A Visit to the Windy (and Cold, and Snowy) City

Last week I had the opportunity to spend several days in Chicago. The main reason for the trip was to attend the Illinois Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, which I did on Saturday and Sunday. I served as a judge in one round of the discussion meet contest on Saturday, then sat in on the Young Leader awards presentation Sunday morning. I was impressed by the talent these young people possess - the future of agriculture is bright!

On Thursday I attended a day-long class on social media. You may have heard that term used different places. Social media -- also known as new media -- uses the Internet to express and share ideas and information, through outlets like YouTube, Facebook, or even the blog you're reading right now. It was a very interesting and informative class that only scratched the surface in our allotted time. I'm excited about the potential and have several ideas of ways we can use some of these new tools in the GROWMARK System.

But the highlight of the trip for me was a visit to a special class of 4th graders. My husband and I have participated for the last four years in the Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom's Adopt-a-Classroom program. The concept is simple: teachers in Chicago sign up at the beginning of the school year and are matched with a farm family. They exchange letters, pictures, and other items and learn about where their food, fiber, and fuel come from. Personal visits are encouraged, but not required, but for the first time I was able to meet our class in person. It was so much fun to talk to the students and their teacher and answer their questions about farming. I hope they learned a little more about the importance of agriculture and will remember some of the things we are sharing through our letters as they get older.