A weeks worth of hindsight, is greater than 20/20!

It has been almost a week since the end of my first trip to a Farm Progress Show. During that weeks time, I have probably scanned over my iPhoto album at least 10 times, trying to decide what my favorite part of this experience was. Being the scattered person that I am, I decided I didn’t have just one favorite part- I instead, have a list (part of being indecisive is making lots of lists to help you figure things out)! So here are the reasons why my first trip was a success!

5. Talking to growers about social media. Farmers generally like learning about new technologies they can implement into their current operations- so being able to tell them about another new technology they can use to engage those not involved in agriculture, was a good conversation! It was so cool to see the interest people had in how they can easily communicate what they’re doing- with the rest of the world.

4. PORK TENDERLOINS! I had the best pork tenderloin sandwich Wednesday for lunch! Actually, as a whole it was probably one of the best lunches I’ve had all summer, but the delicious pork sandwich provided a taste of home for me, and I greatly enjoyed that!

3. Hearing Dr. Robb Fraley talk so passionately about how Monsanto plans to double yields by the year 2030. Not only was it incredibly cool to hear him speak (he’s a very good speaker- easy to follow), it was awesome to look up in the crowd and see all the eyes in the room focused on him and leaning forward with such intrigue.

2. The chance to have open conversations with farmers. I had so many great candid chats with a variety of people at the show. Not just about Monsanto and our products and services- about agriculture in general and the need for people to better understand what’s going on in the fields. I was secretly hoping to work in my dairy cow crossbreeding discussion- but (thankfully) wasn’t able too, and instead learned a lot about what’s been going on across the Midwest this growing season! And as a technology junkie myself- I loved hearing growers talk about what they’re using that they can’t imagine farming without- and what they would like to see more of!

1. The Yields of Tomorrow tour. If you’ve been following any of Monsanto’s social media pages, you might have noticed how many times this specific tour was mentioned- and it’s for good reasons why! Being an intern, I had a lot to learn about Monsanto’s commitments and products and probably still have a great deal of learning to do … But being able to see all the crops I hear about on a daily basis in one place, was just a phenomenal opportunity! It was the first time I had even seen sugarbeets- period. Let alone the Roundup Ready sugarbeets planted in the ground (and a few dug up for everyone to see) and hearing the tour guides talk about the advances being made! I was like a kid in a candy shop with all the different varieties of current crops and even examples of what they looked like in generations before!

Technology for beyond the field!

Technology is always a hot topic at trade shows, especially at the 2009 Farm Progress Show.  But as growers venture in from the Yields of Tomorrow tour and into the Genuity tent- what other technologies can they learn about?  Well, if you continue past the giant soybean display, you will find a team of Monsanto employees talking about a technology most know about, but are reluctant to try ... Social media!  This team is committed to helping farmers get online and share their own personal stories with the 98% of the world who are not involved in agriculture. 

Social media specialist Kathleen Manning, and Multimedia specialist Tyne Morgan gave a special presentation Tuesday afternoon for those who have questions about the various different outlets for social media.  Their presentation focused on how to get started and how to engage people through websites like Twitter and Facebook.  They even had a guest appearance from Illinois state FFA Vice President, Caroline Bremer, who discussed how FFA was already very involved and "AGtive" online!  Bremer also talked about the importance of not only current farmers being involved with these online communities, but agriculture youth as well.  

Manning and Morgan also showed the audience the fun side of social media as they shared the top five FFA student-produced YouTube videos from the 2009 Washington Leadership Conference, where they had been given 30 minutes and a flip cam to produce a three minute commercial about the importance of agriculture.  Now those videos are posted on YouTube where millions of people have access to the important messages these students are delivering through their very creative (and highly entertaining) videos.

Luckily though, for those who aren't excited by the idea of making videos- there are still many ways to share your thoughts and experiences with the online world.  Starting a blog where you can talk about things in detail- no matter what the topic, or a site like Flikr where you can share images and photos of any kind can make a huge impact on those who view your site.  There are plenty of ways to be involved, you just have to find the channel that works best for you- and that is what the committed team of media experts beyond the giant soybean are there to help you discover!

