Month: November 2014

ACEL Students at National FFA Convention

Our department had a number of students at the 2014 National FFA Convention in October. While many of them were there to receive their American FFA Degree, students were also there working the trade show, leading workshops, chaperoning chapter as student teachers and interning behind the scenes.

Below are four students who shared their National FFA Convention experience with us!

Megan CornishMegan Cornish
North Fairfield, Ohio
Agricultural Communication, ATI
Sophomore

The FFA prepared me for my future. As a freshman in college, I started filling out the American FFA Degree. This is the highest degree that one can obtain as a FFA member. I knew that one little mistake could be the end, so I had to be very careful. Several people checked over my application before it was sent in for evaluation, so if there were any mistakes it could be fixed before it moved on. On November 1st at the 87th National FFA Convention, I walked across the biggest stage I have ever been on to receive my American FFA Degree, my hard work finally paid off. That moment when I accepted my key, I knew I had to retire my blue jacket, but that was not going to end my FFA experience. I am still involved in the FFA in a way where I can still help the younger members through the Alumni.

Being apart of the biggest organization, I enjoyed seeing a sea of blue corduroy jackets filling FFA conventions because those students are the future of Agriculture. My favorite saying is “Wear the Blue and Earn the Gold” and as a FFA member I did exactly that.

Alex Dewitt, photo 1Alex Dewitt
Hamler, Ohio
Agricultural Communication
Senior

Well, the day to receive my American Degree was finally here. I woke up bright and early to be at the expo center on time. I couldn’t help but think “this is the last time I’ll ever put this on again” as I went through the old routine of putting Official Dress on. I almost cried thinking about it. After so many years and memories in OD, I finally understood what everyone meant when they talked about how they miss their FFA jacket. I felt upset and sad that my jacket would end up hanging in my closet for years to come until I find a new spot for it. This jacket that helped me learn most of life’s lessons was getting retired when I stepped off that stage. I wanted to hug it and never take it off. But in the end, it wasn’t the jacket, it was FFA, I was emotional after the four fantastic years of FFA where I was taught so much about life, panty hose, and friendships.

So I had my degree in my hand, I’m close to the stage. They told us the route to take on the stage, and my phone was ready to take another selfie on stage! I had it on camera mode and in my front pocket, which seems like it can hold everything in the world. Then it was stage time! I was next! The blue lights were beautiful! I was pushed on to the stage by person one, then shook hands with the President. I don’t even remember my name being called. I had to watch the DVR this week just to hear it. He did pronounce it correctly by the way… As I left the stage, I totally chickened out and didn’t take the stage selfie.

After everything calmed down and pictures were done, I sat in the car. I remembered the years of adventure, friends I still have because of FFA, and the comfort of my blue corduroy and black panty hose. I didn’t want to take my jacket off. It would be like saying goodbye to an old friend for one last time. I didn’t think I’d be so emotional over a piece of fabric, in the end, that National Blue and Corn Gold would mean so much more to me, it always will. I can credit my leadership, public speaking, and organization skills to the great organization. I can tell a girl exactly how to stop panty hose from running (hairspray and clear nail polish) and how to tell whether a pair of heels with be comfy just by looking at them. I can proudly say there has never been a picture of me sleeping. And I can say that hotels during convention hide everything because high schoolers WILL steal something (TV remotes usually).

In the end, my 6 second walk across the Louisville stage wasn’t just my last time wearing my FFA jacket, it was my final goodbye to FFA, to my youth.

Kelly FagerKelly Fager, photo 1
Wauseon, Ohio
Agricultural Communication
Senior

As I returned for my seventh National FFA Convention, I had yet another role for this organization that revealed my passion for agriculture.  This year I had the privilege to serve as a Convention Collegiate Assistant (CCA) in theExpo division.   This year there were three CCAs for the Expo division withsimilar responsibilities.

