What Day is it?

It's George Washington's Birthday!

And all you FFA Members had better know what that means....yeah, it's FFA Week!

There's no celebration here at the University that I am aware of, so I've been celebrating it by studying (which I always do anyway...), changing my profile pic to one of me in OD on Facebook, and...this post.

Thanks, FFA, for four awesome years, and here's to a few more! :)
Rachel

Speeches

Hey,
I've decided to watch past Convention speeches as part of my study to pick up techniques and what I like and dislike about the way they present their topics.  Besides, I figure I sped way too much time watching videos on my computer and I might as well watch something I can learn from, right?

Today I watched Harvey Alston's speech from last (2009) National Convention.  I must have missed this while I was doing my Job Interview finals or something.  I thought at first that this guy must have started his career as a preacher, but I Googled him and that was not the case.  I guess he just likes yelling...:)  He sure knows how to play to his audience though.  I don't know that I can steal his style at all (I don't think I'm that intimidating when I yell...also I have to wear official dress, I can't wear an awesome tuxedo) but I really liked some of the things he said.

The thing I liked most about his speech was the way he started- and he kept this strain throughout the speech- of saying to the audience: "You're the best."
If there's one thing I've been learning from the leadership books I've been reading, it's that people respond to encouragement and praise, not to constant degradation and criticism.  Alston gets his point across by first praising his audience as doing (pretty much) everything right.  Kids want to hear that!  Most kids are trying to do the right thing, even a little bit, and they will listen much better when you acknowledge that.  Later, he talks about crap TV and how "some people" watch it, but later he even says "you know you've seen it."  Even if he never says "you," when he talks about other people doing it, people respond to it and apply it to themselves.  Heck, even I could relate to the negative things that he mentioned, but I didn't get mad about it, because he pointed out all the great things about the kids in the FFA, which includes me.

You can view the speech here: http://www.ffa.org/convention/2009/video.cfm.  Sorry, I don't know why the quality is so bad.  Keep in mind the audience Alston is speaking to- 9th-12th graders.

Speaking of speaking...spread the word to your friends that I'm looking for opportunities to polish my public speaking skills.  Girls Camps, Farm Bureau Meetings, LIONS Club meetings, FFA Banquets, 4-H events...seriously, put me to work.  Let me know if you have an idea of where I can speak this summer.  I get home the weekend of May 7th.

Have a great weekend!
Rachel

Something to celebrate, "The Politics of Sustainable Agriculture," and applications

Hey everyone,
This week has been busy in all my classes, so I didn't get the chance to study as much as I wanted to.  Oh well, it happens.  I did get a chance to have another video conference with Rayne though, and that was helpful as always.

But before I get too far into this post, it's time to tell you that I'm making progress!  Last week I totaled the hours in my study log, and I've officially studied...

100 Hours!

That may sound unimpressive, but it's a big deal for me.  I'm going to celebrate that, and another milestone (my successful campaign against my bad habit of biting my fingernails) by getting a manicure. :)

This week I had the opportunity to attend an interesting lecture by an extension agent with Iowa State University whose name I can't recall (I wish I could!  Ug!)  His lecture was entitled "The Politics of Sustainable Agriculture" and I found it very intriguing.  He spent a lot of time talking about organics, and I didn't necessarily agree with everything he said, but I really liked that he said that sustainable/alternative/diversitfied agriculture and conventional agriculture need to focus on what they have in common, and not the perceived fringe of discontentment.  He also mentioned USDA Secretary Tom Vilsak working with Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan to represent all forms of agriculture.  (For those of you who don't know, Vilsack is really into biotechnology, while Merrigan is all about organics).  It reminded me of this article I saw about the confusion the ag community has over their policies.  Check it out: http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=BA337E32-18FE-70B2-A8813032EC1C4DC6.

I think that Vilsack was smart in appointing Merrigan: the ag community needs to realize that whether they focus on small farms or large, it's all agriculture, and deserves equal representation.

