LISTEN TO Emma's EPISODE HERE OR FIND US ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST LISTENING APP!

Summary

On this episode, Katie Ward interviews Emma Larson, Assistant Director of Industry Relations at American Farm Bureau. Emma grew up on her family's farm in California and made her way to Washington, D.C. to begin her career advocating for America’s farmers and ranchers.

Emma leads the Ag Innovation Challenge, a national business competition that showcases American startups developing innovative solutions that address challenges facing farmers and rural communities. Listen to this episode as we get to know the top 10 Ag Innovation Challenge semi-finalists and talk about how these entrepreneurs are changing the agricultural industry for the better. 

Katie:

Welcome to the Farm Credit AgVocates Podcast, I’m your host Katie Ward, ­­­­Public Relations & Communications Specialist at Horizon Farm Credit.  I’m excited to introduce our guest today, Emma Larson, Assistant Director of Industry Relations at American Farm Bureau.

Emma grew up on her family’s farm in California and made her way to Washington, D.C. after college to begin her career advocating for America’s farmers and ranchers.

Emma leads the Ag Innovation Challenge, a national business competition that showcases American startups developing innovative solutions that address challenges facing farmers and rural communities. Listen to this episode as we get to know the top 10 Ag Innovation Challenge semi-finalists and talk about how these entrepreneurs are changing the agricultural industry for the better.  Thank you again Emma for joining us on the podcast today.

Do you want to start by sharing a little bit about your background and why you chose the agriculture industry?

WHY EMMA CHOSE AG

Emma:

Absolutely. Before I begin, I want to thank you for having me on here. It's an honor to speak a little bit more with you today, as well as with the folks that will be tuning in.

I was born and raised in California, Central Valley, otherwise known as the bread basket of the world, into a farming family. I grew up on the ranch, riding around with my dad and my grandfather. I would go to the coffee shop in the morning, sitting at the table with everyone, and changing the water at all times of the night. I really understood what it took at a young age to not only be a part of this profession, but also the lifestyle that comes with it and I was hooked.

In high school, I became involved in my high school's FFA chapter, was an officer and held different leadership roles. After high school, I went on to study Agricultural Communications at Cal Poly. Those four years couldn't have been better or have gone by more quickly.  I was lucky to have a great mentor during those four years, Dr. Vernon, who really encouraged his students to say yes and get involved. We actually still keep in touch to this day.

During all of those experiences, it was incredibly clear to me that this industry truly has the best and most genuine caring people that you can find from coast to coast and in all regions in between. Farmers and ranchers are truly the salt of the earth and I'm reminded every single day that it's a privilege to work on their behalf in DC.

Katie:

Yes, I couldn't agree with you more.

How did you end up going from California to Washington DC?

Emma:

It really stems back all the way to college for me. When it came to summer internships, my parents were incredibly supportive of me gaining new experiences, even if it meant it was a few miles or a few thousand miles away from home. Two pivotal summers really come to mind.

The first was spent in Denver, working for Agrium, now known as Nutrien. The second took me to Kansas City where I interned at Osborn & Barr, the marketing agency. Each of those experiences and opportunities really helped shape my career, but also served as a springboard for what was next.

I graduated school and took a marketing role for a crop input company in Phoenix, and then a year or so into that role I met Sarah Brown who would later become my boss at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Georgia. A few short months later, I packed up my bags and headed east to work for American Farm Bureau. It really did happen in the blink of an eye.

Katie:

Wow, that sounds like quite the journey, and you had a lot of different experiences along the way.

How did you end up then becoming the Assistant Director of Industry Relations at American Farm Bureau Federation?  Was that your first job or did you have previous roles at AFBF?

Emma:

I did have a previous role at American Farm Bureau, but also in the Industry relations department. The industry relations department was initially one person, my former boss, who was growing external affairs. She was growing our discussions with supply chain companies, running the Ag Innovation challenge and managing sponsorship revenue as well. She needed more staff help and made a really good business case to bring me on board. She was from upstate New York, a Cornell grad and an eighth generation apple farming family. With my west coast roots, it was the perfect combination to be a team of two. We call ourselves the dream team. It was a wonderful experience.

Katie:

It’s funny you say that because our marketing department here at Horizon Farm Credit refer to ourselves as the dream team too, especially when we get done a campaign or a project that we're really proud of.

Can you give a little detail into your current role and what it entails? Do you have any programs or campaigns that you're currently working on or have upcoming?

WORKING AT AMERICAN FARM BUREAU 

Emma:

In my current role, I lead the execution of industry relations projects and initiatives. I serve as the external contact for supply chain companies and manage the sponsorships for not only the American Farm Bureau Federation, but the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture events and programs. One of the special programs that I do and have the opportunity to lead is the Ag Innovation Challenge, which of course is what we're here to talk about today.

Katie:

Thank you so much.

Can you share a little bit about what the Ag Innovation Challenge is and give a little background on the program?

AG INNOVATION CHALLENGE

Emma:

The challenge was first launched in 2015, and it was the first national business competition of its kind that was focused exclusively on rural entrepreneurs. Since its inception in 2015, it's now evolved into really showcasing US startups that are developing innovative solutions that address challenges facing American farmers, ranchers and rural communities.

Each year, we look to identify the top entrepreneurs addressing both traditional and new challenges that farmers and ranchers face every single day. In 2021, we hit a large milestone as Farm Bureau has officially awarded more than $1 million in startup funds to innovators across the nation. We're really proud to share that externally.

Katie:

Wow, that's really exciting. That's a lot of money given towards a great leap in the industry.

How do you go about finding these entrepreneurs?  Is there a certain application and judging process in the program?

Emma:

Yes, there absolutely is. It all starts with submitting an application and throwing your hat in the ring. The application typically opens in the spring time, and from there we work with Farm Credit Rural Investment and Innovation Workgroup to vet these businesses. They evaluate their business models, novelty, viability, and strategies.

Lastly, but most importantly, is if the innovation or business is addressing a relevant and high priority issue that's facing Farm Bureau members and Farm Credit customers. Once those teams are announced, they'll participate in individual pitch training from Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, which happens in the fall. From there, the teams will go on to compete live at the American Farm Bureau Convention in January of each year. It will take place in Atlanta, Georgia for 2022.

Katie:

That’s exciting!

There are 10 finalists, is that correct?

Emma:

Yes, there are 10 semi-finalists. We're really excited to have them join us in Atlanta this year.

Katie:

Once the finalists are chosen, what is the top prize?

Emma:

In total, Farm Bureau awards $165,000 in prize money to these 10 businesses, which of course is made possible by our generous sponsors. Competitors do accrue money as they advance through the program, but I'd like to call out three prizes.

The first is the Ag Innovation Challenge winner, who will win $50,000. The second place prize will win $20,000. The People's Choice team, selected by a public vote, will win an additional $5,000. $165,000 is a lot of money on the table, and we distribute it to the 10 teams as they advance through the competition.

THE 2022 TOP 10 SEMI-FINALISTS

Katie:

I do agree, that is a lot of money. I've attended the AFBF annual meetings in years past, and I have been able to witness the semi-finalists giving their pitches. They're all such incredible entrepreneurs, programs and organizations. I found it nearly impossible to choose a winner. I do know that they all have a great impact on Ag innovation.

I'm really excited to hear from you about the top 10 semi-finalists for 2022.  I thought we could go down the list, and you could give our listeners a summary of each semi-finalist.

Do you want to start with Birds Eye Robotics?

Emma:

Birds Eye Robotics is based out of Nebraska and is led by Scott Niewohner. Birds Eye Robotics has developed an autonomous robot, Birds Eye, that removes bird mortality, tills up caked bedding and improves overall animal welfare by stimulating bird movement for the poultry industry. It is really an exciting innovation for the poultry industry, especially as labor challenges continue to persist.

Katie:

That does sound really interesting. For a lot of our listeners here in the MidAtlantic region, poultry is a very prominent commodity in agriculture. I know that's going to be really interesting for our listeners to look into.

Emma:

Absolutely.

Katie:

Up next we have Caravan Tech.

Emma:

Caravan Tech is based out of Alabama and is led by Richy Naisbett. They are developing a tool to help the real time livestock tracing and a multitude of other farm management applications. Caravan Tech’s three flagship products working in unison are the Smart Ear Tags, intraruminal bolus and Caravan Chat system. They're really helping the traceability and sustainability piece of livestock management.

Katie:

That sounds really interesting. I'll have to read a little bit more about that one.

Up next, we have is CHONEX.

Emma:

CHONEX is led by Michael Lynch and is based out of Alabama. They're a soil health company that's developed a biological, proprietary process for upcycling poultry manure. They're taking that manure and really turning it into a concentrated microbial bio-stimulant used to improve soil health by increasing soil microbes. This is another poultry sector innovation, but something that's very different from the autonomous robot that's helping stimulate animal movement.

Katie:

That's a whole other side to poultry, but also equally important.

Emma:

Yes.

Katie:

Next we have ExciPlex.

Emma:

They are based out of West Virginia and Daryl Staveness is the team lead. They are developing a diagnostic technology for the on-site detection of mycotoxins in animal feed and feed inputs. This technology is designed to operate at every level of the feed production chain, thus a single core invention will deliver multiple solutions to a variety of customers.

Mycotoxins are an issue that faces many grain farmers and the livestock side, where folks are wanting to ensure that they're feeding their animals the best and most nutritious quality of food.

Katie:

I know animal nutrition is a really hot topic, so that'll be something that's really important and I'm excited to learn more about.

Next we have Grain Weevil Corporation.

Emma:

Chad Johnson leads the Grain Weevil Corporation team based out of Nebraska. It is a grain bin safety and management robot that directly engages the surface of the grain by leveling, breaking crusts and conducting inspections. Not only does it impact the quality of stored grain, but it also improves the farmer well-being by controlling risks, controlling costs, and most importantly, removing the farmer from the bin.

We constantly hear about farmers and grain bin entrapment, so it’s nice that this robot will go in there and do the work for the farmer. The farmer will stay safe out of the bin and will no longer need to get in there and face any risks.

Katie:

We partner with Nationwide Insurance every year and sponsor Grain Bin rescue tubes for our local fire departments. Like you said, unfortunately the entrapment of farmers in the grain bins is a big issue. This innovation would be very helpful for their safety, as well as keeping the grain clean and getting data.

Next is Marble Technologies.

Emma:

Britany Wondercheck leads this team and they are based out of Nebraska. They are developing a robotics solution that reduces the labor needs, specifically in the meat packing industry and those facilities to improve workplace safety by conducting tasks with a history of worker injury.

