks as much as they say it does!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-54844776246797212432015-01-03T18:31:00.002-05:002015-01-03T18:31:43.598-05:004 For 15<div class="MsoNormal">
Goals, resolutions, changes, “new me” and “no looking back”
are just a few of the many terms I seem to hear non stop as we start out this
year. I like making new plans, setting goals and believe it or not, checking
them off the list is even enjoyable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However, I worry that too many people spend too much time
putting too much detail into them. Which sometimes leads to unachievable goals,
confusion of what the true goal is and even excuses for not completing those
goals.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s a very trusted model that we use at work to promote
creativity, collaboration and a fun work environment. It’s a model that we’re
all familiar with. The KISS model. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s right, KISS, or as it goes…Keep It Simple Stupid. So
as I write down my long bullet point list of goals for 2015, I am reminded that
nothing beats being able to quickly summarize things and make your plan
memorable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, I want to share with you my 4 goals for 2015….<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Make
Continuous Improvements</b> – Be it my professional life, my spiritual life, or
my personal life and relationships, I want to make continuous improvements in
my life so that I can be a better leader in everything I do<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Join A
Church </b>– Life in Iowa is great, I have a nice apartment, a good job that I
enjoy and a beautiful fiancé. However, it just doesn’t quite feel like home.
Perhaps that is because I’m not used to apartment living in a city, but I think
one of the main contributing factors is that I haven’t been able to call a
church home yet. I’ve been attending a wonderful church called Point of Grace
and I have made some great friends there. I hope that I can soon call that
place my church and continue to worship and serve the Lord with my friends<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marry My Best Friend </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- Abby and I plan on getting married in
October, but there is plenty of preparing to do between now and then! October
will be the month I check a lot of things off the list this year. I can’t wait
to start the rest of my life with Abby as my wife<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Enjoy The
Ride </b>– I’m very blessed to be in the place I am, with the people I am and
to have the relationships and freedoms that I do. I think the most important
thing I can do this year is look toward the future with optimism and enjoy the
ride as life continues to bring new and exciting things my way<o:p></o:p></div>
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Planning for my blog has come a long way in the past few
weeks and I am very excited to share new topics and thoughts throughout the
year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So here’s to the New Year, let it
be the best one yet!<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-69536526084165416772014-12-28T18:04:00.001-05:002014-12-28T18:26:46.153-05:00The First Christmas: Part Two<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OugPtbWjYMY/VKCFwd9XCMI/AAAAAAAABAk/-VqhWZW9A8g/s1600/10869909_10203373718767184_7465008234281769906_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OugPtbWjYMY/VKCFwd9XCMI/AAAAAAAABAk/-VqhWZW9A8g/s1600/10869909_10203373718767184_7465008234281769906_o.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S'mores for a Christmas Eve treat!</td></tr>
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As previously noted, Abby and I had our <a href="http://ohiofarmkid.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-first-christmas-part-1.html" target="_blank">First Christmas</a> together and although we aren't married yet, we had a wonderful time resting, relaxing, gifting, serving and making memories that could possibly tun in to our own new traditions.</div>
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Since Thanksgiving, I've learned just how much Abby enjoys Christmas movies on tv. So on Christmas eve, we lit the fire, roasted up some s'mores and settled in for an evening of Christmas classics.<br />
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We were able to have time with our family Christmas day via Skype and FaceTime (no thanks to our internet speed) as well as relax and enjoy doing our own things and reflecting on the year we've had.<br />
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As I write this blog and continue to reflect on the year, it's worth noting that this is my 100th blog post! It has been a fun adventure to this point, and I have met many great people and learned many unique things because of my involvement in advocating for agriculture through social media and blogging.<br />
<br />
I am so blessed to have the freedom to write what I experience, and to share my thoughts and opinions with whoever may be interested in reading them! Social media has given me a way to share my passion for agriculture with others, bring them into our family farm and now as I transition into "adulthood" and the new life that I will have with Abby, provides fun new ways of communicating with family and friends and as I share the adventures!<br />
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Besides Christmas wishes, you hear a lot about this time of year is New Years resolutions. I intend to have some new goals and resolutions for myself both personally and professionally in the new year (coming soon to my blog). Christmas was wonderful, returning to work is also very satisfying to me as I get a chance to get back in the swing of things with work, and I look forward to future adventures to share on my blog. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, has a happy new year, and may the next 100 blog posts be as fun and meaningful as the first 100 was to me!<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-85710624162425288252014-12-23T10:00:00.000-05:002014-12-24T08:38:34.277-05:002014 in ReviewSometimes, I have trouble deciding what to write about for this blog, and what to provide as commentary to my friends at Swineweb.com.<br />
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For no reason other than it had been a while, I chose to publish this one to swineweb. Please take a few minutes to read it, reflect on what you have to be thankful for and share with others the joy that God has given you.</div>
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Then, be sure to check out Swineweb.com for all your pork industry news in the US and Canada. </div>
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<a href="http://www.swineweb.com/sam-wildman-pork-producer-commentary-year-review-december-22nd-2014/" target="_blank">http://www.swineweb.com/sam-wildman-pork-producer-commentary-year-review-december-22nd-2014/ </a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CYrFP2tPRnA/VJjWpgZ510I/AAAAAAAABAQ/HXPfXWS2NLE/s1600/1507562_10152907645260460_540074120208832529_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CYrFP2tPRnA/VJjWpgZ510I/AAAAAAAABAQ/HXPfXWS2NLE/s1600/1507562_10152907645260460_540074120208832529_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-12577208396103206442014-12-21T17:28:00.002-05:002014-12-21T17:28:48.719-05:00The First Christmas: Part 1<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BS6i_SvdLs8/VJdIQ9d-90I/AAAAAAAAA_4/Eqg2XEUjdzw/s1600/10801557_4744744352872_2515159066882207409_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BS6i_SvdLs8/VJdIQ9d-90I/AAAAAAAAA_4/Eqg2XEUjdzw/s1600/10801557_4744744352872_2515159066882207409_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family Time Means Game Time</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After an amazing Thanksgiving in Des Moines that featured 10 people together in Abby & I's cozy little (1 bedroom) apartment, we flew through another month and here we are...the week before Christmas.<br />
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Due to unexpected scheduling changes, we are staying here in Iowa for Christmas this year. That means this will be the first Christmas for us together away from home. In a traditional lifestyle, this would happen after the wedding, but hey...who ever said anything about having traditional lifestyles? Besides, the traditional lifestyle has drastically changed throughout the past thirty or forty years right?<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LwdA2Gt3Wyo/VJdImyYY0SI/AAAAAAAABAA/6aRce0aUTXA/s1600/1507562_10152907645260460_540074120208832529_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LwdA2Gt3Wyo/VJdImyYY0SI/AAAAAAAABAA/6aRce0aUTXA/s1600/1507562_10152907645260460_540074120208832529_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perhaps ornaments will be a new tradition?</td></tr>
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In any event, Abby and I are trying to be optimistic that it will be a fun and relaxing time for us. If anyone happens to be going through Des Moines this coming week, and looking for a stop, just let us know and we'll try to arrange a visit!<br />
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In other news...we are beginning to appreciate and enjoy our fireplace, have our Ohio State themed Christmas tree, and have some sweet new stockings.<br />
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One of my favorite parts of the holidays are the traditions. As we look forward to the new year, and the many changes that will come our way, I wonder what new traditions we will begin and what exciting adventures will come our way.<br />
