Don't speak too soon for the wheel's still in spin.

I'll admit it, my view of agriculture advocacy has changed over the past three years. In the beginning I believed many things about sharing my story. I thought my goal should be to educate consumers by telling them "fun facts" about farming. They just didn't know enough about their food to make educated decisions, and they needed to hear the right things from me. Anyone who disagreed with me simply didn't have the facts or was a menace to society.

Now I'm not saying that I've become a fan of HSUS or that farmers and ranchers should stop telling their stories. The issue is much more complex than I could have ever imagined. However the greatest change I have made is my approach to "teaching" consumers.

On MLK day I visited the journalism college to take part in a focus group to learn about students who do crafts or other projects. After the group was done, I heard a student at the end of the table begin talking about the new health food store in town. Soon another student piped up exclaiming, "I've gone to eating only grass-fed beef because it's healthier and doesn't have all of those chemicals and steroids, plus did you know the cow's stomach isn't meant to digest corn."

I'm not making that up, he actually said those words. No, my head didn't explode. Before I could lay some truth on the guy, a little voice in the back of my head asked, "Why would he listen to you, Ellie?" I decided that voice must know something I didn't, so instead I asked him some questions about why eating healthy was important to him, and why he valued grass-fed beef. The Chicago native said he simply felt better about eating things that were healthier and more natural. Only when he asked me about what I ate did I share that I lived on a farm and ate the corn-fed beef that we raised. I didn't get the chance to correct every portion of his earlier statement, but I left there having improved his view of the beef industry as a whole. Instead of appearing like a crazy defensive beef nerd, who loudly disapproved of his opinion, I shared a conversation like a perfectly sane journalism student.

It is vital that we as a community stop defending ourselves and start engaging in conversation. If we are constantly defending something, perhaps that practice needs to be evaluated. Is it something we do simply because it is tradition? Is there a better way to use technology to achieve the same results? If the answer to both is NO! Then we must find a way to explain the practice simply and quickly. Ultimately not everyone will fall in love with agriculture, but they should feel comfortable with whatever food choices they make. Before we get defensive and share our "facts" we need to share our lives.

'till the cows come home,
Ellie

Uncharted.

I love blogging, writing, and talking about ag, but this year I will set that aside to teach. I've joined the 2013 Teach For America Corps. I will be teaching high school english somewhere in South Carolina for two years. It may seem weird that after all of my effort toward ag journalism I'm taking on teaching instead of writing, speaking, or "Facebook-ing." To be honest 6 months ago I didn't plan on going anywhere near a classroom.

See God had different plans. He brought Teach for America into my life (I thought the first contact I had from them was spam). After giving the lovely recruiter 20 minutes of my day, I fully planned on forgetting the whole thing. I couldn't. For the next few weeks a passion I couldn't explain took over most of my spare thoughts. I'd never even considered that education inequality was an important issue. My passions were agriculture advocacy, not kids in classrooms. Suddenly all I could think about were the great teachers who had inspired me, and how it wasn't fair that where a kid lives determines the quality of their education.

Everywhere I looked, teachers, parents, and politicians were being blamed for the state of education. After the 6th article I decided enough talk, it was time to actually take action. Education is the foundation for society. So as an adult, who was single and flexible, I had a responsibility to take action to build the foundation. Teachers have the great responsibility of shaping those who are the future, and if I didn't like where the future was headed, why not take on the challenge of shaping it.

I know this isn't going to be easy, and I know that I will probably learn more from this experience than I could ever teach a class, but I'm committed to giving my very best to those kids. Kids who deserve a bright future, deserve great knowledge, and deserve a responsibility make a difference when they grow up. I don't know what the next two years will bring, but I do know that I will face them with strength that can only come from the Almighty. I refuse to abandon my love of the crops, cattle, and communities in farming and ranching, I'll just be adding to that passion the classroom.

'till the cows come home,

Ellie