They're using computer vision, artificial intelligence, and sensing technology to help automate these tasks in meat processing, beginning with a task of packing vacuum-sealed meat into boxes.

Katie:

That’s also a very timely innovation with losing a lot of the meat processing employees to the pandemic and just not having as much access to the work.

Next up is NEK Supply.

Emma:

NEK Supply is led by Blake Chance and they are based out of Kansas. Blake has developed the Quick-Pin design that allows tractors to be quickly, easily and safely unhooked from an implement, especially in cases of emergency.

By removing the Quick-Pin’s top shaft, hopping in the tractor and releasing the pressure, the main shaft will fall out allowing the tractor to become quickly and easily unhooked from the implement. This invention was developed with balers catching on fire and needing to get the tractor away from the implement as quickly as possible. Blake’s Quick-Pin has been a really wonderful solution, and he really prides himself on keeping the manufacturing here in the United States.

Katie:

That sounds like a really good safety feature that all tractors and equipment should have.

Next, we have Propagate Ventures.

Emma:

Propagate Ventures is led by Ethan Steinberg and are based out of New York. They are developing an agroforestry platform that makes it easy for farmers and ranchers to access the operational know-how, implementation tools, financing and off-take agreements needed to reduce business risks while integrating fruit, nut and timber trees with animal or crop farming systems.

They go on operations and look at how they can introduce native vegetation, trees and shrubs. This helps all the carbon sequestration concerns that we're hearing about these days.

Katie:

That sounds very interesting.

Next, we have StemPunk.

Emma:

StemPunk is based out of Pennsylvania and led by Leighton Rice. It is the world's first hand-free, dual-dexterous, apple stem-clipping device to reduce stem punctures in fruit. The unique, patented design adds a large measure of efficiency to the process of harvesting high-value, fresh apple varieties.

Farmers receive the highest dollar for the quality of their fruit, so when there're stem occur, they receive a lower quality grade and a smaller dollar amount. StemPunk really helps ensure that farmers are getting the largest bottom line as possible, but also making sure that their quality of fruit is as high as it can be.

Katie:

I'm going to be honest with you, this one sparked my curiosity ahead of time. I visited their website and watched some of their tutorial videos and it was really neat.

Last, but not least, we have Vulpes Agricultural Corporation.

Emma:

Vulpes Agricultural Corporation is led by Rick Shang and is based out of Missouri. They are a manufacturing startup that has developed Carbon Black Acid, a fertilizer additive, through their accelerated R&D process.

Carbon Black Acid turns agriculture waste such as corn cob, sawdust, and sugarcane bagasse into carbon sources that the soil and crops can use. It also modifies the carbon sources into carriers of nutrients and water. It is really neat that they're using Ag waste and turning it into fertilizer.

Katie:

That is definitely super environmentally friendly and sustainable too.

Emma:

Absolutely.

IMPORTANCE OF INNOVATION IN AG

Katie:

Thank you for going over the top 10 semi-finalists for us. It sounds to me like all of these innovations revolve around technology. I know that's something that the industry has seen really grow the past few years.

Why do you think innovation is so important in our industry?

Emma:

Innovation is really critical to the future of agriculture. It's why the industry has been able to continue to sustain a growing population with the shrinking amount of arable land. I think of my family's operation and how it started.

My grandfather certainly doesn't farm the same way as he did when he first started and the same goes for my father. The industry has made some amazing advancements and strides, and will continue to push the envelope and all of that is because of innovation and technology.

Katie:

I could not agree more and I love seeing the transition. I'm sure with you growing up on a farm, you've been able to witness it all firsthand.

Emma:

Absolutely. I think of when I was on a tractor with my folks in my earlier years. Now you push a button and the GPS does everything for you. The rows are straight, and you don't have to worry about white knuckling and making those rows straight yourself. That advancement has been an absolute pivotal thing for the industry.

Katie:

Exactly.

Where do you see the future of Ag heading in the next 10 to 20 years with all of these innovations?

Emma:

I see the industry continuing to innovate and adapt as the need arises. There are innovations and technologies that we haven't even dreamed of yet. I think if you asked my grandfather if he could press a button and have a tractor drive a straight row for him, he would have thought you were crazy.

Farmers and ranchers are the most resilient people that I know. I have no doubt that they will continue to persevere and meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Katie:

I agree. I think it's funny too, because when people look at the stereotypical picture of a farmer, they don't really think of them to be technologically advanced. The equipment used by grain farmers are used with GPS and computers for precision agriculture, are far more advanced than a lot of other industries. It always amazes me how they embrace the new technology.

Emma:

Absolutely. That really gets back to the mission of the American Farm Bureau Foundation, which is Ag literacy and Ag education. It's not old MacDonald with a pitchfork. It's the farmer you see today, who are in the field.

They're using technology, went to college, and have specialized education for their certain field. They are running diversified operations. We have pistachios, wine grapes and processing tomatoes. They have irrigation systems, fertilizers schedules and are managing a multitude of things. It’s not Old MacDonald anymore.

Katie:

Exactly. It's Young MacDonald and Mrs. MacDonald now.

Emma:

Yes, exactly.

Katie:

I love that.

How are these top 10 semi-finalists in the Ag Innovation Challenge contributing to that shift that we're seeing in the industry?

Emma:

This year's teams, along with previous program participants, are all developing innovative solutions. It might be in the same sector, but its different challenges that are being addressed.

These are all challenges that farmers and ranchers are facing. These innovations will continue to move the industry forward. Celebrating and elevating these entrepreneurs this year and every year, because these innovations will be the way of the future.

WHAT EMMA ADVOCATES FOR IN AG

Katie:

Celebrating and elevating, I love that.

We always ask all of our podcast guests the same sign off question before we end our conversation.

What do you advocate for in agriculture?

Emma:

With less than 20% of Americans living in rural communities and 1% of that being farmers and ranchers, my true passion is sharing the real story of agriculture. I want to ensure that the public understands where their food comes from and how it's grown.

Most importantly, ensuring that farmers and ranchers have a seat at the table, not only here in the beltway, but across the countryside as well. We want them to continue doing what they do best, and that's growing safe, abundant, and sustainable food, fiber and fuel for the globe.

Katie:

That's awesome. I think all of our listeners today can hear that passion throughout our conversation and agree with you wholeheartedly.

Emma:

Thank you for having me here today.

Katie:

Thank you, Emma. I appreciate your time.

Farm Credit EXPRESS, the easy equipment financing program offered by Farm Credit, has recently announced a new leasing program. The program was rolled out to their equipment dealer network on April 3.

“We’re excited to now offer this additional product to customers throughout our area,” says Mary Henry, district sales manager for Farm Credit EXPRESS. “We’ve seen the demand for a leasing option grow over the years. Leasing allows the customer more flexibility, while still providing them with the same service and support they would receive if they were to purchase and finance the equipment.”

The Farm Credit EXPRESS loan and leasing programs provide one stop shopping and quick financing to customers through their network of partner equipment dealers. Both programs offer financing for new and used equipment and competitive fixed rates. For those customer who take out a loan with Farm Credit EXPRESS, they have the opportunity to share in Farm Credit’s profit-sharing patronage program.

“The feedback we’ve received from our partner dealerships has been positive,” says Henry. “We strive to continue to offer the customer competitive options that will assist them in the decision-making process, and a program that is easy to use.”

LISTEN TO Emma's EPISODE HERE OR FIND US ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST LISTENING APP!

Summary

On this episode of the Farm Credit AgVocates Podcast, we interview Emma Musser, Pennsylvania State FFA officer. Emma will share her perspective through the eyes of a young FFA leader. She will share her journey of becoming a state officer, what this experience means to her and her creative opportunity to serve the future of agriculture.

In this episode, you will learn about the importance of National FFA Week and the efforts Pennsylvania FFA has organized to celebrate the memorable week.

Johanna Rohrer:

Welcome to the Farm Credit AgVocates podcast. I'm your host Joanna Rohrer, Marketing Specialist at Horizon Farm Credit. Today's guest is Emma Musser from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Emma currently serves as the State Chaplain on the 2020-21 Pennsylvania FFA State Officer Team. Emma began serving in her role since June. The Pennsylvania FFA Officer Team consists of seven young agricultural leaders serving over 13,000 members across the state. In her role, she is responsible for representing the organization at numerous industry functions, assisting with workshops and conferences, but more importantly, she is known for speaking up for agriculture and inspiring others to become young leaders. Emma earned her FFA Keystone degree and was a member of the 2018 Pennsylvania 4-H Livestock Judging Team. Emma's passion for speaking up for agriculture runs deep in her roots, along with her passion for art.

Please help me welcome Emma to the podcast. Hi Emma.

Emma Musser:

Hi Johanna. Thanks so much for having me on the podcast today.

Johanna Rohrer:

I wanted to just start out and ask for you to give us your 30 second elevator pitch for FFA.

WHAT IS FFA AND WHY IS IT SO AWESOME?

Emma Musser:

FFA is a student led organization whose mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success. I think FFA is awesome because it takes your classroom instruction combined with a project you have outside of school and then your whole FFA experience and just combines into an experience unlike any other experience you’ll have in your life.

Johanna Rohrer:

We know FFA is the combination of in-classroom instruction, but also that hands-on learning approach, as well as, developing your leadership potential over time. I know you grew up in the Elizabethtown FFA chapter as a high school student. 

DID YOU SERVE IN ANY LEADERSHIP ROLES DURING THOSE YEARS IN HIGH SCHOOL?

Emma Musser:

I loved FFA. My dad was in the program and my sister went through the program. When I was a freshmen, I was quick to join the Elizabethtown FFA chapter. Then, I was allowed to run for an officer position and I served as a Reporter that year. My junior and senior years, I was fortunate to serve as the President of the Elizabethtown FFA program. I kind of worked my way up the program and really had a lot of ideas that I was able to develop as I served as President those final two years. Outside of the FFA scene, I was active in the Lancaster County 4-H clubs. I served as Swine Club President and Beef Club President, among many different office positions throughout the years. My final positions, I was president in both of those clubs.

I was also active in the Lancaster County FFA program.

Where I come from each school and our County has their own FFA program. We then bring all those schools together to have a whole Lancaster County FFA program. In the Lancaster County FFA program, I served as Sentinel and Secretary. I was fortunate to serve in a lot of different leadership positions, but I also had some out of school activities. I was involved in Bible Club and I also square danced.  I really enjoyed square dancing. I did it with my cousins and we performed each year at the PA Farm Show.  I did hold a lot of leadership positions, but I also was able to have some fun.