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As we go through the holiday season, we do our best to turn our eyes to God and thank him for the wonderful gift he has given us. To live in a beautiful world and to have hope for a beautiful future with Him in heaven.<br />
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Merry Christmas everyone!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-82749066961854629462014-12-04T07:53:00.000-05:002014-12-04T08:08:37.812-05:00It's December Already?First I have to admit, I have been extremely bad about blogging and sharing my story online lately. Recently a series of <a href="http://www.ruralgoneurban.com/" target="_blank">guest posts by Travis Haney</a> on his wife's blog have reignited my passion for writing.<br />
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<b>Thanksgiving</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner for 10</td></tr>
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Thanksgiving brought with it family, food, friends, conversation, stories, plans and more food. We (Abby and I) hosted both our families for our "First Thanksgiving" (although we aren't married yet) and we had a great time doing it!</div>
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When you put ten people in a one bedroom apartment, you lose any ability to have room to cook, or for much anything else other than eating and playing games. So, we did the only logical thing there was to do, we ordered a Thanksgiving feast from our local Hy-Vee grocery and relaxed as the food warmed up. Then we enjoyed playing games, fighting the tryptophan, and catching up with loved ones.</div>
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Between the meals, I got to enjoy spending time with both my family and Abby's family, and we did some other fun things I've never done before. We went glow-bowling...for those who aren't familiar, that is when they sit the lights off at the bowling alley and turn on the strobe lights, disco lights, neon lights and any other kind of weird bulb they can find. </div>
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As a former bowler, I was really looking forward to showing off my skill to my family, but was quickly humbled by my brother (tied me once, beat me once) and his uncanny ability to make everyone laugh with his pre-bowl wind up and post-bowl moonwalk.</div>
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<b>Football</b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G7pJ0_D9jIg/VH-wlzBogsI/AAAAAAAAA-8/cVhS_JvpjV0/s1600/1509313_10203169404979467_449623889680601296_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G7pJ0_D9jIg/VH-wlzBogsI/AAAAAAAAA-8/cVhS_JvpjV0/s1600/1509313_10203169404979467_449623889680601296_n.jpg" height="320" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No snow can stop these fans!</td></tr>
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Abby and I did get the chance to go cheer on our Buckeye Football team last month at the University of Minnesota. This was a fun and exciting trip for us because we'd never been to a game away from the Horseshoe. We spent the day cheering the Buckeyes to victory as the snow fell. </div>
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I now know what it feels like to sit in the snow during a game. Don't be fooled Ohio, snow in Minnesota (even in November) is different than snow in Ohio! I was worried that the fans around us would be rude and make it less fun to be there, but we experienced just the opposite, the fans around us were very nice to be around and very sincere people.</div>
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<b>Submit to God, Take the Journey Give Thanks, Embrace Life</b></div>
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As I reflect on the holiday we just had, and I look forward to the holiday that is coming, I'm finding that it is important that I stop, take time to be with God in prayer and thank Him for the wonderful life, family and journey he has blessed me with. </div>
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As I grow on my own, and as Abby and I grow together (work in progress...I'm pretty stubborn), I realize the value of embracing life and the situation that God has put me in. My journey is unique and it is different because no one in my family has done this before like I am. Which of course means no one knows how it will turn out except for God. By embracing the journey I have received blessing in the strangest of ways, and I believe that is something that God wants us all to do, to put ourselves out there for him. Embrace the world he has given to us. If we do so in a way that honors and pleases the Lord, he will reward us with life, sweet, strong, passionate, healthy and full life. </div>
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<b>"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through the generations."</b> Psalms 100:4-5</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-12420691512086273392014-07-26T10:15:00.000-04:002014-07-26T10:18:31.803-04:00Update from IowaWow! What a roller coaster ride post-graduation life has been for me! I know that I promised when I wrote my last blog post that I would stay up to date with it and keep people informed of how things were going as I transitioned through the next part of my life.<br />
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I also remember that I was struggling very hard on a personal level at trying to understand why and what it would look like to be away from the family farm I grew up on. I am happy to report back on my current mental state related to that and several other matters here in this blog post.<br />
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OK, here we go…. it's been nearly three months since I graduated from college. In the past three months I have:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She was absolutely shocked!</td></tr>
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1. Traveled to Calgary, Alberta Canada for my first week on the job (I work in Des Moines, IA)<br />
2. Made trips to Chicago (2X), Minneapolis (3x), Denver (1X), Atlanta (1X) and all over Iowa<br />
3. Joined the Young Professionals in Agriculture group to build a new network of like-minded individuals.<br />
4. lived in a camper (and survived multiple flood & tornado threats)<br />
5. purchased my own insurance (personal success)<br />
6.signed a lease on an apartment<br />
7. Watched many hours of Netflix, and most importantly…..<br />
<b>I PROPOSED TO ABBY (she said yes)!!!!!!!!!!</b><br />
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<b>Personal Update:</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're getting married!</td></tr>
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So, having said all of that….My life is in no way, shape of form moving any slower than it was the day I left Columbus. In fact, it is very safe to say that it is moving faster….But that's ok because I am just in awe of the fact that I am going to be marrying my best friend still. So, as I continue to put the puzzle pieces together, it is quickly becoming OUR puzzle pieces instead of MY puzzle pieces. And that is A-OK with me.<br />
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Abby will be moving out here on August 4th, exactly three months after graduation. And we will move into our apartment, which sadly means no more adventures at the campground (contrary to popular belief, they aren't that exciting). I am beyond excited to take that step and see what God has planned for us in the future.<br />
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<b>Back To Work:</b><br />
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Things are good, really good. I enjoy my new job, the people I work with, and the things I get to do. Life is all about learning, and I am on the fast track to continuous learning! I'm still not sure exactly what all I do, but I know now that it involves a lot more traveling, calls and webinars than I thought it would ( I guess that's just my college naivety).<br />
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By the way, if you don't know from personal experience, 40-50% travel is much different in person than it is on paper. But I enjoy it. I get to see some amazing things and be around world class individuals and organizations. I wouldn't trade it.<br />
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<b>Emerging Leaders:</b><br />
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One really cool thing I get to do is work with the Future Leaders Food Network (FLFN). My colleagues at The Prasino Group have developed a world class leadership development program that is designed to help emerging leaders throughout agriculture and the food chain as a whole to find new ways that they can tap into their own talents to be leaders.<br />
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Their are many leadership development seminars or workshops that look at this, but none really focus on the agricultural sector AND look at what the key issues will be in the next twenty years. We are committed to not only helping young & emerging leaders develop their leadership ability, but we want to be sure to address issues that they face in real life, day-to-day and help identify ways that we can work TOGETHER in agriculture to solve those issues.<br />
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<b>Moving Forward:</b><br />
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As always, life is busy, busy, busy. Is I write this, I am preparing for a week in the mountains of Utah for our second installment of Future Leaders training. After that, I get to help my wonderful bride-to-be (#FutureMrsWildman) move to Iowa next weekend, move in to our apartment, and continue to work from my Iowa office for a little while.<br />
