Just stopping in...

I had a busy past weekend.
Labecca, Katie and I first went to the Minnesota Farm Bureau Annual awards banquet! The table I ate supper with consisted of:

• MN Department of Agriculture, Commissioner- Gene Hugoson


• USDA Rural Development, Director- Colleen Landkamer


• Minnesota Farm Bureau, President- Mr & Mrs. Kevin Paap

The pork loin meal was delicious! It was great to see all of the individual and county achievements of Minnesota Farm Bureau throughout this past year. Katie's dad even received the President's award for Washington County!! After the awards banquet, a live auction was held and Labecca, Esther, Katie and I got to help out.You could say we were the "Vanna White"s of the night. Farm Bureau members and supporters raised their big cards, nodded their head, and gave the thumbs up for: hand-made quilts,basket combos, wine,wagons for kids, resort packages,framed paintings, Christmas gear,wooden chests, baskets of apples and of course, a John Deere, Case and Oliver tractor. The basket of Honeycrisp apples I "modeled" sold for over $180! It was quite the night, and I thank the Minnesota Farm Bureau for the invitation.

The next day we had our Winter State Board of Directors Meeting. To say the least, it was a meeting. BUT we are beginning to plan State Convention- get excited!

Finally, Saturday night and Sunday morning, Mike and I went out to Camp Friendship near Annandale, MN for the FILL Conference. (Fun, Inspirational Learning and Leadership). We didn't have to present or speak about anything. We just got to hang out with the members! It was a blast starting new conversations with the members I haven't met, and continuing the conversations with members I have met throughout the years. Whether it was Apples to Apples, the Ninja Game (FINALLY PEOPLE KNOW WHAT IT IS!), Lightning, 500 Football or watching my advisor, Mr.Sawatzke try to dance- we all had a good time. My favorite would either be attempting to get a basketball into the hoop by shooting backwards off a wall with Ryan and Brett OR, having late night conversations with the men of "KINGFISHER" ... Greg, Brett, Blake, Tyler, Zach, "Twinkie" and Mr. Aarsvold. Thank you to Mrs. Rhoda and Mr. Aarsvold for sharing valuable information and activities about "7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens" with the FFA members! From what I have heard, talking with them, it was great and even better than last year!

Thank you Mag for your picture from FILL!

What do you want to do when you grow up?

Several times in my life, I have pondered this question. Frankly, I am still not sure! However, for some members of the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted FFA Chapter and High School, they have an idea where they want to get started.

On Tuesday, Doreen invited Crystal and I to the annual Career Fair at HLWW hosted by the FFA chapter. There were people representing post-secondary education, veterinary medicine, animal health, crop and plant sciences as well as mechanical and technical skills. Here, students from HLWW High School got a chance to visit with these leaders to answer their questions about careers, education and possible job opportunities within their business.

This was our "booth"

After spending some time answering the questions that others had for me about FFA, here is what I learned about where other FFA members would like to go after high school...

Austin is interested in Fisheries and Wildlife, and would like to pursue a degree at the University of Minnesota ! Eventually, he wants to work with wildlife management, possibly with tagging and tracking animals.

Mag is not entirely sure what she would like to do... Just kidding! As a sophomore, she already knows that she would like to go to school at the University of Michigan for Child Psychology.

Austin would like to work with crop production and agronomy in the future. He hopes to receive a degree at the University of Minnesota in Applied Plant Sciences.

Sabrina loves FFA, agriculture and education. So, she would like to pursue a degree and receive her teaching license at the University of Wisconsin in River Falls for Agricultural Education!

Will has developed a love and passion for hard work in the dairy industry. He would like to study Animal Science at the University of Minnesota and eventually be either a large animal veterinarian or dairy nutritionist.

Doreen would love to be a golden gopher as well! She has shared with me her interest in working with students and inspiring them through Agricultural Education.

As things were beginning to wrap up, and I was about to leave I had the chance to talk to one more student:
Brandon just transferred to Howard Lake this past year. Being a new student, in a new school and new people, we talked about how it can be tough, especially in high school. I shared some of my own experiences, and realized that when I think about my high school experience, it wasn't my favorite. When looking for places to fit in, I found (for me) that FFA was one of the best decisions I made in high school because of the people I have met, the way my life has shifted positively and because of the clarity I have within my own life about leadership, purpose and passion. Brandon wasn't too sure about joining FFA so I answered his questions about how it can help him out in the future. He would like to either be a diesel mechanic or work in the dairy industry. Little did Brandon realize the opportunities for him just with in ONE part of FFA, the CDEs : Ag Mechanics and Dairy Cattle Evaluation. He wasn't too sure about where to go to school so I directed him to the friends I met earlier representing Ridgewater College in Willmar- Dave and Zach.