I started looking through my American Degree application this week...that is one complex document.  It had large words that scared me.  I may back down on that until I'm home and can get help from my parents with the intense subjects of pre-exisitng inventory and tax forms.

Have an awesome week everyone!

Rachel
PS- If anybody's reading this...you are welcome to leave comments.  Comments boost my self esteem. :)

Sheep and Goat Education Day, BioClip, Horse Meat, and Beauty Queens

Hey everybody,
I wish I could tell you all about the fantastic adventure I had on Saturday at "Sheep and Goat Education Day" in Tooele, but I can't because I wouldn't consider an adventure, exactly.  The only adventurous thing about it was getting up at 4:30 am to catch my ride there.  The rest of the day consisted of sitting on hard bleachers in a cold barn and trying to understand complicated lectures (and trying not to fall asleep!) and only ONE sheep and two lambs.  Bummer.  I did get to try sheep stew and sausage which were good.  I also ate some goat sausage- but I don't think I'd order that at a restaurant or anything.  It tasted a little bit like what I imagine a goat would taste like if you took a bite out of it while it was still alive...

There were a few sessions that I really enjoyed- one by a veterinarian (who works for USU Extension) named Dr. Rood.  He spoke on "Public Perception of Livestock" including "10 Ways to Lose to the Argument About Animal Ethics."  I loved that presentation.  It reminded me again of why I'm an Agricultural Communications major.  Maybe in a few posts I'll put some fun clips on here about how agriculture is framed in the media.

I also really enjoyed a presentation on BioClip technology, it was really interesting.  Basically, they have this new technology being developed in Australia for wool sheep (specifically Merino or Merino-related breeds), what they do is inject a megadose of the natural hormone that makes your hair fall out, so that the sheep sheds all their wool and you don't have to spend time and money on shearing them.  It seemed really cool, I'm excited to see what will happen when the technology comes here.


Do you know anything about the horse slaughter debates?  I've been hearing a lot about them recently.  The gist is, from what I understand, that horses shouldn't be slaughtered because they are tools for humans and should be revered, or considered pets, like cats and dogs, and not eaten.  So anyway, apparently they're trying to ban horse slaughter in Italy, where the consumption of horse meat is actually very popular.  You can read the article here.  What do you think?  Are horses too valuable to eat?

Last of all, I've started working with my coach Rayne on interviewing questions.  I'm excited for the interview round, I think that's something I'm naturally pretty good at, and I'm hoping with some training that I'll be really good at it.  Also, my friend Brittney gave me the phone number of a woman who may be able to help me- she trains beauty pageant queens.  I feel like I'm reconnecting with my parents this week...beauty pageants (Mom was a beauty queen) and Tooele (my Dad was born there).  Weird.
Have an awesome week!
Rachel

Sheep Shearing, Founding Fathers, Benson, and Ag in Haiti

Hello all,
This week has been a really fun one for me.  On Tuesday I got to go to the University Sheep Farm and help with their big shearing day.  I had an awesome time, AND I got double extra credit for it in my Animal Science class- things don't get much better than that.  :)  Of course, my dorm room and my brown cowboy boots both smell like sheep now, and I'm not sure how much my roommate appreciates that.  But I got to gather the wool after the expert sheep shearers did their job (like 10 minutes per sheep!), weigh it, sort out the second clippings, throw it all in an 12 foot bag and then get inside the bag and stomp it down.  And after we finished one group, I got to herd them out of the barn and then herd the next group in.  I've really missed being around animals, so I had a really good time.  And my boots got nicely oiled from the lanolin in the wool- even though they smell bad now. 

So, as part of my study, I'm going to do at least one post a week sharing current agricultural news with everyone.  But I also will share with you historical things I learn and find interesting.  This week I've been studying from a book called, "FFA at 50" which goes through the first fifty years of FFA history, and from a USDA online presentation called "A History of American Agriculture."