Johanna Rohrer:

Wow, that sounds like such an amazing resume of leadership opportunities and positions that you were able to serve in. That brings me to thinking about what made you want to run for a State FFA Office? Obviously, here in the state of Pennsylvania, you get nominated through a nominating process, as you're interested in running for State Office.

WHAT MADE YOU CONSIDER TO RUN FOR STATE OFFICE?

Emma Musser:

This is a really tough question. Like I said earlier, I was super involved in the Elizabethtown FFA program and I truly loved each moment that I got to spend in my blue jacket in that program.  I loved it a lot because my older sister, she was two years ahead of me in school and she had really paved the road for me to find success. She really left big footsteps for me to fill, but I was fortunate to follow her path. Once she graduated, I was able to lead my younger sister in the FFA program. That family time and being able to spend time with my sisters, both doing something we were all passionate about was super important to me and something I really cherished. Running for state office, I was just excited for the opportunity to leave the walls of Elizabethtown FFA and the Lancaster County FFA and reach a much bigger platform that I could influence over 13,000 members. It was not something I'd really considered my first couple of years of high school, but into my junior and senior year, my advisors were super encouraging to me. They really thought it was something I would be good at and something they really encouraged me to pursue. One moment in particular that really solidified my thoughts and running for State Office was a friendship I had made my senior year. I took an Agriculture Mechanics course, something super outside my comfort zone. I was actually the only girl in the class. I had become friends with this sophomore FFA member. It was a friendship that was truly meaningful to me and touched me in a lot of different ways. He was a student that wasn't really good book-wise; he was more of that hands-on kind of guy. He began to fail in school, his girlfriend had broken up with him and he was just going through a really hard time.  I loved being able to be there for him to encourage him, to help him get out of his rough patch. It was after our banquet got canceled in May that he reached out to me and sent me this really, really amazing message about how I had really impacted his life and how he really appreciated me being there for him, and how I had inspired him to be involved in FFA and to get involved in agriculture and be a part of the community and a part of the industry. That message to me was so amazing and so thoughtful. I thought if I can make that impact on one FFA member, I can't wait to see how the Lord's going to use me on a platform like the State Office. That was kind of the defining moment that made me say, okay, I want to do this. I want each FFA member to feel the way that my friend felt in Ag Mechanics.

Johanna Rohrer:

What a good reminder for all of us to think about challenging ourselves to take that next step, but also for you, having that moment to be able to reflect and say “I know that I was able to impact one person's life in a positive way, and now I'm ready to take the next step and try to do it with more people.”  To have that ambition to not only put yourself out there and to try for State Office, that's such a great story. I really appreciate you sharing that.

You shared a little bit about your agricultural education classes. We've heard that you took an Ag Mechanics class, which kudos to you because that is something that I did not do in FFA and I mildly looked back on the years and wish that I had. I wanted to kind of shift gears a little bit. We know that FFA, one of the fundamentals is agricultural education classes, but the other side of it is what we call FFA Supervised Agricultural Experience’s or commonly said is SAE’s.

I'M CURIOUS WHICH ONES [SAES] YOU PARTICIPATED IN AND WHICH ONE WAS YOUR FAVORITE?

Emma Musser:

I was involved in three different SAE projects. I had goat entrepreneurship, which was basically raising and showing goats, swine entrepreneurship and beef entrepreneurship. My Supervised Agricultural Experiences were mostly to do with livestock. It was raising them and then preparing them to show at my local and state fairs. My favorite SAE project was my beef entrepreneurship project. I actually first began showing pigs in 4-H. I love showing pigs. It was so fun, but I always was interested in big beef. Showing market steers was something that really intrigued me. I was in sixth grade when I got my first market steer and it was a project that I fell in love with. Steers can be very tricky and very temperamental. You never know how they're going to react to certain things, but I was fortunate to have very tame ones. I spent a lot of time getting them to that point, but when they were tame, they were so sweet and I had them for about a year. My connection with them was much stronger than it ever was with my pigs. Beef entrepreneurship was definitely my favorite. It taught me a lot of things and I learned how to work hard. I had my own checking account. I remember I went to the bank when I was 16 and they said I was not old enough to have a checking account, but we fought for it and I was able to actually get one. I was writing checks, balancing that checkbook, which is something that is useful to me now and something that I will definitely continue to use in my future.

I also loved, and this is probably my favorite part; I know I talked about the connection with the animals, but I was able to raise livestock alongside my sisters and cousins. I didn't grow up on a farm. My dad grew up on a broiler chicken farm, but we moved off the farm. I was fortunate because I got to keep my livestock at my grandparents farm, where my dad grew up, but that's about 10 minutes away from my house. I didn't get that on-the-farm experience, but I did it in a different way. Getting to do that alongside my sisters and cousins made me feel like I grew up on a farm, but it was great to have that experience with them, to spend that time with them, and to build such close-knit relationships with them is something I will always cherish.

Johanna Rohrer:

I think back to the first time that I met your family and I met your older sister, Maddie, when she first started showing pigs in Lancaster County. I'm a little bit older than you Emma, so I had the opportunity to watch you grow up showing livestock here in Lancaster County. I have to say, when you're talking about family time with your SAE projects, I can totally relate to that because some of my best memories with my family was with my brother. My older brother showing livestock, and then going to shows with my family and having all of that time invested in our livestock projects. It takes a lot of dedication and it's a lot of hard work to do that really, really well. Thank you so much for sharing that. I think SAEs are such an important component of FFA because they help students and members get that application part of their project. You talked about getting your checking account, writing checks, being able to budget, doing your inventory and your record keeping; those are all skills that I learned at FFA and now I use them today in my career. There are many important life skills that you learned through those projects. It's not always about the livestock. It's more about the application of the project and the life lessons that you're learning.

The other side of FFA, we know that the FFA organization hosts agricultural science, food, fiber, and natural resource Career Development Events, or what we call CDE’s.

I'M CURIOUS WHAT CDE’S YOU PARTICIPATED IN. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE? LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT.

Emma Musser:

Career development events are a great way to get involved in the FFA program and they provide some incredible opportunities. I was actually more involved in the leadership development side of things. FFA has those career development events, but we also have Leadership Development Event’s, which is like job interview and public speaking. The first Leadership Development Event I ever competed in was Creed Speaking.  I was a little freshman doing the FFA Creed by E.M. Tiffany. Like I said earlier, my sister really just paved the way for me. She actually competed in this exact contest. When she was going through it, all I ever heard was the FFA Creed, her and my dad would say it all the time. I knew as a freshman in high school that I wanted to do the FFA Creed, and this was my favorite. It just means so much to me because it opened a lot of doors for me. As a freshmen. I was scared, I was nervous and I didn't really know what FFA was. I knew I wanted to be there, but I didn't really know what I was doing. The creed just gave me an opportunity to be successful, to try something new, and to discover a talent that I had.  I didn't really know I was good at public speaking until I was very successful in the Creed. That opened the door for me to then compete in junior prepared public speaking, and eventually senior prepared public speaking. In senior prepared public speaking, you memorize a six to eight minute speech, and then you present that in front of a panel of judges. I was fortunate to place second in the state. Then I got to go to the Big E in Massachusetts, the Eastern States Exposition. That was just a very cool opportunity for me to experience. It was awesome to spend time with my advisors and a few other members in my chapter and get to go to a state I've never been to before. I had never been to Massachusetts or the New England area. It was so beautiful and so fun. The Creed had really opened my eyes and opened many doors for me to be successful. It was definitely the thing that got me too senior prepared and got me to experience that great opportunity.

Johanna Rohrer:

Public speaking is not an easy thing to do, but you obviously are very skilled in the subject matter.

DO YOU THINK THAT THOSE EXPERIENCES WILL HELP MAYBE GUIDE YOU INTO A FUTURE CAREER OR FUTURE INTEREST THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE?

Emma Musser:

Whatever I end up doing I would love if public speaking could be a component of that because it is something that I've really come to love and enjoy. It sounds kind of crazy because it is kind of a scary and daunting task, but it is something I would definitely love to do in my future career, if that's possible.

Johanna Rohrer:

You talked a little bit about traveling. You challenged yourself to compete at a bigger level with senior prepared public speaking, so that gave you the opportunity to travel and maybe see some new places that you hadn't been to before. You also get the opportunity to travel some in your role as a State FFA Officer. I know this year hasn't been normal, so you're creating some virtual chapter visits as well, along with some other virtual experiences for the students here in Pennsylvania.

WOULD YOU SHARE ONE OF YOUR MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES ENGAGING WITH THE STUDENT MEMBERS HERE IN THE STATE?

Emma Musser:

You mentioned that this year looks very different than years before and it totally does. It's had it seasons of disappointment for me. I've had times where I'm just comparing to the past couple of years and wondering why my year doesn't look like that, but I know that I'm here for a reason and that I’m meant to be on this team this year for a reason. That just gives me a lot of hope. I've also had a lot of moments where I've been reassured that this is where I meant to be, and this is where the Lord wants me. Those have been such blessings throughout this year because the disappointment pairs with these awesome, eye-opening blessings, and it's been a year of growth and a year of learning. Something I've really enjoyed and one of my favorite experiences actually came towards the beginning of the year. My teammate and I got to drive four hours away to go to Otto-Eldred High School, which is in McKean County. We traveled pretty far, but Otto-Eldred had just started their FFA program this year. We were getting to go talk to students who really had no idea what FFA was. It was intimidating for me to have to share all that FFA is with these kids, but they were so engaged. Their eyeballs were glued to us the whole day. They were so fascinated with what FFA was and all they could do. It was just one of those experiences that just filled me and excited me because this group of kids might not have gotten the opportunity to be a part of FFA. They're just starting a new program so they get to experience something that is so beneficial to our youth and they are so excited. I know that they're at kind of a disadvantage because starting new and starting from scratch can be difficult. But if you have that passion, if you have that interest, they're going to go very far. Spending time with those students, getting to speak to them about something that I love and that I'm passionate about and having it be received so well and with so much interest and with so much excitement was something that I'll remember for the rest of my life. I just love the connection that I've made with them. I still try and stay connected with them over social media. This was definitely one of my all-time favorite visits and something that I was blessed to do.

Johanna Rohrer:

That is awesome that you were able to be a part of their first FFA experience and also for you to realize how important that moment is, not only to you, but also to them, because it's the start to their FFA experience.