My responsibilities as an Expo CCA was to walk around the tradeshow floor checking on the 450+ exhibitors, answering any questions exhibitors may had, helping guide FFA members, posting on the @FFA_Expo Twitter of what was happening, creating Vines to capture memories and making sure that move in and move out transition was easy for exhibitors.

Walking in the Kentucky Exposition Center on the Sunday before convention, I saw workers cleaning up a previous show floor, FFA signs needing to be hung up and National FFA staff members anxious to get to work.  By Monday, most of the shopping mall vendors were moved in and the Expo exhibitors began assembling their exhibits.  Tuesday was a day quickly filled with all exhibitors moving in with Wednesday being the ribbon cutting ceremony to open the Expo.  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday were days filled with the “sea of blue” corduroy jackets walking around Expo to visit exhibitors, attend sessions or spoil themselves with purchases from the shopping mall.

The best part of National FFA Convention for me was having the opportunity to work the meet and greet for the Scotty McCreery and Danielle Bradbery concert.  It was an incredible evening where I was able to go out within the crowd to surprise FFA members with this meet and greet opportunity.  The screams, smiles and thankfulness that those selected had is something I will never forget.

As someone who once wore the corduroy jacket, I enjoy seeing the behind-the-scenes work it takes to have 65,000 attendees together in one place that has a passion for agriculture.  I’m honored I had the opportunity this year to serve as a Convention Collegiate Assistant and for being able to bleed the blue and gold as an alumni member now.

Amanda BushAmanda Bush
Mt. Gilead, Ohio
Agricultural Communications
Sophomore

Have you ever had a moment where your heart stopped beating a little? A moment where you finally knew that all your hard work had paid off?

A moment of self-fulfillment and accomplishment that you had achieved something not everyone else had? That was the feeling as I crossed the stage to receive my American FFA Degree. There are no words to describe the moment or experience. I was very honored to be in Kentucky representing my community, school and family for one last go around as a member. The American FFA Degree is by far my highest accomplishment, and will always be a memory I cherish. This organization has helped me grow as a person and even though I zipped up my blue corduroy jacket for one final time, I will always bleed blue and gold!

 

Thanks Megan, Alex, Kelly, and Amanda for sharing your experience with our readers!

 

Fun at the MAiZE

By: Konner Kelly
Hilliard, Ohio
Art Management
Senior

As an arts management major at OSU, most of my classes have required me to go to art-related events at various galleries and museums around Columbus.  But for an agricultural communication class I’m currently taking, I was required to go to a different type of venue; an agri-tourism site.  At the start of this assignment for AGRCOMM 2367, I didn’t even know what agri-tourism was, or that I already had some previous experience with the agri-tourism industry by shopping at local farmers’ markets in Hilliard or going on hay-rides with friends.  So at the start of this agri-tourism assignment, I had no idea where I should go or what I should do.  Luckily, a friend suggested that I check out The MAiZE at Little Darby Creek, and I’m extremely thankful that they did.

The MAiZE at Little Darby Creek is a farm that is located in the beautiful, rural area of Milford Center (which is a few miles west of Plain City).  The MAiZE at Little Darby Creek has a lot to offer, like hay-rides, berry-picking, a petting zoo, and even laser tag (which I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to play).  Their attraction that I was most excited about, though, was their 9-acre corn maze.

The corn maze, which has been designed to resemble OSU’s Archie Griffin for this season, was a ton of fun to explore!  While the thought of wandering through a complex corn maze might sound daunting to the non-adventurous, the staff at the farm helps to mitigate this by putting up “Passport Stops” throughout the maze.  Each Passport Stop corresponds with a slip of paper you pick out before entering the maze that essentially tests your knowledge in the area of trivia that you choose by asking a question, and if you answer the question correctly, the slip of paper will point you in the right direction.  This made navigating the maze a lot easier than I thought it’d be, but if you don’t answer a question correctly at a Passport Stop, you might end up walking around in circles.  Even with these Passport Stops to help me out, I still ended up getting lost for about thirty minutes or so, but it was still a great time.

