Sporting (or Advocating) Your Pride

Stepping into Lane Stadium on game day is a breath taking experience for those who have never witnessed it. Thousands of fans, decked out from head to toe in maroon and orange, pack into the stands. The band, cheerleaders and members of the dance team warm up off to the side of the field. Chants of “Let’s go… Hokies” echoes from one side of the student section to the other in the North End Zone. However, all the anticipation comes to a peak when the first few notes of “Enter Sandman” trickles out of the speakers and the crowd starts jumping. By the time Metallica reaches the chorus, the football team hits the field and the stadium erupts. In that moment, you can see Hokie pride in every face rooting for the home team.

View of Lane Stadium at my very first VT football game my freshman year.

Pride is comprised of passion for a cause, endurance through the hard times, and focus on the future. It’s one of those characteristics that a person cannot hide, mostly because having pride in something makes up a large part of whom that person is.

When I do my AGvocacy training workshops with youth, I talk about how pride and respect play a crucial role in being a great advocate for agriculture. The difference between a normal farmer's pride and, let’s say, Hokie pride is that cattle producers tend to be much quieter about it. Don’t get me wrong, modesty is a great quality to have, but in today’s society, being more vocal about the pride one has in something greater than themselves is certainly not a bad thing - especially when it comes to agriculture.

FFA members at the Appalachian Area Leadership Conference
discussing the aspects of agriculture they are most proud to be apart of.

As a full time college student, it has certainly been quite the balancing act to fulfill the demands of this program, while also maintaining my scholarly responsibilities. My end-of-the-semester goal is to create an online certificate program for Virginia AGvocates, similar to the one I created for the Virginia Beef Quality Assurance Program, that would alleviate some of the travel that I have to do, while also helping students find the confidence they need to sport their pride for agriculture.

One certificate program I just completed that I would love to emulate with this vision for AGvocates is the National Beef Checkoff supported program, Masters of Beef Advocacy. This online course provides producers the resources they need to become well versed in promoting and advocating in six focus areas: Modern Beef Production, Animal Care, Beef Safety, Beef Nutrition, Environmental Stewardship, and the Beef Checkoff. After completing this course, producers can feel more confident in discussing these industry topics and the pride they have for their products with consumers, which increases their confidence in the products we are providing for them - which is exactly what I would love to see Virginia AGvocates do! I hope to get in touch with 

Demonstrating pride in our industry though advocacy allows producers to become a strong component of agricultural promotion in Virginia, increasing consumer awareness of the positive aspects of our industry. I'm excited to see where this project goes!

No "Us", No "Them"... Only "We"

This past week, any work I was doing with the AGvocate program had to be put on hold for my other job with the Virginia FFA Association. I recently took a new position as the State Officer Coordinator, in which I manage the travel, activities and personal growth of the Virginia State FFA Officer team.

2012-2013 Virginia FFA State Officer Team

Last Thursday, another State Staff member and I led a bus trip with 50+ FFA members and advisors to Springfield, MA, where these students participated in the FFA CDE events at the Big E, the largest fair on the East coast. This was the first trip that I coordinated with my new position, so I was more than a little nervous about managing the hotel accommodation, making a shuttle schedule, and trying to not leave anyone behind. And of course, the night before we leave, the cold from you-know-where hit me like a ton of bricks.

However, by Saturday night, I had hit my stride and was able to fully enjoy the awards banquet. Looking around the banquet hall, you could see Virginia FFA jackets scattered among the New England and other Northeastern states. As the results were announced, cheers erupted from the crowd in support of the winners. 

But no applause was as deafening as the Banquet Chair stated that this year's Sweepstakes Winner (which is awarded to the state with most accumulated points across all contests - Ohio almost always wins) was Virginia. It was awesome to see chapters who are normally ultra-competitive with one another congratulating and cheering for each other for a job well done. In that moment, there were no individual chapters, but instead a unified feeling of pride for Virginia.

The Virginia FFA Association Group (with National Officer Cain Thurmond) after winning the
Sweepstakes Award - A first time win for Virginia!

Granted, this was not a Virginia AGvocate event, but there is a strong underlying message in what I observed this weekend.

American agriculture is lucky to have great diversity - in marketing, in products, in consumer options. However, I think this sometimes works against us when it comes to reflecting a positive image of agriculture. In an effort to promote one branch of agriculture, I often observe us publicly degrading another. We have to ask ourselves when we are having inner-industry battles of issues such as Organic vs. Conventional or Small vs. Large Scale Farming: "How does this look to the average consumer? Does this make them confident in American agriculture and it's products?"

