I have become first removed. What are you?

This past month, I have had many awesome, hands-on experiences! I never knew that as a sales representative in the agriculture industry, there is so much opportunity to travel, meet growers and learn in the field (literally). The days seem to fly by but there is not much more exciting than the knowledge I am gaining in these fast-paced days. To accompany this learning curve about crop protection and agronomy, a new realization has set in. I have become first removed.

You might think, what is going on with her family? Is everything OK? Other than our county fair beginning Monday and I will miss my sister show her goats and run for fair queen, a newborn calf being born a few days ago that I couldn't assist with its first nursing of first colostrum or my grandmother attempting to sell her house, everything is great! The only disappointment is, I'm not there.



When I began my role as a sales rep, I left a dwindling demographic. I am now a first-removed generation from the farm. I have left the less than 2 percent of the U.S. involved with production agriculture. (American Farm Bureau) In today's world, most people are three generations removed from the farm. What are you?

Take a moment and think back about your grand parents and great grand parents. Did they have careers in agriculture, whether is was growing crops, logging, raising animals, harvesting meat or something else? Have you taken the time to better understand your family's history and the hard work and dedication your relatives had to survive?

Bring those thoughts back to today. What do you think farmers are doing now? I can tell you for certain the hard work and dedication the industry had decades and centuries ago remains the same. Agriculturalists are fortunate that we have improved science and technology to not only work hard, but also be more conscientious about our environment, our time, our energy and our productivity.

Let's take a poll and determine how far removed you are from the farm. Are you planning to learn about production agriculture if you are distant from it? What will help you better understand farming today or how can we improve those methods? I hope I can help, even though I am first removed.