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I want to promise that I will write again soon, but I learned my lesson last time, so I won't make that promise, but I will promise to share some amazing photos and discoveries from my adventures as I go.<br />
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<b>Special Thanks! </b>My friend <a href="https://www.facebook.com/valeriekestersonphotography" target="_blank">Valerie Kesterson</a>, who I work with, was on scene to capture this breathtaking moment of my life. I owe her a lot more than I gave her (2 beers). Thank you again for being there Val!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She had no idea what I was planning</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, there's a ring in my pocket for you</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were both speechless</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-22775444763625672652014-05-11T08:00:00.000-04:002014-05-12T11:39:50.178-04:00Go West Young ManAs I stated in my last blog, I have been busy lately struggling with the fact that I am about to move 600 miles away to begin my career and start the next chapter of my life. The other day I had a conversation with my father which helped me to understand, and justify what I was doing. Now as I sit here on Mother's Day, three days into the new adventure, I realized that I owe a lot to my parents and the gift they have given me.<br />
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I've wrestled lately with the fact that when I move, I have this feeling that I will be losing a part of my life. For the first time in my twenty three years, I have the ability to go and do something that wasn't planned for me. I have the chance to go and make a life for myself, to travel, to explore, to make mistakes, and to learn on my own. But I feel that when I leave, I sort of feel that I am giving up on my family, leaving all the hard work that my parents have done to help me get to this point. But then it hit me, almost like a brick to the head I understood what was going on.<br />
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I struggled with the idea of leaving and not being a part of the daily life on the farm. And at the same time my parents are letting go of their son and giving him a wide open road, guided by their excellent parenting and commitment to family. I realized that while I was feeling guilty for moving and beginning my own career, that I was finally achieving exactly what my parents had always wanted me to be able to do! I cannot wait to move into a new apartment or home in Iowa, begin making new adventures and decisions, and to create a new place for my parents to come visit (sorry its only Iowa)!<br />
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So if you read this, and you think that perhaps it relates to something you have gone through in your life, perhaps a job you were able to take or a move you made, and you think to yourself, "you know, if my parents hadn't done all they had, I never would have made it this far", then I encourage you to call home and have a conversation with those who have helped you all along the way.<br />
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Happy Mother's Day MOM.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-245874455231056732014-04-27T11:50:00.000-04:002014-04-27T11:50:25.783-04:00A New LookThroughout life, you encounter many changes, and those changes can shape you into a new, better person if you choose to be proactive about change and make that change into what you want it to be. The time has come for many changes in my life, but the two I want to focus on right now are graduating from college, and moving for the first time. <div>
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One week from today I will be receiving my Bachelor's Degree from The Ohio State University. That is a huge accomplishment for me and although it took five years to get, I have cherished every minute of it. I am proud to say that I made the most of it and while I will miss it, I am glad to put it behind me.</div>
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Two weeks from today I will be moving to Des Moines, Iowa to begin my first job. I will be working as a project manager for the Prasino Group. I have struggled quite a bit in my mind with this change. On one hand, I am extremely excited to see what the business world has in store for me, and I am confident that I will be a good fit for the job. However, on the other hand, in two weeks, I will become the person that I have spent years advocating for. In two weeks I find myself heading towards one generation removed from the family farm. It's a strange feeling, knowing that I won't be able to make the short drive home when I need time away from the city, I won't be able to see my family regularly, and I won't be involved in the daily operations of the farm. </div>
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I quickly have realized that while I may be removed, the farm and rural lifestyle will not leave my life and they will always be present to help me through situations. I am thankful for everything that I have learned throughout the years that have brought me to this point, and I am excited to head out to Iowa and see what I can be a part of out there. </div>
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You may have noticed my blog has gone through a transformation (which isn't complete yet), but I felt that the title <i>Reflections of a Country Boy</i> don't really fit the grown up(ish) version of who I am. My blog will soon be used for sharing stories of my career and my personal experiences, which have changed from college life to learning how to be a real adult. I hope that you will continue to follow along with me on this journey, and please leave your comments and suggestions as to how I can make my blog better, or what you may like to read on it. I hope you share it with others and it can help you begin to have conversations about agriculture with someone you know. </div>
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So as I face some big challenges and changes over the next few weeks/months, I hope that I can remain calm and know that all will be ok. Change is inevitable, personal character is molded and developed out of how you react to change. I hope to build a strong mold for my character both personally and professionally in the future. Thanks for reading, I hope to write again soon.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-84950960608038242762014-02-27T10:38:00.000-05:002014-02-27T10:38:52.604-05:00Reading, It's Good For The Mind!<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: CharisSILRegular, Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<b>“There is no friend as loyal as a book.” – Ernest Hemingway</b></div>
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When I was young, my mother would always make sure I read books. She didn't really care what books, but just read them. I never really understood why, and I grew to kind of resent reading books. Now that I have grown up some, and I've had some real-world experiences, I know the importance of reading. I read books, papers, magazines, commentaries and blogs. These things have helped me keep my mind sharp.</div>
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Now I enjoy having time to read after a busy day or even on a lazy day (college seniors tend to have lots of those). I enjoy learning about the world around me and I find it interesting (and sometimes frustrating) to see how people think differently. This summer while I was on my internship at Fair Oaks Farms, I was asked to take some time to read <i>A Rat Is A Pig Is A Dog Is A Boy </i>and then have some time in reflection with my boss. I thought he was crazy, but once I read throughout he book, I realized that the reflection time was every bit as important as the book itself. My boss said, <b>"the more you read, the more you understand about the world; and the more you understand, the greater chance you have at making an impact."</b></div>
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That has stuck with me since last summer, and I have read more in the past six months than I had in the previous three years of my college career (outside of textbooks…of course). Having friends who enjoy reading and discussing these things really makes it more fun and interesting for me to read. I never thought I would participate in a "book club" of any kind, but I sure am glad I have made a commitment to read more, ask more questions, discuss more with others, and hopefully make an impact somewhere in the world.</div>
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If you're curious what I've been reading, feel free to jump over to my bookshelf tab to see what's on my shelf!</div>
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<b>“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” — Oscar Wilde</b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-55866951899997591582014-01-27T09:02:00.000-05:002014-01-27T09:02:07.779-05:00Request From A Friend: 10 Questions<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;">I know I promised to have the follow-up discussion to my "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" post this time around, but it's gonna have to wait until the next one. Recently I was tipped off that a friend of mine <a href="http://fortheloveofbeef.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">won an award </a>and wanted to pass it on to some of her blogger buddies, but she needed us to answer some questions first. So here it is Janice, my best attempt to provide some "Love for Bacon" to the "Love of Beef"!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"><b>1. Describe your Agriculture Operation.</b></span></span></div>