WHAT DOES BEING A LEADER MEAN TO YOU? IN YOUR ROLE AS A STATE FFA OFFICER, YOU ARE IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?

Emma Musser:

I actually got asked this when I was running for State Office. One of the members in the nominating committee asked me if I thought that leadership came with a title or position. This was something I had never really thought about. Something that I've come to learn and understand that being in a position of leadership or having a title of leadership means a lot. It’s a lot of pressure and it requires a lot of perseverance and character, but I've also learned that leadership doesn't come. You don't have to have a position or a title to be a leader. As a sister, I lead my younger sibling. As an employee, I can inspire the people who are older than me or younger than me. In every area of my life, I can bring that leadership component and I can show others, and encourage others, and take that leadership responsibility. That’s something I've come to understand and learn. As I'm in this position of leadership, I think it is important more than ever to stay passionate about what I'm doing. This year is so hard and I feel for all the students across Pennsylvania who are learning virtually, who are missing out on so many great opportunities, who got their Keystone and weren't able to attend Midwinter Convention at the PA Farm Show, and who zipped up their jacket for the first time and didn't get to do it in a room full of people. It's hard for me, but I know it's harder for them. That's something that I'm coming to learn and understand that while I'm in this position of leadership, I just have to remain passionate and remember why I'm here, why I'm doing this and I'm doing it for the members. I think that being a leader is being someone that these students can look up to and see positivity, happiness, and joy in, even though this year is full of so much less than what we anticipated.

Johanna Rohrer:

Yes, this year has challenged so many of us in different ways. You're definitely not alone, but what a cool way to talk about leadership and to reflect on the responsibility that you've been given in your leadership role. You're exactly right, leadership can mean so many different things to different people, and you have the opportunity to be that role model and that good influence. I always talk a lot about trying to be a good influence to my colleagues that I work with or to the industry partners that I get the privilege to have a relationship with or with my family. Being a good person and being able to contribute to the betterment of my community is really important.

Emma, we're going to transition over to National FFA Week with a new question. National FFA Week is coming up February 20th to the 27th. For those of you who don't know, National FFA Week is a time for FFA members to host activities that will raise awareness about the role FFA plays in the development of agriculture's future leaders and the importance of agricultural education.

WHAT PLANS DOES THE FFA HAVE IN PLACE TO HELP PROMOTE THE WEEK?

Emma Musser:

Pennsylvania FFA during National FFA Week is planning to do virtual and in-person visits. We sent out a sign-up sheet to teachers and they can choose to have us come in person, which we would love to do, but also if that's not an option because of COVID and all the restrictions, we're also offering a virtual platform. We are more than excited to spend some time with our chapter, whether that's in-person or virtual. Talking with them, chatting with them, either giving a speech or running a workshop. We're excited to see how they're celebrating National FFA Week and spending some time with them. We're also planning to release chapter challenges each day. Each day of the week we'll have a challenge for our chapters to complete and then hopefully we can offer a prize at the end of the week for those that did each challenge and then enter them into a drawing. We're still in some of those planning stages for other things that we want to do, but we're really taking advantage of this virtual platform. In years past, we couldn't visit as many chapters during National FFA Week as we can this year because of the virtual platform. We are engaging more members, more people, and more classrooms. We're super excited to visit with everyone and to celebrate National FFA Week together.

Johanna Rohrer:

WHEN YOU PUT ON YOUR BLUE AND GOLD JACKET, WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD ABOUT?

Emma Musser:

When I put on my blue and gold jacket, I'm very proud to be a part of the future of agriculture. Through COVID-19, this whole quarantine, and this season of life that we're in, we have learned that agriculture is such an essential business. When more people are understanding that their food doesn't come from the back of the grocery store or any part of the grocery store, it comes from farms. I think that just being a part of an essential industry that feeds, that clothes, that provides for so many people, is something that makes me so proud that when I zip up my blue and gold jacket, I just can't help but to smile that I get to be a part of agriculture. I've found my place in the industry. I just pray and I hope that each member who zips up their jacket and puts that blue and gold on that they can see that they are part of something so much greater than just themselves or their FFA chapter or Pennsylvania FFA. They are a part of agriculture. I pray that each person can find their place, find their passion and learn and grow from the FFA and from the agriculture industry.

Johanna Rohrer:

I think there are a lot of us out there that are FFA member alumni that are now able to say, we work in the community and we once wore that jacket too. It may have been a few years ago, but the organization just plays such a huge role on building the leadership and also the skillset of future young leaders that are going to come back and lead the agricultural industry and also be huge components of our communities.

I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE EQUAL PASSION FOR BOTH ART AND AGRICULTURE. I'M CURIOUS HOW YOU USE THAT TALENT TO INFLUENCE YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO YOUR COMMUNITY?

Emma Musser:

I love this question. Art and agriculture are definitely my biggest passions. I've had many opportunities to combine them, which is something, so special to me. One way that I really use my art talent was this summer. Our fair was canceled, so we got together with a group of livestock parents and community members and we put on this Old Line Youth Livestock Exposition. It was really cool to see all these people come together in my community for the youth who are showing livestock for the future of agriculture. I loved it so much. It just made me so excited and made me so proud of where I come from and who I'm surrounded with and who I get to work with.

I was fortunate to serve on this board of directors. On this board, we had people who were doing our financials. We had people who were more secretary positions who were getting everything in line and preparing for this show. It was so cool to see all these people use their strengths to come together and put on this livestock exposition. I was fortunate to use my strength of art. I got to design our t-shirts and our logo.  I also got to design the banners that were awarded to our champions and champion showman. Using my art combined with my passion and my Supervised Agriculture Experience of showing these livestock and raising these livestock was something I really never thought would happen. It was so cool to watch that all come together.

I also have used my art recently in this past week, I've had two student teachers reach out to me. They're both starting a blog and they wanted a logo to go along with it.  I was fortunate to be able to design that for them, so they can use it in their classroom and they can use on their blog to promote agriculture. That's another great way I've used my art. I also love to paint. I love to paint steers, cattle and livestock. It has just really cool to be able to combine my passion for agriculture, with my love for art.

Johanna Rohrer:

DO YOU THINK BEING CREATIVE DURING THIS PARTICULAR TIME HAS HELPED YOU TO SERVE THE FFA MEMBERS DURING THE PANDEMIC?

Emma Musser:

Most definitely.  I would say if we're going to be creative, now's the time to be creative. My director has told our team throughout this whole year that the book that we spent 90 years writing is out the window and we are rewriting it from scratch. We have a blank book and we get to write our own story, which is something that frustrates me sometimes. I get angry that I have to be the one to rewrite it, but it's also an incredible opportunity to do new things and to inspire our members in different ways and to connect with them in different ways. It's been a crazy opportunity to get that experience. I think being creative now, thinking outside the box and thinking how we are going to engage our 13,000 members and how we do that well has been a challenge, but also has been important. As the State Officer team we have released two series called “Inside the Jacket” on our Pennsylvania FFA YouTube channel. Our teachers have been showing these in the classroom to our students, and we also have a worksheet to go along with each video. We are pushing content for these teachers to use in their classroom because as hard as this year is for us, it's also really hard for our teachers. They're struggling in the exact same ways we are; how they are going to engage their students and keep their students passionate about agriculture education. “Inside the Jacket” is a great way to involve students and teachers to be able to aid our teachers in some content. Social media has been super important. I've gotten to use my love for graphics and art to work on our social media and to push posts out that keep our members informed about what we're doing and excited. It's been super fun. It's been a challenge to be creative, but a challenge that I have really enjoyed.

Johanna Rohrer:

I love the visual about how you have the opportunity to literally write a new book. Sometimes that's such a daunting task. I wish there was a playbook that could help me through this process, but deep down, you're sitting there and you're getting to create a moment that someone hasn't thought of in the past. It's nice to see you being able to use one of your strengths and to be able to create this experience for the rest of the FFA members across the state.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL COME NEXT IN YOUR JOURNEY AFTER SERVING AS A STATE OFFICER?

Emma Musser:

This is such a hard question. I have really been thinking hard about this probably since well before I graduated high school about what comes next for me. I've really enjoyed this gap year in between high school and college that I've used to serve Pennsylvania FFA. It's been truly a wonderful experience and I'm excited to take all these things that I've learned and all these strengths I have developed into the next season of my life, which I think is going to be attending Penn State. I want to go for Ag Science and minor in Marketing and Communications. Something I've learned that I love and enjoy is social media and making graphics. It doesn't come as natural to me as painting or drawing. It takes me a little bit more time, but it's also something that I think I would really enjoy whether that's making ads, designing ads or running social media for a company, or maybe even video editing. I think those are all really fun things and I'd love to continue to pair my love for art with my love for agriculture. Hopefully those two can come together effortlessly into a career.

Johanna Rohrer:

That's an awesome way to look at your future, leave the doors open. Coming from one marketing professional to another young person thinking about getting into the communication field in agriculture, it's such a great opportunity to combine your passion for art and also the communication piece. Those public speaking skills will never leave you. It's such a great opportunity. I have one sign off question for today for you. Emma, we always signed off all of our podcasts this way.

WHAT DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR IN AGRICULTURE?

Emma Musser:

In agriculture I advocate for the next generation of agriculturists. Being in this position of State Office has gave me such a platform and such an opportunity to advocate for this next generation, for the future of our industry. I am so excited to see the ways that this year has shaped our membership and shape this next group of people who are going to be entering the industry. If anything it has showed us that we are resilient and that we can persevere. Agriculture is so essential and that it's worth getting our hands dirty. I'm just super excited to see where this next generation takes us and where the future is. The future of technology and the future of efficiency. I am just so excited to be in the industry that I love to continue to advocate for it, to continue to speak out for the opportunities that agricultural holds and to continue to influence that next generation.

Johanna Rohrer:

We always talk about how the future is with our youth and in this industry, I’m a firm believer of that. I think our FFA program does an outstanding job at building our future leaders to help lead the organization that both you and I have grown to be so passionate about over the last few years. I thank you for your time today Emma, you did an outstanding job.

I just want to remind everybody that today over a half million students across the U.S. are engaged in a wide range of agricultural education activities leading to over 300 career opportunities in agricultural science, food, fiber, and natural resources. For more information about National FFA Week visit FFA.org, and remember to check out your local virtual FFA chapter celebrations next week to join in on the fun.

Please rate, review, subscribe, and share this podcast with a friend. Get podcasts notes and subscribe to email alerts at mafc.com/podcast. Send any topic or guest suggestions to podcast@mafc.com.