While I was going through "A History of American Agriculture,"  I made a note of the fact that in the year 1790, 90% of the labor force were farmers.  This shouldn't be surprising to me, but right now somewhere between 1-2% of the American population are farmers, roughly.  America also has the safest and cheapest food supply in the world.  I am convinced that if you aren't impressed by American agriculture, you just don't know enough about it.  But I digress.  Back the 1790s- I just was thinking about how many of our founding fathers were farmers (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, etc.) and I always thought that was odd.  I was just convinced that its because farmers are incredible people.  I guess now I realize that although they were incredible men, the founding fathers were farmers because well...everyone was a farmer then!  I had never thought about it that way before.

Some other interesting trivia (at least for some of you):  1953 was the Silver Anniversary FFA Convention- a celebration of 25 years.  I knew that Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke there, the first time a U.S. president addressed the FFA at the convention, but did you know that Ezra Taft Benson, who was the United States Secretary of Agriculture at the time, also spoke there?  This doesn't mean much to most people, but it was cool for me to learn about because Ezra Taft Benson was also the prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, of which I'm a member, from 1985-1994.  I like that he knew the FFA was a priority.  :)

And last but not least, Haiti.  We've all heard about it since the terrible earthquake there.  We haven't heard much about their agricultural situation though, which I think is important.  After all, you can't rebuild a country without food.  That's why in the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations are recommending national aid of $700 million to help rebuild agriculture in Haiti.  You can read the whole article here:  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=at_vFIabEsso
Also, if you are interested in finding current ag news yourself, check out Google Fast Flips at http://www.fastflips.googlelabs.com/, just search "Agriculture" and you'll be able to read as many ariticles of the day about agriculture as you can handle!

Well I'm signing out, have a great week everyone!
Rachel

Denver Stock Show

My first adventure of the year, and by far the most exciting yet, was my solo trip to the Denver Stock Show. If you've never seen a big stock show, you really need to. I was SO impressed with all the livestock there, and of course the good food, western wear vendors, rodeos, and horse and sheep shows.

Rayne was, again, the person who gave me this great idea. I tried to enlist some friends to join me, but had no luck. I considered not going, but then decided that I really needed the experience- plus I really wanted to! I know I don't have the same interests as most of my friends, or even most people in general, but that's okay with me. I'm still going to do what I enjoy.

I left for Denver on January 14, and stayed through the 18th (President's Day). It was definately an expensive trip, but it was worth it!

I got to do the following:

• Looked at all the cool cattle, sheep and horses
• Tried my hand as a sheep judge- and proved to be awesome at it :)
• Watched the Charolais association auction and heard a crazy auctioneer!
• Learned about cattle feed, sexed semen technologies, breed associations, semen distributors and animal vitamins from vendors at the stock yards.
• Discovered a hatred for buffalo meat
• Watched the PRCA rodeo
• Watched a Wild West Show
• Watched a Maine Anjou bull show
• Watched a scary movie alone in my hotel...big mistake!
• And last but not least, this:

Yes, that's me on top of a Brahman cow. You are jealous. I love the look of that cowboy's face. Get over it cowboy, I'm sorry you're mad that I'm 12-15 years older than most of your customers. I paid my ten bucks for this crappy picture just like everyone else. :)
-Rachel

Welcome to the adventure!

In May of 2008, I was elected to the position of the State President of the Alaska FFA. When I got home from Convention, overwhelmed with my new responsibilities, I shared the great news with my friend and mentor Rayne Reynolds. He congratulated me, and then said that if I wanted to, I could start thinking about running for National Office.

Woah. That's not really where my mind was at that moment. But since he suggested it, the idea took hold and has become more and more appealing as the days go by. Finally, after the 2009 National Convention I decided I really did want to do it. So I've been studying and preparing since then.

I know the chances are 1,000,000 to 1. There has never been a National Officer from the state of Alaska. I have much less agricultural knowledge and experience than most everyone I will be competing against.

But, I don't care. I'm going to try because if I never try, I'll never know if I really could do it.

So right now, I'm studying at least an hour a day, learning all about agricultural, America's education system and the FFA, and having a lot of fun experiencing new things. Come along with me on my adventure. I promise you'll learn a little bit more about agriculture, and maybe even be a bit entertained.

-Rachel