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I grew up on a 650 sow farrow to finish pig operation in southwest Ohio. Recently we have converted our unit to a wean to finish operation that can provide nearly 25,000 market pigs annually.We work closely with the folks at <a href="http://fofarms.com/adventures/pig-adventure" target="_blank">Fair Oaks Farms Pig Adventure</a>, which is where we buy our weaned piglets from. We also raise corn and soybeans to offset some of our feed costs. </div>
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As a college student, I don't have a full time role on the farm besides asking my dad for constant updates about this, that and everything in between. But I help when I can and we continue to move the farm forward for the future.</div>
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We believe in transparency and consistency on our farm. Which is why my dad and I provide such unique aspects to the blogging world through our<a href="http://acornsforthought.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> blogs</a>. Because we come from different generations and educations, we look at the same issues a little differently, but provide for a more diverse impact from our advocacy efforts.</div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"><b>2. What Agriculture Operation would you never do and why?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;">Produce! I'm not much of a </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">green thumb, and I don't understand the way a garden (of any size operation) works. I'm not one for humid air of greenhouses, and I'm not sure there is any way to sustainably be a produce farmer in Ohio without it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"><b>3. When was the last time you vacationed (agriculture events do not count)?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;">As many others farming families, vacation rarely happens, and when it does, it </span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">involves</span><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">agriculture events! When I was young, we would vacation at the county fair while we were showing our livestock, but that is an ag event. Now that I'm older, dad and I often travel together, most recently last June to Washington D.C. for the Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholder's Summit, which is also an ag event. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">But to my family, agriculture is our pursuit of happiness, and we know that sometimes family time is sacrificed in order keep improving. But I personally feel that traveling with my dad provides enough of a vacation for us. No matter what the event we are going to is, we enjoy the company and have made some good memories on those trips. </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"><b>4. What is your least favorite food?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">Clams and sushi! I'm not one for the texture…that's all I have to say about that.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"><b>5. If you could make a t-shirt today - what would it say?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">"When the going gets tough, turn to God" - Faith is a farmers best friend. Both in religion and in practice. Having faith in what you can't see is the only way to wake up in the morning and know that all your work will pay off. And only God and reward you for your loyalty, both to Him through faith and to your passion for the land and livestock.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"><b>6. What is the last thing you pinned on pinterest?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;">I'll probably catch some wrath from my college buddies for this, but I DO have a Pinterest. I use it mostly to show my girlfriend what I'd like to eat someday in the near future, but also because I enjoy the humor </span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">section</span><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"> quite a bit. Lately I've been looking </span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">forward</span><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"> to graduating college and beginning my post-education career somewhere. Which means I won't be living at the Alpha Gamma Rho House anymore, which is going to be a bit of a culture change for me. So I'd say the last thing I pinned was some sort of barn siding table that I'd like to make someday when I have a house of my own. </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"><b>7. What are you cooking for supper?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">Well, funny story…mom got me a nice cookbook for Christmas (I guess she plans on me graduating) and <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/" target="_blank">The Pioneer Woman</a> cookbook may just give me an idea to try sometime (but probably not tonight). There is a few tasty looking recipes for the Super Bowl, so maybe I'l try one of them.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"><b>8. Who are you following in Basketball right now?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">I'm not a huge fan of basketball, but I do go to The Ohio State University, which means B1G basketball is a part of my daily routine to check. Lately the Buckeye boys have been on a bit of a slide, but I have faith for a turn around in February, especially on the </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">home court. #GOBUCKS</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"><b>9. When was the last time you ate beef?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">This weekend. I don't remember what day, but I'm sure it was in there. I, like many others, take for granted the food I eat and don't often think about exactly what the ingredients are.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;"><b>10. What is your most motivational Bible verse?</b></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px;">Psalm 34:8 says, "</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." As I said before, it takes faith to know that the work of a farmer will be rewarded by the Maker. To taste and see that the Lord is good, to me, means that I must always put faith in Him and try my hardest (although I will always fall short) of His glory, when I take refuge in the Creator, things become easier.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Well Janice, Hopefully this provides you with some sort of inspiration to keep writing. I </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">mean, For the Love of Beef, you gotta keep it going!</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-21372578517482814732014-01-21T08:48:00.001-05:002014-01-21T08:48:40.786-05:00Life On The Farm Aint Never Laid Back!<div class="MsoNormal">
The last few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster ride
across the Midwest. Lately Ohio has been stuck on the backseat of that
rollercoaster ride that never seems to end. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I enjoyed the recent three day holiday weekend by helping my
dad plow snow and then power washing a finishing barn (thank God for enclosed
barns and hot water washers).<o:p></o:p></div>
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I enjoy power washing because it gives me time to really
think about what’s going on in my life and collect my thoughts for things like
this blog. While power washing today, the song “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” by
John Denver came into my mind. I know that sounds cliché because of my
profession and heritage, but there was something about that song that seem to
connect to another thought I’ve had lately.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lately I’ve been looking at the progression agriculture has
taken in the past two decades thanks to some advanced technology coming along.
As an advocate for the pork industry, I spend a fair amount of time discussing
how technology has created a new version of pig farming, what we know as
“modern day farming” or “commercial farming” or even “factory farming”. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When I hear that famous song by John Denver, I can’t help
but think what it would sound like if written for today’s farming industry. In
this blog post I’m going to aim to point out the changes from when it was
recorded to now and my next blog will be my version of the song for 2014(I may
need to wash another barn and gather my lyrics!).<o:p></o:p></div>
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First, I’ll point out that the song assumes that if you live
in the country, than you are a farmer. According to the USDA’s<a href="http://www.csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/extension.html"> website</a>, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Fewer than 2 percent of Americans farm for
a living today, and only 17 percent of Americans now live in rural areas</b>”.
Which means that if you are reading this, and you are farming for a living, I
want to thank you for your effort. To me, it’s a no brainer that consumers are
becoming distant from the source of their food and I don’t believe that it is
100% agriculture’s fault for having a lack of transparency.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Next let’s talk about the “laid back farm life”. It takes
months of preparation to raise a crop, provide superior care for livestock and
handle the office work that goes along with being a self-employed farmer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Being a farmer is a year round job that is never taken
lightly. And I’m here to tell you that life on the farm is rarely “early to
rise and early to the sack”. Usually it’s early to rise, and late to bed.