Ok so I wasn't quite leaving because I am terrible at goodbyes. I wanted to leave at 10:45, and ended up actually leaving at 11:10 !

But, as I was ACTUALLY leaving Brandon caught up with me and said,

"Hey thanks! I know what I want to do now. I want to go to the U of M for Dairy Science. Oh, and one more thing... I'm signing up to be an FFA member tomorrow."

Here is my question:

Do you have an idea as to what you would like to do in the future?

I think that getting a degree or certificate or diploma ect. is important, and will help you get a job.

But ...

I think that your passion, drive and desire to serve will get you further than any signature on a piece of paper, calculated number for GPA or plaque on the wall.

Meeting the people behind the partnership...

On one of the Fridays of each month in the year, the state officer team drops our books, fills up our tanks and road trips down, up and wherever we need to be for a day of Professional Development. During these days, we get to meet the people behind the partnership of Minneosta FFA-> our sponsors and partners!

In October, we had quite the schedule, driving down to New Ulm and Sleepy Eye, Minnesota to meet with the leaders of Christensen Farms, Gislason & Hunter and Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI)

During the morning with,

Christensen Farms

we learned even more about the humble beginnings of this company and its people. CF began in 1974 with just 2 bred gilts, through an FFA SAE project and has expanded to a collection of farms that produce enough pork to feed over 12 million people each year! Based on the number of sows they have, farrowing (giving birth to piglets) 29 piglets each year, they produce over 3.5 million pigs each year! WOW!

One thing that stuck out in my head about CF was their message about producing pork that is:

" Safe, Quality and Consistent "

I love that.
Thank you to Rod, Val, Cheryl, Misty, George (past MN State Officer!), Adam and Bob for taking valuable time out their day to be with us, share the message of Christensen Farms as well as their own personal stories. Also, thank you for the delicious rolls.

I was too scared to eat one...

After a drive to New Ulm from Sleepy Eye, we stopped at a restaurant for an authentic German meal sponsored by another outstanding group,

Gislason & Hunter

Mike Dove, (a past State Officer!) works with G&H and has been the strong connection between MN FFA and his law firm. Yes, even though you may think ...

"Hmmm, a law firm? What would they want to do with FFA? They are NOT agriculture."

- a valid question. The relationship between G&H and FFA is a true demonstration of the passion that people have for FFA, even if they may not work directly with production ag or agribusiness. Joining us for dinner was the NEW ULM FFA CHAPTER OFFICERS! I was so excited to see them again, because I met most of them at State Convention or at summer camp. Thank you to Mr. Dove for his continuous support of the Minnesota FFA Association, its members and its mission. Also- thanks for the delicious meal!

I ate some "Hassenpfeffer" (rabbit.)

Finally, after filling our bellies with German food, we made our final stop for October at the corner stone of the largest cheddar cheese producer in the nation, dairy nation-

Associated Milk Producers Inc.

Here we got a VIP tour of the butter plant in New Ulm, and learned more about our butter (which has drastically changed the way I look at butter in the store) * but it's not bad.

Are you a fan of Subway? Well, AMPI is the #1 supplier of their cheeses, including Pepper Jack (my favorite). AMPI turns over 13 million pounds of milk into cheese- EACH DAY! That means that in the last minute, over 150 pounds of cheese were made.

One of the key points I think about when I think about AMPI is the fact that they, work to "represent Midwest dairy producers in development of dairy policy."

Its not all about the money, corporate world, business ect... its about the people and the farmers who work each day to raise healthy cows to produce wholesome milk.

Mmmmm... you've just got to try the butter.

Thank you Sheryl, Ed and Bill for their time to provide and excellent experience, tour and BUTTER!

NOW FOR NOVEMBER!

Just the other day, our team set out for Inver Grove Heights to meet with a Fortune 100 company, Minnesota company and strong supporter of FFA:

CHS Inc.

Our day was spent learning even more about this food, grain and energy cooperative. Just walking into the building I thought, "I WANT TO WORK HERE!" It is a great atmosphere! Most of my time with CHS, I spent reflecting and thinking about my upcoming internship with them this summer. Through my time meeting with employees at the State fair, volunteering at the CHS Miracle of Birth Center, or talking with William Nelson about the good things that CHS Foundation has to offer- I truly feel welcome here. I can't wait until I get started with this outstanding company!