As spring planting is soon upon us, we want to remind you that most corn and soybean policies provide replant coverage. Remember, once you have replanted a field, it is too late to file a claim. Replanting prior to receiving consent will result in your claim being denied.

If you find yourself needing to replant your crops this year, here are a few things to keep in mind:

CALL BEFORE YOU REPLANT:

A claim must be filed and the insurance company must be given time to inspect the damage prior to replanting the crop.

SELF CERT REPLANTS:

Our insurance providers offer an expedited claim process for replants that meet specific acreage requirements. Call your agent for details.

The requirements for self cert changed in 2020. The maximum acres allowed per unit was increased from 50 to 100. An adjuster must be assigned to review any unit with more than 100 acres being replanted.

WRITTEN CONSENT:

The insurance company must provide you with written consent prior to releasing acreage for replant. This includes crops that do not provide replant payments.

Don’t jeopardize your coverage.  Make sure to contact your agent right away when you have the first idea that you may need to replant. Find more details about replant coverage here.

Johanna Rohrer, Division Marketing Specialist for Horizon Farm Credit, was awarded as the winner of PFB’s Young Ag Professionals “Excellence in Agriculture” Award on November 19, 2019 at the organization’s 69th annual meeting in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

According to PFB, the award considers candidates who do not have the majority of their income subject to normal production risk. They recognize Rohrer’s “leadership ability, involvement with agriculture, and participation with Farm Bureau.” She is currently a member of PFB’s Young Ag Professional Committee, as well as the volunteer Newsletter and Website Editor for Lancaster County Farm Bureau.

“I enjoy having the opportunity to tell agriculture’s story as a marketing specialist and to support the Farm Credit mission to enhance our local community,” says Rohrer.  

In her role with Horizon Farm Credit as a Division Marketing Specialist, Rohrer works directly with the sales staff, coordinating outreach with our members and developing content. In addition to her volunteer involvement with PFB, she serves as a coach for the local 4-H program and works weekends on her family’s farm, which produces corn, soybeans, wheat, and tree fruit, sold directly to local consumers from the family’s farm market.

“We are very proud of Johanna for receiving this award and look forward to having her represent our organization and region at the national level,” says Jenny Kreisher, Director of Communications and Creative Services at Horizon Farm Credit. “She is an excellent leader and a true example of how Farm Credit’s employees are rooted in agriculture.”  

As the winner, Rohrer receives several prizes, including free lodging and registration for the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 101st Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas. For more information about the PFB Young Ag Professionals Awards, visit pfb.com/get-involved/young-ag-professionals.

Diversified income is an earning strategy that involves generating income from several different sources, rather than being reliant upon just one occupation. Sources of diversified income include, but are not limited to, the following: growing crops, raising livestock, construction, breeding puppies, and rent.

The main advantage of having a diversified income is the lower financial risk that comes with being dependent upon one source of income. For example, if there is a drought that affects corn crops, a farmer that grows corn, breeds puppies, and receives rental income from an investment property will typically be in a better financial situation than another farmer that only grows corn. This is because the portion of income that the first farmer receives from the puppies and rent will not be affected by the drought, whereas the second farmer’s entire income is negatively impacted.

Projected income refers to estimated earnings for a new business endeavor for which an individual has no record of past earnings to draw upon.

When submitting projected income for consideration, even though no historical record of earnings exists, it is helpful to have supporting documentation of the amount to be earned. For example, a signed lease agreement for a new tenant would be useful in indicating the monthly amount of income to be received by the landlord.

Farm Credit is unique in that we recognize all sources of income, including new business endeavors that do not have an earning history. We understand the importance of diversifying risk within your operation, and are here to help you make prudent financial decisions.

That being said, it is important to exercise caution when considering projected income. For example, does the life of the income match the life of the loan terms? Does the property need significant additional investments before it is able to generate income, and how do those investments alter the profitability of this venture? A prudent businessperson asks the question before diving into a venture that is outside their means.

LISTEN TO EMMA'S EPISODE HERE OR FIND US ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST LISTENING APP!

In this episode, we chat with Emma Jagoz, Founder of Moon Valley Farm CSA, and learn how she started her CSA in her neighbor's backyards and grew to their own 25 acre plot. After the pandemic struck, she shifted the CSA from catering to high end restaurants and chefs to feeding consumers with their extended season of growing.

Meaghan Malinowski:

Welcome to the Farm Credit AgVocates podcast. I'm your host, Meaghan Malinowski, Content and Digital Marketing Strategists at Horizon Farm Credit. Today’s guest t is part of the 36% of women producers in the U S and has an amazing story to share around her CSA, Moon Valley Farm in Woodsboro, Maryland. When the pandemic hit Emma and her team at Moon Valley had to pivot away from high end restaurant sales and extend their growing season by seven whole weeks to make sure that they could adequately feed their customers and communities. So without further ado, let's jump right into my interview with Emma Jagoz at Moon Valley Farm.

So we'll go ahead and get started. Thank you so much for joining me today. Emma, I'm glad to have you on here.

Emma Jagoz:

Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

Meaghan Malinowski:

 I want to kind of jump right in and introduce you to our listeners because you guys have had a really busy year, and I'm really interested to hear how you got started with Moon Valley Farm and how you decided to start a CSA? Because it's a very interesting and unique business model.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED WITH MOON VALLEY FARM AND HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO START A CSA?

Emma Jagoz:

It is. So this is my ninth season of running a CSA farm. But I had heard about a CSA program for my sister and I fell in love with it from the start. I really strongly believe that communities are strengthened by access to healthy and nutrient dense food. And that's so many communities are lacking access to this processed and prepackage fast foods have become the core diets for many people.

So I believe that re-centering our diets around whole foods grown locally and organically communities will be able to take back power and control in our lives. And I just really wanted to be a part of that work, the reclamation of health and power by helping people lead healthier lives.

So I started growing food when I was pregnant with my first born. I read somewhere that if you ate arugula while pregnant, your baby could get a stronger brain development. There’s other foods too. But  I latched on to that and I started growing a lot of arugula out in my apartment balcony, so that I could have a smart baby, and it was just one of those random things that I latched on to. And, and then I started an in-ground garden the next season and wanted to raise my kids, myself and also start a business, doing something I believed in.

Meaghan Malinowski:

How cool, that's amazing. I'm adding that a regular thing to my back pocket for trivia night for whenever we can go back to that. That's so awesome.

So when I first started at Horizon I started as an intern and one of my first tasks was to do research on different topics in Ag and write blog posts and articles and stuff for like our SEO. Community supported Ag was one of the topics that that I read about and I don't come from an Ag background. So I have been really excited to talk to you about the community aspect of a CSA and kind of where that comes from.

WHAT DOES THE COMMUNITY AT MOON VALLEY FARM LOOK LIKE AND HOW DO YOU HOW DO YOU USE THAT NETWORK TO HELP YOU RUN THE FARM AND CONTRIBUTE TO THAT BIGGER PICTURE?

Emma Jagoz:

Well, to be honest, this has looked different each season of the farm. When I first started, I was the sole farmer and I was also raising my two children who were under age two at the time. So the community aspect then, looked like friends and neighbors, volunteering to watch my children for a while or pull weeds or help me harvest because they could see that I had my hands full. And throughout the next several years, I leveraged networks that I had to and created new networks to access more land by bartering with my community to grow on their land. So the community engagement then was very central to the farm. But I think the, the main question is how most of my CSA members involved with the farm are? And most of the CSA members receive a weekly box of veggies and their primary engagement with the farm, our on-farm events that we offer several times a year, we'll offer a potluck just so that people can come to the farm and meet the farmers and share some of the delicious dishes they make.

And we also offer workshops than events like cooking classes and plant sales and on farm festivals in the falls. So all of those are canceled this year. This year we have increased our focus on our online community which is something that we've always actually been cultivating. We have a weekly e-newsletter for our members where we share on farm happenings, as well as what our harvest or that week recipe ideas storage tips, preservation tips. And we also have a really active, closed Facebook group for our CSA members in which all of us share recipes, kitchen hacks, and meal prep tips. Sometimes it's just takes a picture of what's in your share and say, wait, what is this again? And how should I cook it or help my dish turned out weird? How can you help me? So we offer things like that as well. And, and that's, that's been a big part of the community year.

Meaghan Malinowski:

I imagine that's probably something that really kind of grows legs of its own more or less. And everybody kind of gets engaged and I love joining groups like that because it's so nice to see, you know, what other people are working on and get advice.  I think for food, it's, it's really at the center of a lot of our, you know, more personal interactions with people and the events that we go to, like you said, it's, it's really food makes an event really a production, you know? So I think it's really cool to, to hear how your community has kind of grown over time and how that shifted. And I'm sure, you know, with the pandemic taking things online, it's probably nice to have that already kind of set up.

WOULD YOU SAY PEOPLE ARE MORE ENGAGED NOW THAN THEY WERE BEFORE DURING THE PANDEMIC?

Emma Jagoz:

Yes, absolutely. With the online community, yes. And then I, I get messages from those who prefer in person and events and they are active online as well, but they do miss it, but yes, a lot, a lot of people are focusing more on cooking. We also started a Facebook closed group for a garden club. We've always sold seedlings each season. And we actually did contactless home delivery for our plant sale this year instead of offering an on-farm event. And so a lot of people got access to our seedlings and they've been sharing progress photos of their gardens and disease and pest issues sometimes with their plans or just they're proud harvests. And so that's been a really fun new group that we started this year. And the engagement is great in that one as well.

Meaghan Malinowski:

Awesome. I love hearing that. I, I really got into gardening during the pandemic and I went and bought all of my seedlings. I've actually got two watermelon plants out front that have really taken over our driveway. And at one point probably about a month ago, we had about 18 watermelons just sitting. And it's funny because we, you know, we just bought our house a year ago, but with working all the time and living near the beach, you know, we're always doing something or going somewhere, but we have been so blessed to have been able to meet our neighbors and make friends around our watermelons. We have people that stop by and they're like, wow, they look great. Like you better be careful people are going to run off with them. And it's like, well, it's fine. At this point, we have so many, you might as well, but that's really cool to have that connection with people and be able to have them kind of journey through that together through your CSA. So that's awesome.

And I want to go back to what you were saying about bartering and expanding the CSA, because I think that seems to be a really unique solution to like the biggest challenge of starting your first generation and, and having the space to do that.

WHAT DOES [BARTERING FOR LAND] LOOK LIKE IF YOU'RE WILLING TO SHARE US YOUR TRADE SECRETS AND STUFF?