That’s because we believe in a job well done and American farmers are committed
to providing the best product they can for market, which means spending long
hours caring for it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As you go down through the lyrics you can see that some
things remain true, no farmer would ever trade his farm or his job for
“diamonds or jewels” and farmers are not often “money hungry fools”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes years of hard work and Modest living
to be able to create profits off the farm. Many times, farming is not the only
occupation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The song finishes by talking about the connection between
father and son, and the heritage of the fiddle. This is so very true in my life
today on the farm, dad has given me the things I need in order to be
successful, or at least have a good start in life and it’s all because of the
farm. Heritage plays a very big role in the farm life. Many times father and
child will work together on the farm for years. I remember when I was young, I
spent nearly every free minute I had on the farm or helping dad with livestock.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So today, as the weather begins to show snow across Ohio, I
am grateful that I have been born and raised on the farm. The opportunity to be
a farmer is one that I cherish and I hope that I can fit the role. I’m also
glad that technology has created changes in agriculture, so that the farm life
has become more management than hard labor, not because I’m lazy, but because
it has created safeguards for the crops and livestock against disease, drought
and other things that impact its yield. But most of all, I still thank God I’m
a country boy!<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-44804743387048518402014-01-07T13:20:00.000-05:002014-01-07T13:20:21.839-05:00Cold Weather, Warm HeartsUnusual winter weather has really set in this week across most of the country and has brought uncharacteristically low temperatures with it. In Ohio this week we have had wind chills dipping as low as -37 in parts of the state. For many people that means work and school are canceled and the weatherman suggests to stay indoors and stay warm.<br />
<br />
On the pig farm at Standing Oaks Enterprises, we spend a week in advance preparing for cold weather and uncharacteristic problems because that is what it takes to be a responsible farmer. While the weather stays cold or changes drastically, our hearts stay warm as we pour our hearts into our work.<br />
<br />
So what does a winter checklist look like on a pig farm? Well to begin we have to test run all furnaces (if they aren't already on) to make sure they are running properly. We have to adjust temperature settings in the barns because all of our barns run on automatic thermostats. That means we also have to check the amount of moisture in the barn. If their is to much cold air getting into the barn, the warm air creates moisture and that could lead to the piglets getting sick (pneumonia).<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_4bJpj32pHA/UsxE6zMlhbI/AAAAAAAAAXA/1gmVG1lq2Cs/s1600/1552346_3871856010309_785990651_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_4bJpj32pHA/UsxE6zMlhbI/AAAAAAAAAXA/1gmVG1lq2Cs/s1600/1552346_3871856010309_785990651_o.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the temp and air control go through monitors like these</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once we know that we have the temp and air controls set correct we have to check them several times a day to insure that the pigs are doing alright as the temperature fluctuates outside the barn. Lucky for us, many times we can use our video monitoring system inside the pig barns to detect moisture inside the barn.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Often times, because our barns are in rural areas, we risk losing power to our barns. So we have to have backup generators on all our barns (plus we have to have them for insurance purposes). It's important to check the oil level and fuel levels on all generators. Once we had to run our farm on generators for almost a week.<br />
<br />
It's also important to check your feed supplies and heat source (propane) supplies before a big storm as well. Weather could make it very difficult to get the resources needed to the farm from suppliers if the roads are bad or if they lose power. Again, you have to account for the rural location and how conditions change drastically outside the city.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2VM5nlGtWJU/UsxEX7yoF5I/AAAAAAAAAWw/AINDGPIIJGM/s1600/1596268_3859514861788_350372366_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2VM5nlGtWJU/UsxEX7yoF5I/AAAAAAAAAWw/AINDGPIIJGM/s1600/1596268_3859514861788_350372366_o.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad running the plow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once these things are all taken care of, we have to prep our snowplow and have salt on hand for trucks that may arrive. Semis are very hard to move on ice, especially in close spaces around barns.<br />
<br />
After all of that is done, we just have to bundle up several times a day to go out to the farm and check on the pigs in person. While we can do several observations from a distance, you can never replace the in person check of barns, livestock and grounds.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7E1CyXIBYa4/UsxElBmlT0I/AAAAAAAAAW4/zm1cqVgtMbo/s1600/1596277_3871791888706_768824439_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7E1CyXIBYa4/UsxElBmlT0I/AAAAAAAAAW4/zm1cqVgtMbo/s1600/1596277_3871791888706_768824439_o.jpg" height="200" width="112" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My little brother wanted to go out with dad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
No matter what the conditions are, farmers don't take a snow day. We care for our livestock as it is part of our family. In many ways, it is. Growing up, I remember my father spending several nights away from home because he would stay at the farm just in case he wasn't able to get there in the mornings. Farmers often have to choose between staying warm indoors and risking their health to go out and check on the animals they care for. Farming is an integral art of our family, and that means we all have to help to make sure that our family is taken care of. Even if it means losing sleep, getting sick, or spending time away from the ones we love in order to care for our livelihood.<br />
<br />
So while you enjoy a warm meal this winter, think about the sacrifice and preparation that farmers have given to make insure that we have the safest food supply in he world, no matter what the weather. While it is cold outside, it warms our hearts to be devoted to such a task as providing safe, sustainable food for the world.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-4529118224641087532014-01-01T17:23:00.000-05:002014-01-01T17:23:49.809-05:00New Years Resolutions…and so much more!2013 was a wonderful year for me. I was able to explore many new places through spring break vacation to Texas & Oklahoma, then spending my summer at Fair Oaks Farms in Northwest Indiana. I was able to be on the front end of an industry changing movement at Fair Oaks when we opened the Pig Adventure. I was also able to spend a good deal of time on the farm helping out my father and learning realizing that there is still so much that I have no clue how to do on the farm I've grown up on.<br />
<br />
2013 also introduced me to my girlfriend, whom I am ever thankful for. We have made a lot of memories at Ohio State and we both plan to make many more memories after we graduate in May.<br />
<br />
But when I look at 2014 on a calendar, it appears to be much slower for me than 2013 was. I'm ok with that. I am hoping to spend a little time traveling this year, and once I graduate I will hopefully be moving out of state, which will lead to many new adventures again.<br />
<br />
2013 has helped me renew my interest in reading. While I was out at Fair Oaks, my boss told me that the man who reads is better equipped to fight the struggles of the world than any other man is. If you have faith and knowledge, your influence can be endless.<br />
<br />
So for 2014, I want to commit to reading some books in '14. Some of those books include:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Moral Courage by Kidder</li>
<li>The Heaven Trilogy by Ted Dekker</li>
<li>Never Eat Alone by Kieth Ferrazzi</li>
<li>Leadership From the Inside Out by Kevin Cashman</li>
<li>Crossroads by William Paul Young</li>
<li>Fool Me Twice by Shawn Lawrence Otto</li>
<li>Rush Revere by Rush Limbaugh</li>
<li>Brick By Brick by David C Robinson</li>
<li>Three by Ted Dekker</li>
</ol>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I also am going to commit myself to blogging more frequently. As it appears my school schedule will allow more time for these things this year, I hope that I am able to blog every week this year! I believe that there will be a lot of fun things to read, write and participate in this year. </div>
<div>
<br />
I want to travel. I have always loved being able to go and see new things and learn about the diversity across our country and the history of different regions. I am already planning a trip out to Manhattan, KS with Ohio State and a spring break trip to San Antonio, TX to visit some close friends. I can't wait to spend time with those closest to me while journeying across the country.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
