Growing up, I never knew the feeling of living on a farm. I
never knew the feeling of waking up at the crack of dawn to milk dairy cows or
staying up until the wee hours of the night to help finish harvest before the
rain came. One thing I was blessed with, however, was a Mother as a high school
agricultural educator and FFA advisor.
I remember riding the school bus to the high school after
school as an elementary student to sit in the Ag room and listen to her
students practice their career development events (CDE) for hours on end. Chalk
me up as a nerdy child, but, I loved sitting through all of the CDE practices. From
the process of parliamentary procedure, to the salesmanship in agriculture
sales, to the presentation of public speaking, I was constantly intrigued.
There was one CDE which always caught my attention more than others: creed
speaking.
Although I didn’t grow up on a farm, from a young age, my Mom
taught me the importance of the words the FFA Creed states:
“I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born
not of words but of deeds – achievements won by the present and past
generations of agriculturalists; in the promise of better days through better
ways, even as the better things we now enjoy have come to us from the struggles
of former years”.
She was constantly reminding me of the importance of all areas
of agriculture. From the food that is grown, to the hard work farmers have to
put into their crop, to the uncertainty farmers have to face when it comes to
Mother Nature, she wanted me to understand every part. If there was one area
that my Mom really wanted me to pay attention to, however, it was the people
behind the agriculture industry. The people who do wake up at the crack of dawn
to milk dairy cows and stay up until the wee hours of the night to finish
harvest before the rain comes. Those past agriculturalists who have gone
through the struggles and those who have been able to rejoice in the better
days.
Fast forward to December 2015 – I was a senior at Iowa State
University graduating with a degree in agriculture and life sciences education
and communication. An opportunity was presented to me to join the National Corn
Growers Association in Washington, D.C. Having done a couple of legislative
internships in Washington and being a (very) proud Iowan, working for the corn
growers just seemed to make sense. I moved to Washington in January and began
my job as a Legislative Assistant.
Day in and day out, I spent my work days in meetings focusing
on crop insurance, the Farm Bill, environmental conservation, renewable fuels,
and international trade. I communicated daily with farmers from everywhere from
the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, to West Texas, to the heartland of Iowa. The
one thing I noticed about all of them? Their love and passion for what they do
on their farming operations always remained the same.
One of my favorite moments since moving to Washington was
doing a visit with some farmers on Capitol Hill. A farmer had mentioned that he
would let the corn staffers speak during the meeting because they were, “just a
farmer”. To which, the corn staffer responded “Just a farmer? You’re the most
important person in this room. We want you to speak as much as possible.”
It’s the people who make up the “past and present generations
of agriculturalists” that make me passionate about what I work on in
Washington, D.C. I began a career in federal policy because of the hardworking
men and woman who spend their livelihood producing food for a growing population.
And I want to help advocate and give them a voice on Capitol Hill.
As you advocate in your local communities or, like me, in the
future make a move across the country, never forget who you’re advocating for.
Learn from those agriculturalists around you and get inspired by their love for
this industry. As the past, present, and future of agriculture, this industry
needs all of us to help share their story.
Sarah Doese
Legislative Correspondent, Congressman Adrian Smith (NE - 03)
Past FFA Member
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