Emma Jagoz:

Yeah. I a hundred percent. So I started off farming, my parent's backyard. They had about half an acre of cultivatable land. And I realized that when I started with a 12 person CSA, based on that half acre of land, that I wanted more space to grow a greater diversity of crops, especially some of those bigger crops. Like you mentioned, watermelons that take up just a lot of space, but also sweet potatoes and potatoes and winter squashes. So I looked at my next door neighbor and I asked her if it would be okay if I farm her yard. I noticed she didn't use it very much and just pay the service to mow it. And I thought, well, it might be a little cheaper for her if I farmed it and I would be great for me. And she said, Oh, nobody's ever asked me that before, let me think about it. And then she thought about it and said, yes. And at that same time, actually another neighbor on the street saw what I was doing and had chatted with me about it and said, Hey, you know what, I've got a brother-in-law who's about 20 minutes away. And he had some land would you be interested in using that? And this man was a quadriplegic, and so he had to pay somebody to mow and maintain his property. So he was very motivated to get somebody to do it and was happy to barter for a CSA share. So we started off with those three and actually the neighbor next door saw what I was doing on the, on the first two pieces of property. And they said, oh, would you want to do it that on my yard too, I've got about an acre back here you could farm. And they were delighted to get a CSA share and to mow less. And so I ended up farming six different properties, spanning 15 acres of certified organic vegetables at the end of 2019. And that's the same time that we took the plunge and purchased property. So I was finding that I absolutely loved everything about the generosity of the landowners that allowed us to use their property, but I had to make long-term investments for the farm, like greenhouses and high tunnels and some other infrastructure like permanent walk-in coolers in order to do the right thing for my business. So we ended up purchasing land, but for eight years we bartered for the use of land in order to gain experience and be able to take the time to invest in equipment and really find a community of eaters who are willing to support us in the meantime. So it was a lot lower risk when we purchased land. Cause we already had a lot of things in motion.

Meaghan Malinowski:

SO YOU WENT FROM A 12 PERSON CSA ON A HALF-ACRE TO HOW MANY ACRES DO YOU GUYS HAVE NOW? ARE YOU IN ONE LOCATION NOW?

Emma Jagoz:

Yes, we are just newly in one location this year. The farm is 25 acres and we're growing for over 500 members CSA.

Meaghan Malinowski:

Wow. Oh my gosh. That is amazing. So you guys you guys are busy normally, but then this year. I'd also like to mention, this is a very good example of how, if you don't ask the answer's always no. So I love that you approached people in a different way of, of trying to get around to it. You know, it was beneficial for them, but also gave you the space that you needed to grow. And I think people are probably more open to it than we think initially. Because you know, you probably are like, oh gosh, like nobody's going to want me to like grow things on their land. And it's a lot of this and that it's I love hearing that people were so open to it.

Emma Jagoz:

Yes. People ended up being really proud of the tomatoes they had in their backyard. Right. They didn't have to do much for it. And they could show their friends, their big tomato patch or their herb garden.

Meaghan Malinowski:

That is so cool. I love that. Well, let's flash forward then now that we're, you know, we're at the 25 acre property, I wanted to see if you would walk us through kind of what happened when COVID struck, you know, we had the stay at home orders and everything kind of shifted to everybody being at home and not really traveling and doing that thing.

And what did [COVID changes] look like for you guys?

Emma Jagoz:

Well, we have been selling 51 weeks out of the year for the past five years. Our CSA program goes from May to the end of December which is a 33 week span. But the rest of the weeks were made up with restaurant sales in the winter time. So we do restaurant sales year round, but they're the only sales outlet from January through April. So when COVID struck in March we had a lot of product in storage and in our greenhouses for the restaurants and we had some folks on staff to help with that including a delivery driver. And when we got the news that COVID was here and we had the stay at home order, I decided to offer our CSA program seven weeks early. So we had product, we felt like the best way to utilize it under the circumstances was to offer home delivery shares to our CSA members.

We, we saw that people were scared that grocery stores were overburdened, shelves were empty. We knew that many were unable to risk leaving their homes. If they were at higher risk or, you know, some people were, a lot of people were unwilling to and really wanted to help slow the spread. So we launched our program seven weeks early and the response was overwhelming and we ended up deciding to double our CSA membership from last season to this one. So last season we ended with a 250 member CSA. So this season we really embraced home delivery because of COVID. We still utilize our pickup locations, which are primarily at Mom's Organic Market location throughout Maryland and also some small businesses. So we continued offering pickup at those starting in May when our regular season started, but we actually still sell to restaurants and we're selling to makers and restaurants the whole time, but demand changed significantly from how we anticipated it. And the CSA program has been more popular.

Meaghan Malinowski:

I'm sure your customers were very relieved probably to see that you guys were, were able to do that because it was, I mean, it was definitely a little bit scary for a little while trying to navigate it. And I mean, I can't imagine, you know, having children and having to think about that aspect too and thinking, you know, how am I going to feed my family? And that's, I think it's awesome that you guys really approached it from a, you know, how can we, how can we alleviate some of that stress for our customers and work through that together. So I think that's pretty awesome. I think that part of that anxiety is coming from not knowing, cause we've seen so many supply chain disruptions in this time and a lot of people don't really understand how each piece affects the rest of the puzzle. If it's not, you know, in the right spot, then everything kind of has to shift a little bit pivoting a little bit away from what the fundamentals were I guess that shifted.

HOW'S THE PANDEMIC AND EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED, MAYBE WITH THIS THE SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION, HOW HAS THAT CHANGED THE WAY YOU VIEW YOUR CSA AND WHAT YOUR PURPOSE IS AS A FARMER?

Emma Jagoz:

Honestly, it hasn't really, we have been community supported from the beginning and we've always highly valued growing for our neighbors and our friends and what we call our “farmaly.” We have always found great purpose and inspiration and that growing for people who value nutrient and seasonal vegetables, I think that a lot of new faces decided to try out our CSA program and other CSA programs throughout the whole country. And I think it's, it has strengthened the idea that local is more reliable and can be better.  It’s strengthened our sense of purpose for sure as well, but I think it's really strengthened other people's value of CSA programs.

Meaghan Malinowski:

Yeah, absolutely. And maybe willing to try something a little bit new and outside of the box. I had an inkling that that was going to be your answer. You guys are very, I mean, if you go on your website or your Facebook page, you guys are very purpose driven and have a very, very clear mission of what it is that you're trying to do. And I think for some of the producers that maybe don't have direct access to their customers I think pivoting may have been a little bit more difficult just because the experience is probably not really there or it's so new, it's, it's definitely kind of a scary thing. I think you're absolutely right. I think it's very reassuring to know that your purpose is really where you guys are coming from and what your, what your strength is.

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU THINK WE'LL STICK AROUND AFTER COVID LIKE PERHAPS THE HOME DELIVERY THING OR MAYBE EXPANDING THE CSA? TIME-WISE LIKE, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT?

Emma Jagoz:

For us personally, we are having our longest CSA season to date. Like I said, we're, we're growing for that 33 weeks you in close the seven earlier. So this year we'll have a 40 week long CSA program. And actually to be honest, this was in our plans before COVID, but we are going year round with our CSA starting 2021. So we were going from the 40 weeks CSA in 2020, and we're starting off the first week of January with a new CSA program. And this is because we've had the experience of offering year round vegetables for our chefs for the past five years. And this year we're able to make those investments that I referred to in our high tunnels to expand our winter production ability and the diversity that we can offer in the winter months. So we feel confident that we'll have great CSA boxes for our members.

Like I said, that's kind of that, that was our plans anyway, but a longer CSA program is definitely I'm going to stick around for us. And we are planning to stick with home delivery as well. I think to some degree it was of the times and people are really used to having Amazon boxes dropped at their door and frankly people's lives are just so busy that they, they need convenience. So and then in the climate with COVID, a lot of people just, you know, are avoiding stores rightfully so and want to trust that the people that they do come in contact with are being safe with COVID. So actually one other thing is that COVID force us to rethink our packaging. We changed from using a waxed box for a CSA so that we could reuse it to a recyclable cardboard box because we weren't sure if, especially in the beginning of COVID if COVID stayed on materials. And so we didn't want to recollect the boxes from our members and we wanted something that they would be able to recycle or reuse. So we switched to our cardboard box and we're going to, we're going to keep those as well after COVID.

Meaghan Malinowski:

That's awesome. Yeah. Cause I happened to collect those back again in the sanitizing and all of that stuff. I was probably a, a good move for the efficiency of that kind of process.

Emma Jagoz

Yes.

Meaghan Malinowski:

So you answered quite a few of my questions now. I'm like, okay, what else do I want to know? It seems like, I think it's pretty lucky that you guys, you know, already kind of had those growth plans in place, and we're already thinking about what expansion was going to look like.

IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU EVALUATE EACH YEAR OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU KIND OF PLANNED FOR WHEN YOU STARTED THE COMPANY OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT DID THAT LOOK LIKE? THAT PLANNING PROCESS?

Emma Jagoz:

I would say that it's grown organically if you will. As, as I got to know my customers and what they wanted, and I got to know the land better, I realized that year round growing is possible here. So I strongly believe that habit is a big part of changing the way that you eat. And I think that if we want to change toward a more local diet, which will help curb carbon emissions and can ultimately help improve the health of the Bay, if the local land is managed organically.  I think that we need to help create good habits that can stick for our customers. And I want to not disrupt the way that my customers are eating and cooking by having it be seasonal and ended up costing me a lot of time and money to tell CSA members when the signup again, and sort of get them back in the habit of buying. And I saw that with chefs when we went away for a few months in the winter, it was hard to get them back in the habit of buying. I saw that also with my staff. I didn't want to end up laying them off seasonally and then training a whole new staff the next season. So I want my whole community from everyone, from the eaters to the people that work on the farm to be in the habit of growing and eating locally. When I realized that that would help with customer retention and that would help with customer happiness and their success with their CSA boxes, if they just stayed in the habit of eating locally. And if my, my employees stayed in the habit of growing food and working on the farm, they stay strong and they would be able to help me in the off season with all sorts of different infrastructure projects.

Meaghan Malinowski:

SO YOU REALLY JUST HAD TO GROW INTO IT?