Konner Corn Maze (1) (2)

If you think that this sounds like fun, you should check out The MAiZE at Little Darby Creek’s website, www.mazeandberries.com.  The farm has a ton to offer to city-dwellers such as myself, so if you’re bored on a weekend and want something fun to do, you should give it a shot.  And since registration for classes is coming up, any OSU students who aren’t sure about which classes they should take for next semester should check out what is being offered by the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, ; my experiences have been nothing but good so far.

Konner wrote this blog post as part of an in class assignment for the agricultural communication 2367 class. All opinions are his own.

 

Experiencing a second writing course

By: Brent Mitchell
Middletown, Ohio
Environmental Science
Sophomore

Experiencing a second writing course may include you to write in a very different manner depending what you want to write, and who you are writing to. Especially in my class AGR COMM 2367. This class has you writing to different audiences with very different ways of writing. For instance the way you write to your mother and the way you write to your boss completely turns the tide of your writing style. Here are some things to keep in mind when taking this course; consider your audience, purpose, ideas, and feelings of the paper.

This course will have you thinking on many different things like; what to think during a crisis situation, and how to tell your audience not to freak out about the situation at hand. Since in that situation communicating is key to either be aware of the situation, or to help with donation in this certain situation.

Brent Mitchell, photo 1

There is one assignment that has you write about all five senses on agri-tourism or agri-tainment like in the picture above, I went to a family farm to write my experience. The taste of the air, the smell of crops and straw, the laughing and playing of children, the touch of grass, and the sight of a hayride. All this was put into the assignment; it was a fun, exciting experience.

The class does have you think about real agriculture issues today and how they are facing those issues. What is your opinion on GMO labeling? This question came to me while I was sitting in my class, and I had never really thought about it before. I considered my options; positive which will promote GMO, negative which will put consumer in more of and unaware situation, or neutral promote GMO but it may do it in a negative way. I was at a standstill at the time I was asked that question. I really did not have a stance of the issue, since I had not thought of it until it was brought up in this class.

This class has many things wrapped in one big blanket of experiences to tell all of my stories would ruin everything for you. So I suggest you take this class and experience the class for yourself. I would like to thank the teachers for the tips and experience, fellow peers for opinions, and of course you the reader.

Question of the Week

Each week we will have a different “Question of the Week” for our students to answer. Student responses will be shared on the blog each Thursday.

Week #2: What is your favorite fall event at Ohio State?

Krysti Dubler, senior
I love attending the Back 2 School Bash at the beginning of the fall semester each year. It is a great way to catch up with friends you didn’t see over the summer and invite new first year students to join you in clubs and organizations within CFAES. The carnival games and food are great too!

Veronica Chalfin, junior
My favorite fall campus event is the CFAES Pumpkin Carving Social. It’s so fun to see all of the student organization get so fired up about having the best pumpkin carving. It’s a great way to get a lot of us together and just have a fun time.

Question for Week #3: What general education course would you recommend to other CFAES students? Answer this question here.

Preservation of History: The Oldtime Farming Festival

By: Flo Smith
Centerburg, Ohio
AgriScience Education
Sophomore

Every third weekend in September, Centerburg, Ohio shuts down.  The village of 1,920 people closes up the bakery and local pizza places to host the Oldtime Farming Festival.  The annual event lasts two days and dominates the local park.  Most of the people in town visit at least once.

Flo Smith, photo 101

The festival consists of a tractor show, parade, games tent, kids’ corner, horticulture show, and art competition. The main walkway leads through the food trucks and local groups selling their food as a fundraiser. The well-known root beer stand stands tall at the head of the festival, and it is a main attraction. After getting your dollar root beer or cream soda, you can continue walking through the shops of handmade items from local talents.

