Telling my Story

4/15/2017 
I've recently attended two conferences with nearly the same message: Tell Your Ag Story. They said that the non-agriculture community wants to hear our story. But I also left wondering, "how do I tell my ag story?" In some ways, I feel like I've been doing it because of the posts that I make about my calves, lambs, and of course my pigs from last summer, Howard and Bernadette. Sometimes, though, I don't feel like I'm doing enough. I wonder if the fact that I ONLY share with my friends and family is enough. They pretty much knows what goes on because the majority of my friends and family are from agriculture backgrounds whether they actually grew up on a farm or not. The question is, how do I do more? 

10/11/2017
As you can see, it's been a while since I've looked at this post I began in April. From finals, to AI'ing in May, to Junior Nationals, and aging out of 4-H and FFA; it was a busy few months and I just now caught a break to look back!
When I think now about telling my ag story, I still think that posting photos, videos, etc. about life on the farm is incredibly important. I also think that (although I don't write near as much as I should) that this blog is a way for me to tell my ag story.
When I was in Washington, DC getting on the Metro, we (my Mom and I) had asked a woman to make sure we were getting on the right train. Afterwards, she asked what we were in town for. I told her that we were there for National Ag Day and I had been on Capitol Hill talking to representatives about why they should support agriculture. She then asked how I felt about GMO's. This was actually the first time I had been asked about them. Although I'm not a row crop farmer, I have a general understanding of the importance of GMO's. I went on to tell her why we need them and that they are going to be one of the ways that we "feed the 9."
This was a way to tell my ag story without really telling MY story. I was able to share my knowledge with someone who probably rarely sees a cow or cornfield. Now that I think back on this experience, I know that I can inform people about agriculture without really having an in-depth knowledge of the topic they are asking about. I know that I have many avenues of telling my Ag story whether it is online, writing, or through just common conversations on the Metro in DC.
I am going to try to post more and tell more about my story, and make it a goal to write about what we're doing on the farm so I, Jennifer Friend, can Tell my Ag Story.