Emma Jagoz:

Yeah. Yeah. We, we just sort of, I just kind of had a revelation throughout time that, you know, Hey, what's frustrating me is like customer retention is like, I have all the customers. And then at the end of the season, I tell them we don't have anything else for you see you next year. And I decided, well, that's actually my problem. And I can change that. I didn't say, you know, I can grow some, you know, some more cabbage, some more winter squash and you know, some winter hardy greens, especially utilizing high tunnels and all sorts of different techniques to really expand on that. So that's been a main thing and for me in the beginning, and, and always, I've just loved growing for CSA and for chefs. I just realized that if I could expand on the number of weeks I sell to those people, I don't really have to find new people. I just have to grow more for the people I already have.

Meaghan Malinowski:

And you now have a whole year's worth of things to be marketing to them.

 HOW DO YOU GUYS MARKET YOUR SHARES WHEN YOU ARE LIKE ACCEPTING NEW CUSTOMERS OR IS IT MOSTLY JUST PEOPLE THAT SIGN UP PRETTY MUCH FROM YEAR TO YEAR?

Emma Jagoz:

We have expanded our CSA program every year. So we, we do end up marketing. I realized after the first couple of years that, I didn't, I was too busy and didn't take any photos. And, but when I tried to market in the winter time, when I finally had time to sit at the computer, that I didn't have any proof that I farmed that year. And I didn't have of photograph of what I was trying to sell. And so that really stuck with me and I, and I committed to documenting the process. And I think that our customers really want that ability to see what's going on in the farm, even if they have busy lives and full work schedules and childcare schedules and things like that. So I wanted to be able to show my customers what we're doing to be transparent and to be educational and help them see what we do in order, like what goes into their food.

So I started using anything free that I could find to help promote throughout the year. And I realized that, you know, if I started taking pictures in the winter when we only had kale and spinach people weren't as excited about that. So I started taking the approach that if I do a little bit of kind of marketing all the time that it would just, it would help. So we committed to posting on Instagram and Facebook regularly, and we send out a regular newsletter to a list of folks who are interested in local and seasonal eating in which we share tips, then preservation ideas, and like hey everyone, time to make tomato sauce and like a little heads up and things like that and how to grow food. And so we kind of do it regularly, but I've, I've utilized all sorts of different things. I like to give out stickers that people remember us and I handwrite postcards and things like that.

Meaghan Malinowski:

There's nothing better than receiving a handwritten note.

Emma Jagoz:

I think it's meaningful.

Meaghan Malinowski:

It really is. It means, you know, when I get them, it's one thing to get, like the little note that like comes with it or whatever it is, like something typed up, but when somebody writes it out, there's just something about it. I keep most of them, I have drawer full of them. Yeah, it's, I think taking that extra step people really appreciate it. And it sounds like a lot of what you're doing to market the farm is really providing value and that's what people are looking for. So I think that's amazing. Yeah. And you know, the growth that you guys have experienced is I think it's nothing short of amazing. I love I love hearing that you guys really just took it year after year, pushing those boundaries.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE TO ANOTHER FIRST-GENERATION FARMER?

Emma Jagoz:

Get a mentor and, and then get another mentor. I think that you need to be bold about asking questions. I took several bold steps and asking people if I could farm their yard out of the blue. And I have asked people that I thought were kind of out of my league if they would be my mentor. And they've pretty much all always said yes. And if they said, no, it's fine. You know, just ask somebody else. But farmers are extremely generous with their knowledge, and it's really wise to take them up on the opportunity to, to learn from them. Most farmers I know are extremely humble and are also willing to share the knowledge they do have, and not only getting a mentor for farming, but also getting mentors in other things. I have a business mentor. For example, I have a mechanical mentor as well because I realized that farming is running a business and wait, do I know how to do that as well? Like I learned how to grow tomatoes, but do I know how to grow a business? So I asked somebody who's not at all related to agriculture and his background to help mentor me on the business side of things. And I asked somebody who also knows nothing about agriculture to help me learn how to fix my equipment. And those connections have been really invaluable to me. I think you can absolutely be a self-taught farmer. I am a self-taught farmer. I did a ton of reading by some of these folks that I thought were farming, how I wanted to, and I took classes that I could find and that worked for my schedule. And I did a lot of learning on the internet, but there's, there's, there's nothing that compares to being able to call somebody up on the phone and ask them a question.

Meaghan Malinowski:

One of the things that we talk about quite a bit is that we want to surround ourselves with people that that we want to be like, or I may not be very good at one thing, but if I can surround myself with somebody or a group of people that is much better at it than I, than I am always learning and always growing. And I think that approach is so sustainable because you're, you're curious and you're just committing to continuing to learn and building those relationships. And that's, that's super important if we want to keep growing our, you know, our farms, our selves.

Emma Jagoz:

Yeah. And I mean, you mentioned that being a first generation farmer, I think in addition to access to education, two of the other biggest challenges for me were access to funds and access to land. And we had talked a little bit about how I access to land until I could save enough to purchase land on my own, but access to funds was a huge thing. I really started a farm with just a couple of hundred dollars, which is way less than what I would recommend starting a farm with.

Meaghan Malinowski:

If you have the option.

Emma Jagoz:

Right, but you know, bootstrapping is totally something that works again, especially if you do have access to people who know how to fix things, or if you're handy, you know, that kind of thing. And I know that a lot of farmers are debt averse. I definitely started off debt averse as well. In part, because I wasn't really confident about my marketing and my cash flow, but when I did decide to get my first business loan to purchase a tractor and a high tunnel, I was just truly stunned at how those purchases were able to increase my ability to farm efficiently and how big of an ROI they had. So I would not necessarily recommend getting into debt right away, but, to really consider the value that some of those pieces of equipment or infrastructure pieces could add to your operation.

Meaghan Malinowski:

And I think he took a really creative approach to it, too. It's you have to grow sustainably and kind of buildup that capability, or the it's difficult to visualize doing that when you're just starting off, you're in a couple backyards, you know, doing something, but it's super small scale. It's like, well, what do I need to, what do I need to do that for? But as you start to expand that and grow into it I think it becomes a little bit easier to, to visualize that, but like you said, surrounding yourself with people that that might be a little bit better at something than you to also kind of gives you, gives you that scope and helps you see the bigger picture. Thank you so much for joining us. This has been extraordinarily eye-opening, and we do have one sign off question that we like to ask everyone.

WHAT DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR IN AGRICULTURE?

Emma Jagoz:

This question brings me back to my experiences, starting out as a farmer and the barriers I faced, which were access to land, resources and education. I advocate for more resources on these topics to not only more young and female farmers like myself, but especially for BIPOC farmers as well, and all experience levels in our region. I think that I advocate for more loan and grant opportunities. More land management opportunities for BIPOC folks and agriculture. I would challenge banks to give out loans to farmers and to examine who is and who isn't receiving them already and, and their loan history, and to make movements towards challenging systemic racism so that BIPOC farmers can have more, better and more affordable access to resources, land, and equipment. And I advocate for challenging those organizations who offer grants to be sure that BIPOC folks have access to those opportunities as well.

I advocate for more and more land to be managed organically and responsibly. I fully believe that if we use more cover cropping and regenerative ag around the Chesapeake Bay, that we will be able to curb a lot of the issues that are happening with our Bay right now. And that as stewards of the land surrounding the largest estuary in North America, we have a responsibility to do so. I think we have to all be open-minded to change our farming practices quickly, as we discover new ways of protecting our soil health and our waterways. And I truly believe that if we focus on giving more BIPOC folks more resources and access to land it will get us to a healthier Bay and region faster than if the status quo remains in place. And really in summary, I would like to say that I advocate for LOVE, which stands for local organic veggies for everyone.

Meaghan Malinowski:

I love that. That’s a great summary.

Emma Jagoz:

Thank you.

Meaghan Malinowski:

Well, thank you so much for sharing that with us. I think what you guys are doing at Moon Valley Farm definitely acknowledges so many of those issues and so many of those things, and I think even better, it encourages us to work together to find solutions. So I appreciate your insight. And that is a great way of looking at it.  So one last thing I wanted to give you an opportunity to share with our audience where they can find you if they wanted to sign up for a CSA share.

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU ONLINE OR IN PERSON, ALL OF THAT GOOD STUFF?

Emma Jagoz:

Well, we are located in Frederick County in Woodsboro Maryland, and you can find us online on Instagram @MoonValleyFarm. We have a website at www.moonvalleyfarm.net. And you can find us on Facebook as well @MoonValleyFarm. And that Facebook group that we're talking about is the group's backslash Moon Valley Farm.

Meaghan Malinowski:

You will definitely find those and put them in our show notes. Thank you all for tuning in today. And please remember to rate, review and subscribe. Don't forget to share with a friend. You can get all of these podcasts notes and subscribe to email alerts at mafc.com/podcast. And if you have any suggestions for topics or guest suggestions for the future, please feel free to email us at podcast@MAFC.com.

So thanks again, Emma, for joining us, we appreciate your time and look forward to seeing how you guys grow in the future.

The process of applying for a grant can seem overwhelming. You likely have many questions you need answers to before beginning the application process. This article provides an overview of what a grant is, how to find grants for farming, the entire grant application process, and how to complete it successfully.

What is a Grant?

A grant is a financial award given by an institution, or grantor, to an individual or company to complete a shared goal. It is a plan, not an idea. A grant is a conveyance of funds with strings attached from the funding source. The grantor has a specific problem they are looking to solve with the help of funding. To be awarded the grant, your application should satisfy the grantor’s problem.  

How to Search for Grants  

You can find grants for agriculture in many different places; you just have to be willing to put in the legwork to search for them. A few viable ways to find grants for your farm business are to stay informed with your state Department of Agriculture, maintain a connection with local industry organizations, sign-up for industry stakeholders’ e-newsletters, and follow their social media accounts. You can also look on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website (Grants and Loans | USDA) or research state and county economic development websites for other local grant opportunities. Looking for federal grants? Checkout Simpler.Grants.gov to search for funding opportunities. 

Where to Find Grants

Here is a list of websites you can use to find grants for agriculture in the Mid-Atlantic:

• Grants.Gov 
  • https://www.grants.gov/search-grants.html
• Value-added Producer Grant Program
  • https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/value-added-producer-grants
• Specialty Crop Block Grant Program
  • https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/scbgp
• Local Food Promotion Program 
  • https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/lfpp
• Delaware Department of Agriculture 
  • https://agriculture.delaware.gov/grants-loans/
• Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture 
  • https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Funding/Pages/default.aspx
• MARBIDCO
  • https://www.marbidco.org/
• Rural Maryland Council
  • https://rural.maryland.gov/grant-opportunities/
• Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center
  • https://nedairyinnovation.com/grants/
• Center for Dairy Excellence 
  • https://www.centerfordairyexcellence.org/dairy-excellence-grants/

How to Find the Right Grant and Determine Eligibility

When you first find a grant to apply for, check to see if you are eligible. You need to identify if your goals match the institution’s goals. There are two different types of grants that you can apply for: a government grant or a private grant.

