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!