As AGvocates, our first priority should be educating consumers in an unbiased manner. There shouldn't be an "us" vs. "them" attitude in agriculture because we are all playing for the same team. By doing this, well informed consumers will be able to better choose the agriculture products that best suit their needs and have confidence that agricultural producers care about the quality of their products.

A Worthy Investment

When I was little, my Meme would pay my brother, sister, and I to do little chores around the house -  sweep the porch, get the laundry off the line, water her flowers. When we finished the chores, we would report back to her and she would reward us with anywhere from fifty cents to a dollar (I know… high rollers). I remember being so excited to dig our empty jelly jars (a farm kid's version of a piggy bank) out from where we hid them in Meme's pantry and put our pay in them.

My brother, sister and I back in the day of saving money in old jelly jars.

However, what we did with the money after it started accumulating varied among the three of us. Once Marshall and I saved just enough money to buy a candy bar, we were ready to go to Deno’s to pick out some sweets. My sister, the youngest and perhaps the thriftiest, was the exact opposite. Madison would get out her jar sometimes just to count and organize her money. Once she was satisfied or her jar was overflowing, whichever came first, she would ask whatever adult was around to take her to the bank so she could put the money in her savings account.

As weird as this might seem for a six year old, Madison knew that saving her money meant that she could later invest it in something that would mean a lot more to her than a candy bar.

As I prepare for the first annual Virginia AGvocates Speech and Essay Scholarship contests,  I’ve been reflecting more on the concept of investing in youth. I have been the beneficiary of many scholarships, but since this program started I am now realizing just how much time, money and effort it takes to get a scholarship program off the ground. Grant writing for VDACS funding started last December, building a network of program supporters is ongoing, and drafting rules, regulations, and rubrics has been a learning experience in itself.

Time, like Madison and her money, should be spent wisely. I am so passionate about Virginia AGvocates because it is an investment in the future of the agricultural industry here in Virginia. Through these scholarship contests, students will have to research agricultural issues, interview industry leaders, and critically think about the importance of advocating for agriculture. This not only promotes agricultural education, but develops strong future leaders that can proudly represents an industry that affects each and every person.

I’d consider that a worthy investment.

And So It Begins...

Produce. Promote. Pride.

Interesting alliteration but what do those three words have to do with anything?

Well, just about everything that has to do with this blog.

As the sixth generation to grow up on my family's beef cattle farm, I have always been a strong advocate for agriculture. Living in a rural town, having friends and family that understood the ins and outs of production agriculture, and even serving as the Virginia FFA State President, I had always been surrounded by those who had a working knowledge of the industry. It wasn't until I completely removed myself from that setting that I realized just how few people know, let alone appreciated, where their food and fiber comes from.

After one particular fateful encounter on campus at Virginia Tech, where a vegan activist tried to tell me that farmers abused their animals, a little light bulb went off.

Actually, a BIG light bulb.

Why are we, the agricultural community, letting non-agricultural groups, who have no hands on experience in our industry, define us?  Label us with false titles? Tell a story that only we know?

Last December, I was asked to kick start a new partnership between Virginia 4-H, Virginia FFA, and Farm Bureau Young Farmers. This is how Virginia AGvocates: Youth Advocating for Agriculture was born. The purpose of the program is to train young agriculturalists to better represent our industry through  public relations activities.

Some Southside Area FFA members after signing the "I am a Virginia AGvocate" contract
following an AGvocacy workshop.

There is three parts to the Virginia AGvocates mission:

1. Produce - Not only do agriculturalists produce food, but they should also produce facts about our industry to help others understand about the impact agriculture has on everyday lives.
2. Promote - Find ways to speak about agriculture to your non-farming friends, whether its through a Letter to your Editor, blog, or simply inviting people out to your farm to get some first hand experience.
3. Pride - Don't be shy about telling others you agriculture story. Agricultural production involves long hours in all kinds weather, market prices, and just plain circumstances. Why not jump at the chance to tell a funny story or a life lesson learned through agriculture?

Essentially, this program is the reason this blog was created. As a Junior at Virginia Tech in Agricultural Sciences, I'm a getting credit for the leadership work I do with Virginia AGvocates this semester. This blog will be a reflection of my experiences within the context of leadership, advocacy and personal growth.