More Than Just a Farmer.

More Than Just a Farmer.

Growing up in southern Iowa on a Cow-Calf and row crop operation I never could picture myself doing anything else. Every Saturday I would wake up help Dad do chores rush home and do chores with my toy tractors. Although I’m maybe a little old to be playing with toy tractors, I still enjoy farming and the always famous ranching. But as I have had the opportunity the to travel the great state of Iowa it has become clear that farming does not hold the same prestige as other occupations. The phrase, “Oh I just want to farm when I grow up” or “They just farm.” is all too common. Now, what makes someone want to feed, fuel, and clothe all of us for the lowest percentage of return on investment since the great depression, the most deaths on the job in any industry, or the low appreciation by the public and others alike. Farmers, unlike popular belief, don't do their job because it is easy or they get rich fast, farmers and ranchers do it because they have a passion for taking care of livestock, and leaving the land in better shape than they found it. Many farmers are doing amazing things and need to be thanked for the work that they do and I think that it is time that we start here and now.

Farmers take care of the environment. Every day farmers and ranchers wake up and walk onto the land that they work, take a shower in the water from the river from their land, and tend to the livestock that feeds all of our families. Across the state and nation, it is more clear than ever before that the American Farmer is striving to leave the land in better shape than they found it. With programs like the NRS or Nutrient Reduction Strategy, farmers have cut the runoff of nitrogen into waterways by almost a third. Yeah so what you say, well this strategy is completely voluntary and has only been supported but never mandated. When the voluntary measures that farmers are taking to reduce their impact of 8% total American pollution compared to American factories with 51% of the total pollution the farmers and ranchers are showing just how committed they are.

Farmers drive the American economy. Agriculture supplies 23 million people with jobs in the United States, that is larger than the automotive industry. Making up the 17% of the total jobs in this country we like to give the credit to the agriculture but what we must always remember, we wouldn’t have the agriculture industry without farmers. Now the national stats are crazy but when we look at our local communities, every time a dollar is spent in towns it is spent 7 times over in the industry. Now they don’t by just by seed and tractors, but also, wire, post, fertilizer, oil, fuel, iron, pipe, water, the list goes on and on always driving the economy forward.

Farmers feed the world. The biggest question that I hear on a common base is how will we feed the world, with 9.6 billion people that will be on earth by 2050. When we look at how far we have come it is amazing. In 1920 farmers fed 19 people, by 1970 farmers fed 26, and today they feed 155 people. Today we grow almost 13 billion bushels of corn in the United States, more than any other country in the world. With 75% of supermarkets having over 3,500 corn products in them and with Americans consuming one-third of the United States corn supply farmers feed more people than McDonald's every day.

Now today the next time you read an attack on farmers and ranchers on social media take time to defend the people that do more for you than they get credit for. And if you farm today thank you for all that you do every day because it is truly more than just farming.

Chase "CD" Brinegar

2018-2019 Iowa FFA Association State President

What did you enjoy most about Chapter Officer Leadership Training?

Chase "CD" Brinegar- State President 

I got the chance to travel with my team across the great state of Iowa and attend Chapter Officer Leadership Training. We started the week in Lone Tree at Southeast and went all over the state. My favorite part by far was meeting the members from all over our great state and the stories that they told. One of my favorite stories that I enjoyed was a student from Northeast Iowa that talked about his dairy operation; he told me about all the practices that they use on their farm. He told me about the silage and the feed that they use for the best output with their cows. At the end of the day, it is safe to say that I learned from the students all across the great state of Iowa and I look forward to doing so as the year goes on. 

Lexi Berte- North Central Vice President

When traveling to multiple different COLT’s over the past couple of weeks, I enjoyed many different aspects along the way. My favorite part of COLT was meeting members and connecting with facilitators from across Iowa. The night before each COLT was spent bonding with other facilitators over corn hole, dancing, and bonfires. Each COLT taught me something different about the great FFA members in the state of Iowa. My favorite workshop to facilitate was the President workshop. In this workshop, I learned about the unique activities that each chapter puts on, and the chapter Presidents were able to share ideas to better each other’s chapters. COLT was just one opportunity for me to enhance my leadership skills and facilitating abilities. I can’t wait to continue to meet more and more FFA members along with my state officer journey.