Thank you ,thank you, THANK YOU to Lisa (recent recipient of the Honorary American FFA Degree), William, Cate, Kevin, Lani, Theresa ,Brian, Jessica, Roger, Steve and many more who spent a part of their day with us. Whether it was sharing insight on careers, talking about grain marketing, learning more about how to organize an annual meeting, meeting the woman behind the words and speeches of the CHS C.E.O, sharing lunch or hearing about cool opportunities to go the the PGA tour- every moment was great. Thank you CHS for everything you do. Thanks for the SWEATSHIRT TOO!

FFA members, a lot that we do happens because of incredible individuals who work and serve companies and businesses that support FFA. With out them, a lot would not be possible. I encourage you to take some time and to write a simple thank you to these people. Thanksgiving is coming soon- why not?

What do you get when you mix a brown chicken with a brown cow ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtibDkCPeaE

If you just laughed, or even got a smirk or even a feeling of happiness from watching this- then this joke has been fulfilled.

I, on the other hand, discovered that I FAIL at telling this joke. So I will leave it to the little girl.

Long story short- I took a trip over to Region III Minnesota to visit the FFA members of Sauk Centre, Hancock and Morris Area! Jeff ,the chapter President from Morris, invited me to attend their chapter sponsored event "Career and Technical Education Night." Since Sauk Centre is on the way to Morris, I sent an e-mail to their advisor, Ms.Adamek, to see if I could stop in for a moment.

In the Ag Leadership class in Sauk Centre we had a great time learning more about CDE's, each other as well as my lack of joke-telling skills. Enough about me, here is some information about the members!

Annie ... is one of 13 in her family! She is interested in dairy cattle, and is hoping to compete in the Dairy Cattle Evaluation CDE. In case you may not know, she is also the younger sister of the crazy Brown Swiss girl, Emily Achen .

Tiffany ... is another cattle enthusiast! Her choice - the Belted Galloway. For those of you who may not know what one looks like, quite simply, just think of an Oreo.( A black cow with a white belt in the middle. ) Mmm now I want Oreos...

Kyle, Darren and Miguel ... were the Champions of the paper airplane competition. Their superior designs, of construction paper, of course, flew the farthest down the hallway. While they may have been on top of the airplanes, the Minefield game was a different story. Up until the bell rang, no one was able to make it through the minefield.

After my short time in Sauk Centre I was then chauffeured over to the great town of Willmar to get my camera fixed because the image sensor is broken. :( ...But I got a new laptop case :)

By the way, I don't have my own car, but I do have an awesome dad who is willing to take a day of work off to drive me where I need to be! My older brother also came along to make conversation and take some pictures for me because he is a pro.

Ok, so after that little detour, (and some Taco Tuesday at Taco John's), we finally arrived at Morris Area high school. The purpose of their Career and Tech. Ed. Night was to give area high school students an opportunity to visit with representatives from local and state businesses and post-secondary colleges. The University of Minnesota- Twin Cities & Morris, South Dakota State University, Ridgewater, Alexandria Technical College, North Dakota State College of Science , Wadena Technical College and Lake Area Technical Institute- to name a few- were all present to hand out information, experience , free stuff and candy. I also got the chance to hang out with members of the Morris Area FFA Chapter and the Hancock FFA Chapter. Larrissa, Jake, Sammi, Lloyd, Brooke and other members of the Jr.Officer team were there to register people, and show off their cool chapter t-shirts that read, "I Believe." They are sweet. I also got to hang out with Jeff, Esther, Tanner, Rachel and Kelly (members of the chapter officer team) as they maintained the order and function of the event. In addition to these members, I got to see Wade , Jason, Lauren and Olivia again!

Here are some new things I learned about some members at the CTE Night:

Rachel ... is a track star. After meeting her at camp, I new that she liked to run and that she was good at track. But I didn't know that she was a State competitor. She placed 2nd in State in Pole Vaulting! She also advanced to State in the 100 m. WOW.

Andy ... is looking to continue is passion for agriculture beyond high school. He shared with me his current work with family farms, and is excitement to compete in the Farm Business Management CDE for the Hancock FFA Chapter.

Kelly... is just getting started with hockey again. After high school, she would like to study Pre-Medicine and eventually work with pediatrics, specializing in neuro-psychology. She was also on the Horse CDE team, with Rachel, from Morris Area to place 1st in Region and advance to state.

I also had a good time touring the Ag Room, checking out the newly born bunnies, and looking at the history of achievements that this chapter's members have accomplished.

As I was leaving , I stopped myself to talk to a student. I asked them, what they would like to do after high school and this is what they said,

"I wasn't entirely sure of what I wanted to do before tonight. Now, I'm pretty sure that I would like to work as an electrical engineer, or even design electrical utilities. I really think that I would enjoy that."

