Comments for a Cause: Tall Corn FFA Greenhouse

Happy June 1st!  It's the first of June and time to talk Comments for a Cause.  But before I talk about this month's recipient, let's review last month's cause, United Through Reading.  During the month of May I had 33 comments, equaling a donation of $16.50.  Thank you to all that commented to help support military families and connect them through video recorded books during deployments and time apart.

Now for the month of June, I'm excited to be donating $0.50 for every comment made on my blog to my local Tall Corn FFA's new Greenhouse.

FFA: I Can. We Will.

The National FFA Convention officially starts tomorrow!  This was such a fun experience that I luckily got to experience twice while in high school.  It was at National FFA Convention that I first thought about agriculture beyond the corn and soybean fields of Iowa. 

Attending FFA Convention in 2002 (I'm on the far left)

In recognition of this year's convention I wrote a post over at Blue Corduroy about this year's theme "I Can. We Will."  This was my first time writing a piece for this media outlet that shares everything about FFA, a youth organization that builds leadership skills, personal growth and career success in agriculture.

Be sure to check it out!  FFA: I Can. We Will

Were you in FFA?  Have you ever attending National FFA Convention?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

February Comments for a Cause - Iowa FFA Foundation

It is the 1st of February so that means two things: it is time to announce last month's Comments of a Cause totals and this month's new cause.  First, January's results!  It has been so fun creating a Comments for a Cause program on my blog and to be able to share about Make-A-Wish in January.  In January I had a total of 47 comments, equaling a donation of $23.50.  Thank you to everyone that commented this past month!

Now it is time to announce February's cause.  During the month of February I will be donating $0.50 for every comment to the Iowa FFA Foundation!  The Iowa FFA Foundation is the funding support system behind not only Iowa FFA, but also Iowa PAS (Postsecondary Agricultural Students), Iowa Association of Agricultural Educators and the Iowa FFA Alumni Association.  The FFA Foundation has been working really hard to secure the future for all of these programs and I look forward to helping their efforts through this month's Comments for a Cause.

The Iowa FFA program is a leadership and career development organization for teens.  I joined FFA in high school because I loved agriculture and planned on going into an ag major in college.  The letters FFA stand for "Future Farmers of America"; however in 1988 the official name of the organization changed from "Future Farmers of America" to the "FFA Organization" to reflect the growing diversity of agriculture.  Even though I farm today, I use to be in Agricultural Communications and PR, one of the countless careers available in the field of agriculture.

Showing lambs at the 2011 County Fair

To help members build skills in leadership and problem solving, the Iowa FFA Foundation has programs like Agricultural Proficiency Awards and Career Development Events (CDE).  Ag Proficiency Awards allow FFA members to demonstrate skills and knowledge towards a specific ag project they have chosen.  When I was in FFA I was in the Sheep Entrepreneurship Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) and the Food Service Placement SAE.  My favorite CDEs I participated in were Ag Broadcasting and FFA Creed Speaking.

National FFA Week is February 15-22.  Local FFA Chapters will be doing their own fun activities to celebrate and one way the Iowa FFA Foundation is going to celebrate is by having a state-wide Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser on February 17th.  Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants state-wide will be donating 10% of their sales to the Foundation.  To see the entire list of participating locations and to learn more check out the Buffalo Wild Wings Fundraiser website.

So be sure to "Comment for a Cause" this month to help the more than 13,400 FFA members in 219 chapters across the state of Iowa live out their motto of "Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live and Living to Serve."

I'm on the far left hanging out with friends
during the State FFA Convention

Is there an FFA Chapter in your local school?  Do you have a favorite FFA memory to share?  My favorite memories are attending National FFA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky and the Iowa FFA Convention in Des Moines.

So God Made A Farmer

As you all should know, last night was the Super Bowl.  I figure you watch the Super Bowl for one of four reasons:  the game; the commercials; the half-time show; or you don't care, you just like getting together with friends and eating good food.  Well I fall under the commercial category and I always find the Super Bowl as a good excuse to get together with friends and eat good food!

My favorite commercial this year was from Ram Trucks.  It included the transcript from Paul Harvey's speech, "So God Made a Farmer," that he deliver at the 1978 National FFA Convention.  The hidden greatness of this commercial is two things:

• First, Ram has declared 2013 as the Year of the Farmer.  Throughout the year, Ram will be celebrating the American Farmer.  I'm excited to see what else Ram does during this year of dedication to the "people, food and lifestyle that keep America growing".
• Second, every time you watch the Ram Trucks Super Bowl Commercial, the National FFA receives $1, up to $1 Million.

So do your part.  Spread the message.  And Support FFA.  

Do you want to learn about my family's "rest of the story"?  Check out my Farming - A Family Tradition blog post.

And if you are interested, here are the words to Paul Harvey's "So God Made A Farmer" speech:

And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a caretaker." So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board." So God made a farmer.

"I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle a calf and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to wait lunch until his wife's done feeding visiting ladies and tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon -- and mean it." So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt. And watch it die. Then dry his eyes and say, 'Maybe next year.' I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from a persimmon sprout, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, who can make harness out of haywire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. And who, planting time and harvest season, will finish his forty-hour week by Tuesday noon, then, pain'n from 'tractor back,' put in another seventy-two hours." So God made a farmer.

God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor's place. So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bails, yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-combed pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken leg of a meadow lark. It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk and replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week's work with a five-mile drive to church.

"Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life 'doing what dad does.'" So God made a farmer.