I Hope My Daughters Grow Up To Love Corduroy

First let me say two things.

1. This is not an admission of the sex of baby Wright. We are still waiting until delivery to find out what baby is. So before my friends go buy all the stores out of pink, WE STILL DON'T KNOW. Please don't give my husband an aneurysm by referring to it as a girl. :)

2. I am not a feminist. I don't need to shout from the rooftops that I am a strong independent woman who can do anything men can do. For one, I can't do everything men can do. For two, my ability to lead, to work hard, and to be a rational human being should show in my actions, not have to be explained. 

Now that we have gender talk out of the way....

I hope my future daughter loves corduroy. I hope my daughter/s are a lot of things someday- kind, humble, confident, passionate, responsible, hard working. Sorry kid, you've got a tall order. But I don't think I am alone in expecting this from our youth. And while I have always known that FFA instills and reinforces many of these values in young people, I saw firsthand yesterday in a new light the way FFA can affect a young person's life.

 I mention FFA a lot around these parts....ok, around all parts. But with good reason. It is Kansas FFA state convention week, and though I have only been able to catch glimpses of convention this year, I did get to sit in on the prepared public speaking finals, where I found a whole new reason to love that blue corduroy jacket.

The prepared public speaking event in FFA is just one opportunity available to FFA members. Members have the chance to compete in this Career Development Event or "CDE" (so named for the career skills learned in these competitions) and many others (check out all of them!) throughout the year, qualifying for state and then national contests. In prepared public speaking, students research an agricultural topic, prepare a manuscript with cited sources, and then practice presenting a 6-8 minute speech that will be judged on content, grammar, and their oral and non-verbal communication skills. 

Being away from the FFA world for a full year now, I have seen many young ladies (and men for that matter) who place their value in their makeup and hairstyle, their clothes, and being up to date on the latest social media trend, having cool gadgets, and always having a sarcastic comment. Yes, they are teenagers. Yes they should have fun and enjoy discovering who they are and how they want to portray themselves to the world. But yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing four young women who have found something so much longer lasting to place their value in- their own ability to work hard and intelligently. (or as my fellow FFA members are probably thinking- to work efficiently and think clearly, -thanks E.M. Tiffany) And let me tell you, they were kicking butt. 

Yesterday, I saw the top four prepared public speaking students in Kansas present their research and ideas on agriculture topics of their choosing. And I was blown away. Seeing them present their speeches with poise and confidence, there is no doubt they put in many hard hours of work. Watching them respond to the judges questions with organized thoughts and statistically backed up information on their topics with knowledge that came from reading countless news articles and discussing their topic with experts, made me swell with pride for these ladies that I have never even met. How incredibly reassuring it is to see young ladies who have found value in the effort they put into their passions and their own ability to provide input on important issues.

And these were not simple issues they tackled- their topics included consumer perception in agriculture production, the scientific practice of artificial insemination, and the challenges of obesity and nutrition in rural America.  These four young ladies showed skill that many adults and college students cannot claim, overcoming the fear of speaking in front of others, and having the ability to research a topic and discuss it comfortably with experts in agriculture.

Seeing these confident, intelligent young women made me so proud of them. They were being noticed, and not for their hair, makeup, and clothes, but for the incredible confidence, skill and intelligence they demonstrated.

That is why I hope my daughter/s grow up to be FFA members, who love the ever unfashionable blue corduroy jacket that will always be sweltering in summer, and freezing in winter, but will always be my favorite jacket I have ever worn.

Feeding the Future...Slower?

The facts have been in front of our faces for a long time, yet sometimes it seems they don't sink in until it becomes personal.

Since I was in high school, I have tried to keep up with what is currently happening in the field of agriculture- policy changes, how weather is affecting the current crops, trends in the cattle market, international initiatives, and how the challenges of our food system are being tackled, etc. So I nerd out and do a lot of reading.

But I have never wanted to just be a spectator of the agriculture industry. Finally being able to take first steps toward that goal by buying a little chunk of land with outbuildings and some potential is exciting for Lance and I. As we think about our plans for starting our very own agriculture operation, discussing inputs we will need to buy, what equipment will be most useful and cost effective for us, and how our operation will function, it's a little nerve racking to read some of the articles I read about trends in agriculture today.

For centuries, agriculture has marched to the beat of "more efficiency."  This has been, and still is out of necessity. The whole idea of agriculture was born out of the nomadic people of old needing a less taxing lifestyle than expending countless calories, constantly chasing their food. And so we began to cultivate and domesticate. And a few herbs and berries and the occasional livestock animal turned into aqueducts and tillage equipment and technology. When we were finally not chasing our food anymore, not everyone needed to be involved in food production which led to the development of many great things like philosophy and art and engineering and Iphones. Agriculture is the reason for so much progress that we can't imagine life without today.

But today, many consumers call for farmers to step away from efficiency. In March, Whole Foods announced it will begin using slower growing breeds of chicken for meat production. These slower growing breeds will take 23% longer to reach market weight. (Read more details here)

To those in agriculture production, this is a bit scary. Now I know not everyone shops at Whole Foods and I would like to believe there is a place at the table for all types of agriculture. But between the articles I read and some of the comments I see on blogs and videos of what affects food decisions for shoppers, its a little nerve racking to think this could be the beginning of a total change in the market. Will the cattle my husband and I plan to raise even be profitable if the consumer wants them to grow 23% slower?

Doing things in a less efficient manner is a bit of a mind boggler for many in agriculture production. There are so many pieces of the puzzle to consider- all the way from large scale things like environmental impact and using the least amount of resources to produce the most food (aka efficiency), to more personal, yet make or break things, like trying to balance our own checkbook. Not to mention the fact that this planet has a growing population that I don't particularly want to see go hungry.

So farmers/ranchers, how do you make production decisions with consumer decisions in mind? 
And fellow food purchasers- do you want slower growing food?