I loved my time. Also if you don't know Mrs. Mortenson , the agricultural education instructor in Morris, she is the bomb. I kind of want to student teach there...

Corn Drive with GFW!

Q: What did the ear of corn say when he got complimented ?

A: Awww, shucks!

Ok, so that joke was a little corny. (haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa) Ok, I'm done.

Last week on Wednesday, after an exam, I drove down to Fairfax, MN to meet two friends from SLCCL- Ed and Connor . Earlier that week, I was invited my Ed to attend the Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop (GFW) FFA Chapter Corn Drive for Camp Courage. Being in college, and quite a distance from my chapter, I still wanted to remain connected to one of the biggest service projects within our state.

It was a good time as we shared some funny stories, learned more about each other and of course, went off-roading to meet farmers in their combines to ask for their donations.

Connor is a sophomore and is on the football team THAT JUST MADE IT TO THE STATE TOURNAMENT! He would like to go to school for film directing and writing.

Ed, a senior, is looking to attend college next year for engineering. He took us to his home farm and we went in one of their 5- 1,000 finish hog barns. Even though I've grown up with agriculture and on a farm, I never grew up on a hog farm, so being in one of those large barns was pretty cool.

After a good day to driving around, getting Ed's truck plastered with mud and shoveling corn- it was time to add it all up. Ed told me later that our team placed 3rd overall in raising money for Camp Courage from GFW. Ed , Connor & I ended up collecting over $800 . The top group gathered over $1,700 !

Still fine tuning the 10 second timer on cameras...

GFW has a pretty rich history in the FFA Corn Drive because they currently are the top chapter in the state for the highest cumulative amount of money raised. I'm not sure which is the correct figure, but they have either raised $160,000 total or 160,000 bushels total. Anyone know?

I hope that every chapter had a safe, successful and fun CORN DRIVE !

For those of you who may not know, for over 50 years, FFA Corn Drives have helped to sponsor children and adults with physical disabilities who attend one of two Camp Courage residential camps in central and northern Minn. A large portion of the Minnesota FFA Corn Drive profits are used to support camp needs; including, camper sponsorship, buildings and equipment.

Even if you may not be a crop farmer, you can still show your support for Camp Courage by donating money and giving to your local FFA Chapter!

Thanks Ed & Connor for letting me come with.

One of the best moments thus far...

One of the coolest things happened this morning after church when a friend of mine from Minneota High School came up to me and announced,

Lee-"Kirby, I'm in FFA now!"

Me- That's awesome. You paid your dues?

Lee- "Yep, and I applied to get a jacket too."

Me- Wow, this is really exciting! (fistpound/high5/sign of approval). How long have you been a member?

Lee- "Just a week, we're just getting started."

You may think, "What's the big deal, people join FFA all the time?"

Well, if you don't know the history of Minneota, MN -they have not had an agricultural education program since the early 1980's.

What was most rewarding about this moment is a mixture of emotions:

Just hearing the words, "I'm in FFA", brings me back to the time that I officially joined FFA. I imagine the many times those FFA members of the past and present, "joined" FFA. I think, "What difference has been made in their life since they joined?"

Lee's father was an FFA member, and has told me many things about "the tiny, blue corduroy jacket in the attic." Knowing that Lee will get his very own FFA jacket, makes me think of the millions of young men and women who have worn their very own FFA jacket. While each jacket may look different based on the year it was made, what state is on the back or even how many awards are underneath their name- each jacket stands for over 80 years of tradition in agriculture, service of others and commitment to agricultural education.

The jackets that flooded the streets of Kansas City, MO for the 1933 National Convention are the same jackets that were worn last week by over 50,000 FFA members in the streets of Indianapolis, IN for the 2009 National FFA Convention. The same jackets that were worn at the 1st Alaska FFA state convention in 1976, were the same jackets worn at the 1st Rhode Island state convention in 1950. The same jacket worn by a southern Kansas farm boy, who dreams of following in his father's footsteps, is the same jacket worn by a central Minnesota girl, who dreams to be an NCIS agent. The same jacket that has been zipped up by a National Officer from California, is the same jacket that has been zipped up with the excitement of a Chapter Officer from Sleepy Eye, MN. The same jacket worn by each and every leader within our organization, will be the same jacket worn by Lee. The only difference is his jacket will be the only jacket to say,

Lee Bot

MINNESOTA

Minneota.

It's his jacket. And only his jacket will be with him through each every experience of FFA.

Just within my short time in FFA, it has most certainly made a positive difference in my life. I can't wait to see what it can do for those future members of the Minneota FFA Chapter.