Thanks to all those who have read my blog in the past year, I hope you enjoyed it. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make it better, please email me and let me know! If there is something you'd like to have my perspective on, let me know and hopefully I can write about it!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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Happy New Year!!!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-91990145752471471752013-09-12T11:01:00.000-04:002013-09-12T11:01:14.321-04:00Busy, Busy, BusyBoy! This semester is really getting away from me! I have been swamped by homework, AGR functions, and other duties. But nonetheless, I want to give some insights to what I've been studying.<br />
<br />
This semester I am taking a class about healthy food access and how it is an important function in agriculture. Mostly in policy and planning, but still very important to what we do! As I sit in class I see many different cultures, backgrounds and beliefs about what healthy food access is, should be and how to get there.<br />
<br />
We spent a few weeks reading and discussing <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Food-Jennifer-Clapp/dp/074564936X" target="_blank">Food</a> </i>by Jennifer Clapp. This book gives a great 30,000 foot look at food policy in regards to the Farm Bill, Transnational Corporations, the Green Revolution and more. While I didn't agree with the entire book, I really think it paints a good picture of what policy looks like around these issues and who the players are.<br />
<br />
I've never really had much interest in policy, planning or food access. But as this class goes on, I am seeing more and more how advocating and access to healthy, affordable food go hand in hand.<br />
<br />
This class is a grad level course, but one that I chose to take because of the dialogue and the broad array of interests represented in the class. I have really enjoyed it to this point and I hope to have more insight in an upcoming blog.<br />
<br />
As for my extra-ciricular activities this semester, well, buckeye football is in full swing so I am getting plenty of tailgating and game time in! Alpha Gamma Rho has kept me plenty busy as well. I was elected the President of the fraternity last week, so there has been plenty to do getting things in line for the remainder of the term. We are also in the middle of fall recruitment, which has kept us plenty busy.<br />
<br />
Hopefully I have some more info to report in my next blog, but for now, I have to run to class.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-42659244618563809322013-08-23T17:56:00.002-04:002013-08-23T17:56:34.000-04:00Back to School Back to SchoolWell folks, the summer has officially ended for me as I have moved back to that grand ol' city of Columbus, Ohio for my final year of college. There are both pros and cons to this though, and I'd like to take outline them now.<br />
<br />
<b>Pros:</b><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>I love being back at the Alpha Gamma Rho house with my brothers. We are already gearing up for another fun year of activities, philanthropy and recruitment. The memories I have made here will go with me for the rest of my life. </li>
<li>I actually like going to my classes. I have found a way to make myself comfortable in non-ag classes and have found more enjoyable conversations and dialogue there than in any of my Ag Comm or Ag Econ classes. And besides, what fifth year senior doesn't have a fun schedule? It should be good. Expect future blog posts to come from discussions I have had in class.</li>
<li><b>OHIO STATE BUCKEYES FOOTBALL!!!! </b>I have become a huge fan of Big Ten football and you can rest assured (or not rest) that I will be having fun cheering my team on from the South endzone in The Shoe this fall. </li>
</ol>
<div>
<b>CONS:</b></div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>I had an absolute blast working at Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana this summer. The experiences, conversations and diversity I had this summer was absolutely a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. </li>
<li>I am feeling a bit old this year as my younger sister goes off to start her college career and I am still in school. But she seems to be excited about a new chapter in life, which excites my whole family and we have a lot of faith in her. GOOD LUCK MINDY!</li>
<li>This is the last ride, some of my friends like to say I'm simply "squeezing four years of education into five years of experience" and I think they may be right. As much fun as college has been, I am very excited to get started on the next chapter of my life.</li>
</ol>
<div>
So as you can see, I have some mixed feelings about this year of school. But I know it will go way faster than I want it to go. I just hope that I can keep up with it. One last thing you can rest assured of is that I will be advocating for agriculture on the front lines of the future of our country while I'm here!</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-22830443434033504172013-08-13T16:30:00.000-04:002013-08-14T08:20:34.475-04:00It's Not Science, Must Be Something MoreRecently I was shown an<a href="http://freefromharm.org/animal-cruelty-investigation/fair-oaks-farms-selling-slavery-and-sexual-violation-as-the-miracle-of-life/" target="_blank"> article</a> that profiles my friend and colleague as an "animal exploitation expert" and someone who cares not about animals, but about making money, no matter what the cost. The group that is accusing him, and everyone who works at Fair Oaks Farms and The Pig Adventure, is a radical vegan group known as <a href="http://freefromharm.org/" target="_blank">Free From Harm</a>.<br />
<br />
Anti-ag groups like this one are waging an issue of morality against the animal agriculture industry and we have repeatedly defended ourselves with scientific based arguments. This is a problem because we can not use science to say that a moral issue has been satisfied. They claim that moral relativism does not justify the action of farmers, and that there is no such thing as human exceptionalism.<br />
<br />
I am an evangelical christian, I worship God because I believe that sent his son Jesus to the world to die for our sins. I also believe that creation was part of His glorious and masterful plan.<br />
<br />
I believe that man was put on the earth to serve a purpose, to live in God's light. According to the book of Genesis, before sin entered the world, God said, <b>"<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." </span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></b>
This simple charge from God has given me a purpose. As a God-fearing christian, it is my responsibility to care for the world to the best of my ability so that God's plan can be done. All of this that you read is part of my worldview and it is simply a backdrop for what I am about to say.<br />
<br />
In order to believe that you have a calling or a duty or a purpose on this earth, than you must believe that earth was part of an immaculate plan for a greater reason. My belief, as outlined above, is that the human race is exceptional to all other beings and in being so, we have the moral duty to serve our purpose as caretakers with "dominion over all the earth."<br />
<br />
This anthropocentrism is what gives me the calling as a farmer to care for the environment, livestock, crops and all that I control, in a way that promotes the glory of God. I believe that I have a moral responsibility to help feed the world and provide nutrient to the land.<br />
<br />
I believe that much of the worldview surrounding radical animal & environmental rights and also anti bio-tech groups doesn't have much holding in belief of a God, a purpose, or a greater calling.<br />
<br />
Author <a href="http://www.discovery.org/p/13" target="_blank">Wesley J. Smith</a> writes about these and many other issues revolving around the the human cost of the animal rights movement in his book "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rat-Is-Pig-Dog-Boy/dp/1594036144" target="_blank">A Rat is a Pig is a Dog is a Boy</a>" This book helps to outline the differences in animal rights and animal welfare, morality issues, and ruthless campaigns from anti animal ag groups. I suggest that anyone who reads this picks up a copy, it will greatly help you understand why people think the way they do about animal ag, and not on a scientific level, but as a moral issue.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-80595179968041516352013-08-02T19:09:00.003-04:002013-08-02T19:09:54.059-04:00Then End Is Just The BeginningMy internship will come to a close on Monday, August 5. I am a bit torn about this fact, because I have such a passion for talking about the pig industry and I take a lot of personal responsibility and pride in showing the guests at the Pig Adventure what it is we do.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JN5w0_s3rD4/Ufw6fYfbwmI/AAAAAAAAATc/liaaoXxbcXo/s1600/2013-07-16_14-39-06_760.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JN5w0_s3rD4/Ufw6fYfbwmI/AAAAAAAAATc/liaaoXxbcXo/s320/2013-07-16_14-39-06_760.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of my favorite co-workers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Having said all that, this has been a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to help develop the programs that are going to be on the frontline of Fair Oaks' agri-tourism and educational tours. The experiences have ranged from exciting and great adventures to extreme stress from plans going wrong, criticism being heavy, and just the normal speed-bumps of life.<br />