Walk along the creek to the kids’ corner to watch the magician or see the children dig for coins in the hay or sand.  Look past the contests and games tent to see the square dancing tractors on the softball field. Then, turn into the tent to compete in a variety of farm-themed games. Throw a rolling pin or wrench, spit watermelon seeds, or test your math skills for the chance to win prizes – including cash.  Many contests allow partners, so sign up with a friend to have a laugh and a memory.

But, the best part of the festival is the people.  Many of the people have been going to this festival since it started.  They grew up in Centerburg, with agricultural backgrounds that they passed to their children.  They make the festival worth it when they stop you to ask about the letters FFA on your back and tell you it was different back in their days.  They keep the history of the village alive and continue to bring it back to us every year.

 

 

A Whole New World

By: Adam Kaddoura
Yorba Linda, California
Evolution and Ecology
Junior

Agricultural tourism can establish the foundations to understand the world of agriculture. Opening a whole new world to growing individuals, and allowing them to determine the importance of a business, a business that has been at the foundation of society since the beginning of man. As the members in the agriculture sector the responsibility to spread this knowledge to our youth across the country, falls directly on our shoulders. No longer can we have children grow up and not understand the duties of a farmer; no longer can we allow children to sit down at the dinner table and not wonder where their food came from; no longer can we allow a society that shrugs off the work of the local farmers.

Growing up in California, I was emerged in a society that was supposed to be an agricultural power house for the United States. Despite living in a state with great agricultural power, I was tucked away from ever understanding the duties that my local farmers performed on a daily basis to provide food for my family.  Day in and day out, I was part of a world I had no idea I was a part of. Consuming the food provided for me by the thousands of people that make up the agricultural sector of my community. I didn’t know nor did I care of the world that was secretly the biggest part of my life.

Spreading agricultural tourism across the nation will allow all children to become exposed to the world which runs their lives. In doing so, we will generate a population that is willing to increase the power and status of agriculture.

Do the Dairy!

By: Emily Burns
Baltimore, Ohio
Agriscience Education
Sophomore

I headed into the Animal Science Arena thinking it was going to be like every other Animal Science lab, but it was the dairy lab. This was by far my favorite lab of the year, and I am very glad I got the opportunity to participate in the activities we did. As an Agriscience Education major, we have to take a variety of classes so we are able to teach different subjects in the classroom. Animal Science 2200.01 is one of the classes we are required to take; it is the lab that goes with the lecture.

In our lab we did activities with each animal Ohio State has: sheep, pigs, horses, and dairy and beef cattle. Each lab we got the chance to have hands on experience with the animals and other activities. One activity we did was identified and labeled parts of the udder. Then, we got to milk a cow by hand. This was fun, especially because I had worked on a dairy farm the summer before and was starting to miss the farm. When we were milking the cow we collected a sample of the milk to test for mastitis, a bacterial infection that some cows get in the udder. I really enjoyed doing the experiment because it was interesting to me to see the reaction the milk had to the chemical.

The final part of the lab was looking inside the rumen of a cannulated cow. A cannulated cow is a cow that has a hole in its side for researchers to observe the rumen, one of the four cavities of a cow’s stomach. We all had the opportunity to reach our whole arm into the cow and pull out some liquid content and look at it under the microscope. I was the lucky one to go first and got to scoop out the material for my group. I put my arm in the hole all the way to my shoulder. Once I was at the bottom of the rumen I could smell the fermenting feed and feel the warmth. The content was slimy, mostly liquid, and very warm. When we observed the content under the microscope, we saw the tiny microorganisms that break down food swimming around. It was a once in a lifetime experience I am very glad I got.

Emily Burns, photo 11

Emily and her lab partner in their Animal Sciences 2200.01.

I had a good time in the other labs, working with animals, doing activities, and learning by doing. However, out of all the labs, the dairy lab was my favorite. I am very excited for my other labs I get to do in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences in the next few years.

Emily wrote this blog post as part of an in class assignment for the agricultural communication 2367 class. All opinions are her own.