I was lucky enough to spend National Agriculture Day with the people of the future of Agriculture as a sub for the Agriculture Education teacher at the local high school. I often read the I am Agriculture Proud blog http://agricultureproud.com/ and Ryan is featuring farmers and ranchers from all over the world on his blog this month to celebrate Agriculture Day. With that in mind I decided to give the seniors an in class assignment to write about their experiences with Agriculture and told them one of them would be a guest blogger on my blog this evening. I can't decide between these two so I am leaving it up to the readers.
The first guest blogger is Lauren Murdy who lives on a small farm. Lauren joined Ag. Class to make her older brother Nick proud. She thinks FFA has helped make her into a responsible and confident young woman.
Imagine a world filled with cookie cutter houses, concrete sidewalks and quarter acre backyards. Sounds pretty miserable doesn't it? Well for the first eight years of my life, this was my paradise. I owned the sidewalks with my two-wheel hot pink bike! I spent my summer days in a swimsuit running through sprinklers. What could've been better? However, this suburbian lifestyle quickly came to an end when my parents announced we were moving to the country. I thought my life was over. Little did I know this stepping stone would change my life forever. I learned to raise chickens and train a lamb. I watered the garden and canned tomatoes. Then as I grew up, I became a leader in 4-H and Junior Fairboard. Not only did I learn how to collect eggs and grow green beans, but I also learned to conduct myself professionally in an interview and speak in front of a crowd. My junior year of high school I joined the FFA and now I am competing at the state level in public speaking for the second year. I may have grown up differently than a lot of teenagers around here, but I appreciate agriculture so much more now. From concrete to hay fields and from sprinkler running to mud puddle jumping. I've grown to love the rural lifestyle way more than the urban. I found my new paradise and for that, I will be eternally grateful.
The second blogger is Ben Simpson who has grown up on a farm with 150 dairy cows and 50 beef cows. His future goals include buying into the family farm and continuing on the family tradition.
Farming, when you hear this word you think of hard work. When I hear this word I think of all the good things in Agriculture. I am an 18 year old student that spends almost everyday working on a family dairy farm. I go to school then return home to help milk 80 dairy cows. There is a lot of work involved and people call me crazy. They call me crazy for wanting to take over the business. They tell me it's too much work, or it's a dying field. I want to do it for the love of farming, and my animals.
Farming is a gift that keeps on giving. It is waking up to the crow of a rooster, sitting down to a farm fresh breakfast with ham and fresh brown eggs. It is going outside and smelling fresh cut hay, or watching the sun set over your hay or corn fields. It's listening to the pulsation of the milkers and country music while milking the cows. It is watching a cow chew her cud, because she is happy. These are all the things that make farming a beautiful thing. People don't realize how relaxing it really is.
I have been raised all of my life on a dairy farm, and I thank God everyday for the opportunity. Agriculture has made me who I am today. I have developed a great work ethic and good morals. Honestly I believe farming has kept me out of trouble. This is why I want to farm, call me crazy, but I still love it.
Please share your thoughts and your vote with these young Agriculturalists. Happy Agriculture Day!
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