Agriculture is a field that I’ve been a part of for my entire life. It’s something that both of my parents did growing up, and it’s something I hope my children can be a part of and understand. Both my mom and my dad grew up on dairy farms in central Pennsylvania. My mom also spent 10 years showing animals in 4-H and three years showing animals in FFA. While my dad didn’t show any animals, he was still an active member of the FFA organization.
My mom and my dad were very important members of my local FFA chapter, and each held offices. They both participated in FFA events and spent countless hours practicing different parts of agriculture. After my parents got married, they didn’t have animals to farm. My dad’s family sold the cattle and my mom’s cattle were sent to another farm to be cared for. For a few years, they participated in another agriculture industry, logging. My parents, my grandfather and I traveled to different areas across the state and New England promoting the logging and sawing industry and sharing the benefits of lumber production.
When I was too young to remember, my mom brought some of her cows to my dad’s parents’ farm. They let us start our herd there and we have been raising cattle there ever since. This is how my love for agriculture developed and how I learned to be responsible for animals. Like my mom, I showed animals in 4-H for 10 years and I’ve been an active FFA member all throughout high school. I’ve shown animals through FFA before and will be again this year. I also have participated in FFA events such as vet science and agronomy.
Agriculture is something that has always been a part of my life, always been a part of my parents’ lives, and something that my grandparents and their parents started together. Farming essentially runs through my veins and will be something that I ensure my children understand the importance of. Agriculture is an amazing and beneficial industry and I wish everyone could see how it works at least once.