A New Look

Throughout 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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

You may have noticed my blog has gone through a transformation (which isn't complete yet), but I felt that the title Reflections of a Country Boy 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. 

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.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Boy! 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.

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.

We spent a few weeks reading and discussing Food 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.

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.

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.

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.

Hopefully I have some more info to report in my next blog, but for now, I have to run to class.

Like Father, Like Son

This 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!