5 reasons to be a Women in Ag

Posted on by mlball2014

Happy Spring! Last week I was annoyed with the rain, clouds, and mud, but I have decided to embrace spring! As we approach Easter, I am reminded that Jesus died for our sins and we are blessed with many things. I encourage us to dance in the rain!

I stayed busy during the rainy weekend! I love learning and networking through professional development functions. I encourage everyone to attend events relating to their field! Participating in events with like minded individuals can be so inspiring! This past weekend I had the opportunity to assist with Surviving and Thriving in Challenging Times, a Grain Marketing Forum for Women. And attend the first Washington County Women in Agriculture Conference.

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Surviving and Thriving opened with a great keynote speaker. Julie Ward presented, “Grains in the Veins.” Crop farmers learned how marketing can improve their bottom line. I enjoyed taking pictures and helping to prepare for the conference ahead of time!

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Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Women in Ag was one sponsor of the first Annual Women in Agriculture Conference. I had a great time participating in the day’s events. I even ran into my Aunt Pam! We sat together and soaked in all the information we could from keynote speaker, Jolene Brown! We learned how to create farm business documents, transitional plans, and contracts.

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Jolene wrapped up the afternoon with “10 ideas to relieve stress and bring renewal to farm and family life.”

My Favorites:

1. Develop Mini Breaks: meditation and hobbies

2. Keep learning (perfect for this post)

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My time at Iowa State University has been unforgettable! “Don’t Judge Each Day by the Harvest you Reap, but By the Seeds you Plant!” I love being a women in agriculture! Here are my top 5 reasons why I have the best major ever!

  1. Professional Development: Possibilities to learn after school and throughout my life
  2. Relationships: The agriculture industry is large but at the same time small- I run into people I know all the time. It is incredibly rewarding to be involved in such a close-nit industry.
  3. Variety: Agriculture offers such unique career opportunities :).
  4. Produce: We can develop worthy work that creates a more food secure world!
  5. Fun: I have a passion for agriculture and the hands-on joy it brings me!

Be a Women in Ag! It is pretty AWESOME!!! 😉

 

 

 

Tropical Agriculture

Posted on by mlball2014

Hello and welcome to Sarasota, Florida! Tyler and I’s first trip south was perfect! I predict many more visits in our future! I had fun meeting the Hibbs family and exploring the growing city. I loved learning all about where Tyler was born and the place he calls his second home :).

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Enjoying seafood after visiting Mote Marine

Our trip began a little rocky with 3 delays, 1 cancellation, 1 hour wait for a taxi, hotel visit, 4 more delays, frozen bathroom pipes, tornado in Sarasota, and flu season at the airport. But none of that stopped us and we made it to Florida Monday night!

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Tyler and I had so much fun hanging out with his grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends. We had a week packed full of adventure- starting with the beach. We explored the Siesta Keys twice, swam in the pool, walked through Mote Marine, discovered a flower farm, and watched the county fair dairy show.

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The weather was high 60’s and sunny! AHHH Florida Sun! 

Did you read what I just wrote??? We discovered a flower farm and saw a dairy show!! I just can’t seem to get away from agriculture! It is all around us folks!! Soak it in…. ;).

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Bucky and Joyce have family friends getting married next week and when he shared with them my love for flowers they invited us to the Native Florida Landscape. A little cove of wonder off the main road in Fruitville, Florida. Within the Native Landscape is a small business called William’s Wild flowers. Williams is creating the flower designs for the wedding next weekend.

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She creates designs using only wildflowers. The gardens are built with the intention that wildflowers will grow in their natural habitat. A few flowers are planted to ensure enough material is available to work with. The business was a unique one to capture. She is very creative and has an eye for beauty within the landscape.

The sun warming the back of my neck made for a beautiful morning outside. It made me very excited to begin my own flower garden.

 

The Hibbs took Tyler and I to the Sarasota County Fair. I noticed a few differences as I made comparisons to our own fair, but all in all the fair felt like home! The summer sun warms Florida to the core and to prevent animals from getting over heated, the fair is moved to spring time.

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Dairy show began at 7 pm 

Our last agriculture stop was more tropical than the rest. Aquaculture is a large industry in Florida and the seafood market is booming. We did not visit any fish farms but we did visit Mote Marine. An aquarium that is dear to the families heart. I learned a lot about the creatures under the sea. We even saw one large shark that no longer exists. I tried to act like it was behind me but Tyler wouldn’t play along haha.

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Spring break 2017 was great! Now begins the countdown for graduation! 1 month and 2 weeks!!!

My First Wedding Corsage & Boutonniere

Posted on by mlball2014

Hey ya’ll! How are we doing on this lovely Thursday??? Exactly 9 days until spring break, but who is counting ;). I am so excited to show you my first (of many) attempts at a corsage and boutonniere!

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I now have much respect for floral designers who make 50+ for prom, weddings, etc.! It is not easy…! My hand was cramping, my stress level increased, and my concentration narrowed but I loved, loved, loved every minute of it!

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We began by wiring all of the individual flowers and wrapping each stem with floral tape. The wire was placed in the head of the daisies and right below the bloom of the rose. If you look closely you can see the wire in the daisy above.

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Next we added Tree Fern and Purple Limonium to the back of the corsage and boutonniere. After taping it up one more time, we added a bow below the flowers.

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I hope you are as pleased with them as I am! Let the orders flow in, prom goers, brides, grooms, event participators… call me! 😉

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Guess what Picking Wild Flowers? My flower seeds came in!! I am excited to write about the flower garden and I invite you to come along with me on my journey. Here are a few post ideas:

April: Starting flowers indoors

May: Transporting them to the garden

June: Flower growth

July: Local flowers