Opportunity Knocks, I Get Nervous

Amazing opportunities are knocking at my door. This weeked I travel to New Mexico and on Monday I have the opportunity to speak to elementary, middle, and high school youth, FFA members, and their parents about Agriculture. I'm not that nervous about talking. Get me started talking about what I do everyday, and you have to put me on a stopwatch. It's the speaking to so many levels in one day that makes me nervous...

I decided a while back that I would love to start speaking with groups about Agriculture, using my theme "Agriculture Proud" as a starting point. I think it's a message many would soak in with enthusiasm. My theme for the FFA banquet is "Build Your Own Future." So I'm gonna spew some thoughts here. Please leave any thoughts or comments. I'm looking for a sounding board.

There are so many great opportunities to build a future within Agriculture. Those of us within Agriculture realize these opportunties, but what about everyone else?

Having pride in what you do for a living is one thing. There is no doubt I am proud to be a part of Agriculture. But it's more about having a passion for your line of work. How do you find that passion and how can you seek out a job that you will enjoy?

Agriculture is a huge part of this nation's economy. Not only in farming and ranching areas, but also food processing, transport, and marketing. How can we better connect American consumers with origins of their food and recognized those involved in the whole process?

Can you name your state's top five Agriculture commodities? Where do those products end up? Isn't this something we should at least be aware of?

I go to the restaurant to get a burger. How many farmers or ranchers should I thank for this food on my plate?

Please share your thoughts on these topics. It'll help me spur the ideas turning in my mind.

The Super Bowl and Texas Agriculture

Ever make the connection between tomorrow's Super Bowl in snowy Dallas? From the footballs used to your favorite snacks, Texas Agriculture gives a big boost to the gridiron game plan. Thanks to the North Texas E-News for these AgFacts!

• Leather is used to make footballs and Texas leads the nation in cattle with more than 13 million head with an annual production value of about $6 billion.

• Texas produced 8 million bales of cotton in 2010, which is enough to make every person on earth a Super Bowl Championship T-shirt - and still have almost a billion shirts left over.

•  Peanuts are a favorite snack at football games, and in Texas we produce more than 700 million pounds - enough to make 7 billion peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches.

• Hot dogs are a traditional favorite at football games and the Texas pork industry has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $250 million.

• Hot dogs also need hot dog buns. Texas growers produce an average 90 million bushels of wheat annually, enough to make more than 25 billion hot dog buns.

• Texas is a leading dairy state and produces enough milk each year to fill the massive Cowboys Stadium more than six times.

• A football field, including the end zones, is 360 feet long-by-160 feet wide and covers 1.3 acres. The entire Cowboys Stadium site covers 140 acres. By comparison, Texas encompasses 144 million acres of agricultural and rural land, more than any other state in the nation.

• In contrast, the combined areas of the two cities competing in this year’s Super Bowl is about 63,000 acres, and you could fit more than 2,500 of them within Texas’ borders. In fact, you could fit the entire states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin inside Texas more than two-and-a-half times, and still have 9 million acres left over.

• Cornstarch can be used to make a biodegradable plastic for drink cups, utensils and more. Texas growers produced 302 million bushels of corn in 2010.

• How better to celebrate a Super Bowl Championship than with a good steak dinner? Texas produces about 8 billion pounds of beef each year. That's the equivalent of 16 billion 8-ounce steaks or enough to supply 150 steaks to every person watching the game in the United States (according to Nielson estimates, last year's Super Bowl attracted 106.5 million U.S. viewers).

 So while you are enjoying the game and commercials, remember this is just the start of how Agriculture impacts our lives. Remember to Thank A Farmer and Rancher for all the great things we have

No Steak for Cattle Feeders?

Where has summer gone? Tonight will mark the beginning of fall and a special Harvest moon. (Read about that on my AgProud blog!) I am in Stillwater, Oklahoma this week talking to possible feedyard recruits at Oklahoma State University. It is a rather weird experience to be on the other side of the table. Last night I talked to the Block and Bridle club about our company. A lil nerve racking considering I had never given that presentation before, but I have given many presentations in that exact room, so that helped some.

Random. Found on the inside of the elevator at the Hampton Inn. I'm still looking for the "baa baa there"...

We ate supper at the Rancher's Club, a student-operated hotel and restaurant on campus. We arrived shortly after 8 and ordered 21-day aged steaks. Our waitress came back in a few minutes to tell us we could not have them because the only chef that was allowed to cut the steaks had left for the night. What the HECK? This is Career Fair Week on the OKState campus. Many company representatives will be on campus and many of them will eat at the Rancher's Club, but they don't bother to serve us the good steaks? Why do they only have one chef "allowed" to cut the steaks?

We told the waitress to bring the meat out and we could cut it. Of course it was not her fault. Don't shoot the messenger. We explained that we were cattle feeders, so we know our beef. Haha, fun times. This conversation led to our waitresses prior involvement in FFA activities and her visits to some rodeos. It is interesting where you will find people that have small connections to Ag, who are not directly involved in Ag Production. Even a waitress, MBA grad student has some small connection with Ag. Maybe she walked away with a better view of the people who feed cattle and raise the beef she serves nightly.

Share with me an example of making an unexpected Ag connection with someone. Did you take the opportunity to share to useful facts?