<br />
But through the high and low times of this internship I have been able to remain true to myself as a person. My character as a professional in agriculture has been tested many times, and many times has come away with a new way of looking at things and making me a more rounded individual.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The intern team through thick and thin</td></tr>
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I have had the pleasure to work with other high caliber interns who are as passionate as I am about our industry and just as excited for the future as I am. I have been able to surround myself with some of the best in the business when it comes to building these agri-tainment and education programs. My supervisors from both Fair Oaks Farms & Belstra Milling Company have helped me grow in more ways than I can think of.<br />
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Going into the last few days of my internship I will have one more weekend opportunity to speak to thousands of people that we expect to see over the weekend and at our grand opening on August 5, 2013. I hope for nothing more than to end on a high note, but if it doesn't play out that way, I'm sure I will be able to present myself to the best of my ability as that has grown over the summer.<br />
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Looking forward to the future, I can already see how this internship will provide me with many opportunities to achieve a career in agriculture. My exposure to first hand concerns from consumers of all kinds has given me a unique way of thinking that I feel stands out from other internships. My training to answer concerns and questions has been tested and moving forward I think can make for a valuable asset to a company. While I will miss working here, I know that this is the beginning of what I believe will be a great opportunity for both myself moving forward, and many other interns to come!<br />
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A special thanks goes out to Malcolm, Jon, Gary, Jamie, Julie, Brock, Jodi, Leah, Phil and everyone else I have had the opportunity to work with at Fair Oaks and Belstra Milling this summer! I hope that the future is bright for us all and that the opportunity to have meaningful conversations continues to grow.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-5373164204564117082013-07-26T18:50:00.000-04:002013-07-26T18:50:39.842-04:00Like Father, Like SonThis week I was given the opportunity to advocate for the pig industry in a new way. I was asked to give a presentation to the Crown Point Rotary Club about Fair Oaks Farms and the Pig Adventure.<br />
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I felt a sense of maturity when I was asked to do this because I my father has given a lot of similar talks about pig farming to Rotarians back home in Ohio. In fact dad's passion for educating people about what we do is one reason I chose to study agriculture communication. My father has been a great role model for me as n advocate and has given me a lot of help in the area of public speaking about agriculture.<br />
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To me, it was a no brainer to go and speak to a group of local business folks about the exciting things going on at Fair Oaks Farms. So over the past week I put together a presentation discussing many things about the future of Fair Oaks Farms as well as the Pig Adventure. I felt that it was important to explain to people my concern for transparency in agriculture and the importance of agri-tourism as an excellent opportunity to have conversations about what modern day agriculture is.<br />
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So Wednesday I gave my presentation to about 40 Rotarians. They were very welcoming and open to listening to my presentation. The questions that followed the presentation were normal ones that I felt comfortable answering, most revolving around the pig industry and the future plans for Fair Oaks Farms.<br />
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All in all, it was a really rewarding and enjoyable time in which I felt myself starting to expand my confidence in public speaking about our industry. I know it wasn't much, and it surely wasn't a big crowd, but I really enjoyed it and was able to help provide information about our industry to more people who have a lot of influence in their community.<br />
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I decided to stay out in Indiana for the grand opening of the Pig Adventure on August 5, 2013. That will be the last day of my internship, and therefore the countdown is on! I can't wait to see what comes in the next week or so!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-58744406319168707652013-07-19T20:09:00.000-04:002013-07-19T20:09:47.266-04:00Constructive ConversationsThere is a project known as "<a href="http://project155.com/" target="_blank">Project 155</a>" that encourages people to have conversations with non-farm people about agriculture and the benefits to modern day agriculture compared to where we have come from.<div>
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The basis for this program is that, on average, the American farmer is responsible for feeding 155 people a year. The question becomes, "are we having enough meaningful conversations to cover the 155 people we feed?"</div>
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Farmers get frustrated that people demand a certain type of product, but don't understand why they have chosen to ask for that product. It is the responsibility of the farming community to show people what we do and why there are choices. </div>
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I think that some of the frustration is that farmers assume people know what we do, but aren't willing to show them or even have those meaningful conversations. My thoughts about how public opinion reflects in agriculture can be seen in a <a href="http://ohiofarmkid.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-07-12T19:09:00-04:00&max-results=1" target="_blank">previous post</a>. But I think there is a bigger problem in agriculture that revolves around the fact that people aren't having those conversations. </div>
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In the past three weeks I have had the opportunity of a lifetime to have literally thousands of conversations with people as they come through the Pig Adventure. There are some farmers out there in my industry (pigs) that assume people aren't willing to listen to us if we want to have those meaningful conversations with them. But I think the greater problem is, they haven't had the opportunity to have these types of conversations. I'm not saying they are wrong for being opposed to the way we have chosen to promote the pig industry, but I think there is a lot of room for improvement within our industry to get involved with these conversations. </div>
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If agriculture can get behind one message about what we are and why we are proud of the choices we have made to grow our industry combined with the moral obligation we have to feed people I really don't think the opposition would have a platform to stand on. </div>
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I'm down to two and a half weeks left on my internship here, and I am very proud of the impact I have been a part of. I am very excited to see what comes in the last few weeks of my job and to continue helping the industry have these meaningful conversations.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-17583466634147998782013-07-12T19:09:00.001-04:002013-07-12T19:09:01.663-04:00Adventurous TimesI often use the phrase "never a dull moment" when referring to my life back home both on the farm and while at school. That phrase has definitely transferred into my work life as well! Which is good, because it keeps me on my feet and excited about the next day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Telling sponsors what the first hand experience has been like</td></tr>
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This week at the Pig Adventure, we held an event for all the industry donors who have given financial support to help take the Pig Adventure from a dream to a reality. That event meant that people from all over the pig industry gathered in Fair Oaks, IN to hear get the official tour of the Pig Adventure.<br />
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Many people came to see specific things, but everyone was interested in hearing what we had learned about the perception of modern day pig farms from our regular visitors. I took great delight in being able to answer those questions, and used that time to tell people what I had noticed. My <a href="http://ohiofarmkid.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">previous blog post </a>eludes to many of the things I feel to be true about what I am seeing on a daily basis.<br />