Lane Morrison- Southeast Vice President

Traveling across the state for different COLT’s has been a super fun experience. Meeting hundreds of members, hanging out with facilitators, and advocating for agriculture have been some of the highlight moments of the whole trip. My favorite part of the trip was meeting all of the new members and facilitators from many different districts and listening to their stories. Meeting the facilitators was a fun experience because they all share the same qualities as me when it comes to serving the members. Seeing that I have made an impact on hundreds of students with my guidance during workshops has reassured me that FFA is headed in a good direction because of all the new young leaders we have in our great state of Iowa.

Laken Mullinix- State Secretary

I loved having the chance to meet chapter officers across the state who are passionate about FFA and were willing to learn a little bit more about how to work best in their positions and as a team. I was also able to connect with fellow facilitators who were just as excited as me to share our knowledge with the members and have fun while doing it. With each of the Conferences I went to, I learned from my facilitating partner ways to improve my facilitating. I noticed as I continued on to each COLT that it got easier and easier to connect with members, and I learned how to do my duties as a state officer better, and grow as a person.

Jodie Mausser- State Reporter

What I enjoyed most about COLT was being able to interact with the members across the state of Iowa and being able to facilitate with our awesome facilitating teams! While traveling across the state I was given the opportunity to be able to interview some members and ask them about their favorite part of COLT. Many responded that their favorite part was meeting new people and learning about their role as a chapter officer. Others also responded that their favorite part was learning how to be a servant leader, and how they can take what they have learned back to their chapter and community. I loved being able to hear the different activities that chapters participate in, and watching the leaders for the upcoming year grow from the start to the end of the day. I know that Iowa FFA is in good hands because we have some amazing leaders that are ready to be servant leaders.

Chandler Jahner- South Central State Vice President

COLT was a ball! Holy cow, you all are amazing! I enjoyed seeing truly how well off we are as an organization in terms of leadership! At every COLT I attended, I found a world of potential and opportunity in every officer. My favorite workshop I worked with was Live to Serve. It offered a different energy to the event and it was fantastic to watch you all feed off of it. Above all else, I was excited to watch members reflect on the year of service they had ahead of them and how they were going to make their year meaningful. One group of members who stuck out to me was a member of the North Central District. They had a passion for classic cars and hot rods much like myself, but they also absorbed the mindset of Servant Leadership. They knew immediately how to apply it in their chapters.

Jake Hlas- Northeast Vice President

Traveling the state and visiting with hundreds of members over the last two weeks have been a blast! COLT conference is a great place for members to be able to network and communicate and this is by far my favorite part of the experience! Whether that networking was at our first COLT in the Southeast district, with chapter leaders learning how to work as a team in “Collaboration Nation”, or at the Northwest COLT in my personal favorite workshop, “Live to Serve”, in which COLT attendees learned how to be a true servant leader! Finally at the Northeast District COLT where chapter presidents from all over the district created a group chat to help them communicate ideas and dates throughout the year. I strongly encourage every chapter in the state to attend COLT Conferences because of the not only the potential for personal growth as an individual, but also the networking that comes with meeting other officers from 20+ chapters throughout their respective district!

Cole Rieman- Northwest Vice President

Getting a chance to serve the many leaders of the Iowa FFA is one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Coming from a small chapter I had never been to a COLT before and now I was expected to lead one. The transition from a small town chapter to leading a district event was scary. Seeing the different lives that we have the opportunity to change I realized something… Depending on how we lead our events and our workshops, we can completely change a students outlook on not only FFA but in life. After these last couple of weeks, getting the opportunity to sit down and talk to so many members has changed my outlook on the service I do. I found myself realizing that this service isn’t just about us helping members, but about us helping them help their chapters and communities. I truly am blessed to get to experience these moments with members and I wouldn’t change anything for the world.

Gwen Black- Southwest Vice President

My favorite part of COLT this year was being able to connect with members all over the state! Hitting the road and becoming close with my team was fun, but meeting all of you is what made those long car rides worth it. I loved getting to know all of you, and helping you grow, from the mighty southwest district to the amazing southeast district at Lone Tree. I hope your year as chapter officers will be filled with growth, leadership, and plenty of fun memories!