Everyone has a story- who better to tell your story than, well- YOU!  Even if it's simply taking a photo of your field and sharing it with the Twitter world, you will be making a difference and sharing something with people they might not ever see that closely.  So as we embrace the technologies that can make a difference in the productivity of our fields, why not embrace the technologies that can make a difference in how people view farming?

It’s The Little Things That Count

Something stuck with me while I attended the Monsanto employee orientation on the evening of August 31. Mieka Rustand, field sales training lead, said that you only have about 3 seconds to engage a customer. And you never know, engaging that one customer could make a difference.

I set out today with those thoughts in mind.

The weather was perfect once again so I spent a portion of the day in Monsanto’s “Yields of Tomorrow” plot to talk to farmers about Omega 3 soybeans and their future contribution to a heart healthy lifestyle.

Two things became abundantly obvious to me by the end of my time in the plot…a lot of the people taking the plot tour are not farmers, and everyone smiles back at you when you smile at them. They're contagious.

Unfortunately my quest to gain the information I needed became a daunting one. So I decided to change my strategy.

Much as I had done the day before, I put on my volunteer hat. I stood at the door before plot-goers entered the plot and handed out ice-cold bottled water. I was now the guy that just made things a little easier on them. I’m the the guy that just made their plot tour a little more pleasant.

Certainly they would have to remember me now when I approached them.

After several times doing this, I had almost given up hope. And then it happened…

His name was C. Ray Prussner, a farmer from Kankakee, IL. And during the portion of the tour where Omega 3 soybeans are discussed, the tour guide asked if anyone took Omega 3 fish oil for heart health. C. Ray raised his hand.

I politely approached him following the tour gave him a smile, and asked him if he had a few minutes to talk about Omega 3s-why he took them, and what a consumer product would mean to his diet.

I came to find out that C. Ray suffered from diabetes, and he had to take Omega 3 fish oil pills due to complications caused by his diabetes. His favorite foods are any type of beef and pork. Then he mentioned that he would love to be able to eat french-fries to get his Omega 3s as opposed to taking those awful pills. I agreed.

C. Ray then went on to tell me a bit about his personal life. He and his wife love to travel. They spend a week each year in Chile to go on agricultural tours because they like to see different agricultural practices. And when they get the chance the hop into their camper and visit their children down in Texas.

By the end of our conversation, it felt like there were only two things I didn’t find out about C. Ray…what his wife’s name was, and what the “C” stood for. But I made that connection, and who knows, maybe I made a difference.

Time Away From Home

It’s day one of the Farm Progress Show, and one thing is for certain…I miss my kids.

I talked to my four year-old daughter Charlotte tonight, on the phone, to sort of put her to bed long distance, and she asked me what I was doing at grandma and grandpa’s house all week. I told her I was working at a big farm show where grandma and grandpa live.

As I look back on the day, I heard a lot about 9 billion people populating the earth in the year 2050. This made me do a quick mental calculation of how old my kids would be at that time. Would they have enough to eat?

Charlotte, my oldest would be 46, and Chloe, my one-year old would be 42. I’m not saying how old I would be.

It’s hard to think of my children being that age. But as I listened to Dr. Robb Fraley’s presentation on Monsanto’s technology pipeline, I felt compelled to think of just that. Can we double yields by 2030? Can we feed an exploding population in the year 2050?

Following Fraley’s presentation, I took my first “Yields of Tomorrow” plot tour, and I got my answers.

It’s one thing to hear a presentation on Monsanto’s commitment to sustainable agriculture, but as they say…seeing is believing. What I saw on Monsanto’s “Yields of Tomorrow” plot tour made me a believer. The crops they promised to deliver on have been delivered on. And if this is any indication of Monsanto’s commitment, I don’t need to worry about my kids going hungry.

As I was finishing up my goodnight call with Charlotte, which included a very detailed description of the latest fairy princess princess puzzle she was working on, and what she had done in school that day, I once again found it hard to think of my little girls in the year 2050. Thank goodness Monsanto is.