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We are also finishing our second week of being open to public tours this week and I am proud to say that in the past ten day, more than 7,000 people have come through the doors of the Pig Adventure and seen first-hand what happens inside a modern day pig farm.<br />
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It has been great to see all of these pieces come together on the agri-tourism side of my adventure this summer. I am so happy to be a part of the many great things to be coming for the Fair Oaks family as well. I really can't wait to see what the next week will bring as there is always something exciting and interesting going on.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-60896515779142300162013-07-05T19:02:00.002-04:002013-07-05T19:02:45.698-04:00Farmers Need to Shine, Don't Fight the ShadowAccording to the <a href="http://www.census.gov/popclock/" target="_blank">United States Census Bureau</a>, there are roughly 300 million people living in the United States. Of those, only 15 percent live in what the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) describes as non-metro areas or counties. And when you look at the change and trend in the numbers indicates on a broad level that people are continuing to leave the non-metro areas in the long run. Growth may come and go, but the distance between the rural and metro consumers of our country are growing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2YRJB5MUkjE/Uda1cinS4BI/AAAAAAAAARY/Nvnnfyi9xjU/s500/popchange2012.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2YRJB5MUkjE/Uda1cinS4BI/AAAAAAAAARY/Nvnnfyi9xjU/s320/popchange2012.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graph from USDA website: http://1.usa.gov/1bbRmnB</td></tr>
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There is a lot of rhetoric in agriculture about the growing disconnect between gate and plate, farm and food, and the understanding of common farm practices. In part to my internship this summer (which can be read about in previous blog posts), I have realized a few things about how farmers react to the proactive approach that the industry has began to take in order to reconnect consumers with the farms of modern day agriculture. </div>
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In my opinion, farmers are all to often "afraid of their shadow" when trying to talk with consumers who don't have an agriculture background. Occasionally some retired pig farmers will come through the <a href="http://www.thepigadventure.org/" target="_blank">Pig Adventure</a> and they always have memories of the "old days" and "how it used to be". Many offer encouraging words about what we are doing, but some will raise their concerns with transparency. </div>
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Some farmers (all different ages) that I talk with, seem to think that their is a limit to transparency. That we need to "tread lightly" or else we are going to get sunk in hole we can't dig out of. This is where I believe that they are "hiding in their shadow" and not willing to be honest about the practices on the farm. I believe that this is because as an industry, we have underestimated human nature and the one's ability to listen to farmers without jumping down their throats. </div>
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It seems to me that if you have a product (pig farm, crops, dairy, beef, poultry etc) that you are proud of, invested in, and willing to talk to openly about; then 99 percent of the people you talk to are interested and willing to listen to you before forming an opinion about your product and processes. Sometimes people have an negative idea of what you do on the farm because of some propaganda they saw that was sourced by someone opposing agriculture. But even then, people tend to be amazed at the processes of farming and are able to connect with the simplicity that we still have on the farm. Even though we are using technology to find that simplicity.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm giving a tour of our breeding operation to a group of friends. Bio security measures require them to wear the disposable suit when in the barns.</td></tr>
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My boss asked me the other day, <b>"if a farmer could have a five minute conversation about agriculture and show them an aspect of what they do, could we (agriculture) change the opinion of many people who unknowingly follow the propaganda and form negative feelings towards agriculture?"</b></div>
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I believe that the answer is yes! While I know I it can't be done alone, I believe that their is a special way for agriculture to have these friendly conversations that can mean a world of change for our industry. I want to offer a few reminders for those who want to have these conversations:</div>
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<li><b>Don't be afraid of your shadow - </b>Shadows are only present because their is light shining on us, the time for us to step into that light is now. Bigger shadows mean more light on you! Take advantage of the opportunity present.</li>
<li><b>Talk about what you do - </b>People want to talk to people. They want to know that you're a farmer and that you care about them. The more personable you can make your conversation, the more they will listen to what you have to say.</li>
<li><b>Be comfortable with the uncomfortable - </b>many times we begin to talk about what we do, then when a negative term or question arises, we quickly run back into the shadow. No wonder people are afraid of agriculture, if we aren't willing to talk about it ourselves!</li>
<li><b>Enjoy yourself!! - </b>People want to see you happy and excited to talk about what you do. The light has never shined brighter on agriculture than it does now. I'm proud of what I do and I want to show others why! That is the thought that makes the whole idea of talking to others a bit more comfortable to me. </li>
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Hopefully these words encourage some to begin taking those steps out of the shadows. If you are worried about the response you're going to get, just wait until you see people's faces light up when you show them the farm. I encourage all farmers I talk to, to find a way to have these conversations, through trainings, social media, tours, presentations, and casual conversations around the coffee table. There is no end to what we can achieve when we work together and step out of the shadow.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-50613127942331089432013-06-27T09:07:00.001-04:002013-06-27T09:07:33.882-04:00Is It All Worth It?During my short time at the Pig Adventure I have had the opportunity to network with many people in our industry (and we still have a lot of events left the summer). One person I have met several times, Bill Johnson, swine coordinator at Joliet Junior College, asked me a question yesterday. His question was, "What will your reaction be and your answer when you are faced with an activist?"<br />
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My natural reaction is always "I can handle it, I've been trained to answer some of those questions", but the reality is that I think it will take me by surprise if someone tries to scrutinize my work ethic, my farm or my industry. Then Bill said something that I had thought of, but in a different context. He said, "I honestly think that when people see the pigs, barn, farmers, and hear you talk about what they're looking at, some potential naysayers are going to back down from their original stance."<br />
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We agreed that this is because the amount of people who come in with no agenda, just to see the farm and learn a little about pigs, will be overwhelmed with the facility's cleanliness, welfare, practices and content-ness of the animals. The fact that we can provide people with information about pig farms and show them exactly what we do is such a powerful tool for us.<br />
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So, is it all worth it? I honesty believe it is! When you're doing the right things, you have no reason to cover them up or hide. When you're prepared to answer questions and address concerns about the pigs and farm practices, there's no way you can go wrong with the general public.<br />
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I believe that 60% of the people who come and tour the Pig Adventure are going to be just that, tourists who want to see what its all about. I think that 30% are going to be coming specifically for the educational exhibits that are geared towards children and school trips. The last 10% are going to be people who really have worries and scepticism towards what we do. This 10% will get so much information and have an opportunity to have their concerns addressed by us that I don't know how we can lose the argument.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297698014446549212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686447605705965605.post-91452269767780015132013-06-26T11:26:00.001-04:002013-06-26T11:26:21.823-04:00 Wordless Wednesday<div><p>Today, the first piglets were weaned at the Pig Adventure at Fair Oaks Farms. </p>
<p>This is also the first day that my family farm, <a href="http://facebook.com/standingoaksenterprises">Standing Oaks Enterprises</a>, will begin raising pigs as a wean to finish farm. </p>
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