• A government grant will be offered by federal, state, county, or local levels of government. Federal and state grants are typically more competitive than county or local grants but often have larger pools of funds to award. Before you begin the application, make sure your project meets the criteria of the grant and will help the government entity achieve their goals for the program they are funding. 
• A private grant is from a specific institution and has different rules to be answered before you start an application. Some questions to ask before starting an application with a private grant include identifying the geographic region, the range of grants, and the type of project needed.

More questions to ask, regardless of the type of grant, include does the funding agency share your goals, are you interested in the same populations, has the agency funded similar projects to yours, can you meet their match criteria, and when will the award be made.

FOLLOW THE GRANT GUIDELINES

The most crucial part of applying for a grant is to make sure you follow the grantor’s rules. If you not, your application might not even get reviewed.

• The first step is to get the full scope of the grant’s guidelines.
• The second step is to read the guidelines thoroughly, multiple times.
• The final step is to follow all of the guidelines.

When following the guidelines, make sure to respond to all of the sections and cover each topic in the order they are presented. The format should also match the application with corresponding headlines. It is crucial to your success that you re-read the guidelines while you are completing the application.

POSSIBLE TECHNICAL ISSUES

Before starting the application, take note of possible issues that could arise with submitting the application. For example, if there is a conflict of interest between your business and the institution the grant is coming from, this could potentially be an eligibility issue. If there are conflicts of interest, contact someone from the institution to determine if it would make you ineligible for the grant. Other possible problems could include the due date, page limit, margin requirement, spacing and numbering, type requirement, and letters of commitment. If these issues occur with your application, it may not get reviewed.

FEDERAL GRANT APPLICATIONS REQUIRE A SAM UNIQUE ENTITY ID

A System for Awards Management (SAM) number is used when purchasing or selling with a federal organization. It is a unique identifying number that is specific to your organization and registered with the government. Make sure you establish what you need so you have enough time to gather the correct information - registering to receive these numbers can take three to 14 business days.

• On April 4, 2022, the unique entity identifier used across the federal government changed from the DUNS Number to the Unique Entity ID (generated by SAM.gov).
• The Unique Entity ID is a 12-character alphanumeric ID assigned to an entity by SAM.gov.
• As part of this transition, the DUNS Number has been removed from SAM.gov.
• Entity registration, searching, and data entry in SAM.gov now require use of the new Unique Entity ID.
• Existing registered entities can find their Unique Entity ID by following the steps here.
• New entities can get their Unique Entity ID at SAM.gov and, if required, complete an entity registration.

Qualities of Effective Grant Writing

To be an effective grant writer, you need to tell your story. Be concise and detail-orientated so it is clear to the grantor why funding your project will help them achieve their goals. Your writing needs to be clear, organized and engaging to appeal to the funding source. The review committee will look at numerous applications. Keeping things clear and articulating a well-thought-out plan will help to build confidence with the selection committee. To prepare for the application, create an outline for your plan. It will include one or two goals with several objectives relating to those goals. Be realistic about how many goals can be achieved with the amount of money you could be awarded. Each objective should include the steps of how you will achieve and measure the success of the goal.

WRITING STYLE

When writing a grant, your language and style of writing should always be professional and specific. When starting the application, write directly to the funding source, but never in first person. Also, avoid acronyms, jargon and language that is biased. Be clear, persuasive and use current, established data from a reputable source to boost credibility. You are writing on behalf of your business, not yourself.  For example, make sure to avoid using “I” when writing because the application is being written from your company, not yourself. Instead of saying, “I will use these funds to increase sustainable practices” you would say, “These funds will increase the use of sustainable practices.” You do not need to be a literary genius to write a grant, you need to tell a clear story, support your claims with data and sources, and lay out your path to success. 

Where to find the data?

1. USDA NASS 
2. Extension
3. Your library
4. SBDC

PARTS OF A GRANT

The Title

Do not overlook the title, though it’s not the most important part, it does matter from the perspective of a reviewer. It should convey what the project is about in a clear and concise way and be engaging. The title should also use language that can be understood by people who may not be in your specific industry.

The Abstract

This is similar to an executive summary in a business plan. This should be of the highest quality and be able to stand alone without the rest of the application and still be understood by the reader. It will explain the solution to the problem the grantor is facing, without referring to the proposal. It should be clearly written, one page, and single spaced, unless otherwise indicated. All of the key elements should be covered in the same order as the application. The abstract is very important to the overall application because it is the first source of information regarding your proposal. Write this part last after the rest of the application is complete. 

The Problem Statement

The problem statement will answer the question or problem the grantor has proposed. This part of the application establishes the framework for the project’s goals, objectives, methods, and evaluation. Provide a thorough explanation of how you will use the funding to address this problem and answer anticipated questions the reader may have. It is also important to incorporate proposal guidelines into your statement. Data can also be used to add credibility to your solution. Make sure the data is the most up to date and relevant to your topic.

Objectives

The objectives are a crucial part of the application. They are going to establish how you will achieve your goals with the funds that the grantor may award you. Objectives should include who is going to do what, when they will do it, and how it will be measured. They will also discuss your desired results of the project. These objectives should be action oriented and will typically begin with a verb. They need to be arranged in order of priority.

Developing Your Budget

There are two portions of every budget: the numeric part and the narrative. The numeric aspect of the budget is broken down into specific categories that establish your expenses and what supports them. The narrative portion reports on the numeric portion and details the costs of the expense and why you are requesting the funds. It should establish the benefits you would get from receiving the grant. Be realistic on your numbers - do not inflate numbers to try to impress the grantor. In this portion, ensure that the math is correct and the numbers you have submitted make sense with your business. If you need data on salaries or compensation because you do not have historical numbers you can use USDA Labor statistics specifically for farms or the US Department of Labor for outside roles.

Cost Share or Match

Each grant will be either a match grant or a cost share grant, or a combination of the two.

• Match - A 50% match for a $100,000 grant is $50,000. So, the total project cost is $150,000 (at least).
• Cost Share - a 50% cost share of the total project cost is where the funder puts up 50% of the total project and the grantee is also required to contribute 50% of total project costs. So, a $100,000 grant with a required 50% cost share requires a total project cost minimum of $200,000. This is also called a 1:1 match

Letters

There are two types of letters that could be needed in your grant application: a letter of support or a letter of commitment. Both should be submitted on official letterhead.

• A letter of support comes from someone who supports your idea and your ability to complete it. This shows the grantor that other people also believe in your proposal and that you have done research on it with other people. These should be from varying sources, not just friends and family. 
• A letter of commitment will come from someone that is willing and committed to working on the project with you. This letter will detail what they will contribute and if the project receives funding, when they will contribute.

EDITING YOUR GRANT

Once you have completed your first draft, set it aside for a day to give yourself time to recuperate. Then, comeback and read through it again to revise it. If possible, have someone else review it and take notes on where you could improve. When editing, make sure you have not written in first person or used jargon.

What to Do Before Submitting a Grant Proposal

To make sure your application is submitted successfully, it is important to know where it needs to be sent and the due date. Make sure you know if it needs to be postmarked or received by the due date provided. It is also important to make sure you have the correct address for mailing. Some institutions will not accept an application that is late or addressed incorrectly. Most grants are submitted online through a portal or emailed. ALWAYS submit early, there could be unforeseen glitches in the system, down internet, or a number of other reasons to delay the proposal being received outside of your control. Give yourself enough time to troubleshoot issues  and find a solution to get your grant submitted. 

GRANT PROPOSAL REVIEW

Evaluation criteria will measure:

• Overall application
• Project purpose
• Potential impact and industry support
• Expected measurable outcomes
• Work plan
• Budget and narrative
• Funding priority

When completing your application, think like a reviewer. Focus on making sure that your proposal matches what the grantor is looking for. Note, you may have points deducted for grammatical errors but it is never significant. You can write successful grants even without being the most skilled writer. 

Reasons Why Grant Proposals Fail

There are many reasons proposals may not be accepted. 

• If they are not submitted on time, if the guidelines are not followed, if they do not meet priorities, or if the application is not complete, the proposal will most likely be denied. 
• Not having letters of support does mean the application is not complete if the RFP requests them. To avoid this, make sure you follow the guidelines, deadlines, include all supporting documents, and formatting exactly as the grantor lists them.

Applying for a grant can seem like a daunting task, but with careful preparation and attention to detail, you can be sure that you put your best foot forward. You can also register to receive our webinar replay to learn more tips for successful grant writing presented by Maureen O’Shea Fitzgerald, Horizon Farm Credit Business Consultant. 

The Farm Credit Foundation for Agricultural Advancement has announced the sixteen recipients of their 2021 scholarship program. Ten thousand dollars will be awarded to each of the students for a total of $160,000 to pursue their careers in the agriculture industry. The recipients are are:

• Zachary Baker from Adamstown, Maryland
• Brandon Bixler from East Earl, Pennsylvania
• McKenna Breeding from Felton, Delaware
• Cahlen Cheatham from Myersville, Maryland
• Colton DeValle from Damascus, Maryland
• Taylor Halbleib from Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
• Maddie Musser from Mount Joy, Pennsylvania
• Arilyn Oatman from Holtwood, Pennsylvania
• Paige Peiffer from Lebanon, Pennsylvania
• Sarah Scott from Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania
• Skyler Slimmer from Myersville, Maryland
• Lynne Thomas from Fallston, Maryland
• Rachel Waldner from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• Leslie Webb from Greenwood, Delaware
• Rachel Widmaier from Cambridge, Maryland
• Garrett Wright from Mardela Springs, Maryland

“On behalf of all of the Foundation Board members, we are very proud of each of the scholarship winners this year,” says Tony Ill, Chairman of the Farm Credit Foundation for Agricultural Advancement. “The future of agriculture is bright with these students preparing for careers in the industry, whether it’s on the farm, or what we like to call on the ‘other side of ag’.”

The non-profit Foundation was established in 2015 and is funded by MidAtlantic Farm Credit. The Farm Credit Foundation for Agricultural Advancement’s scholarship program awards scholarships valued at $10,000 to high school seniors or students currently enrolled in an advanced educational program. The applicants must be planning to pursue a career in agriculture and reside in a county within MidAtlantic Farm Credit’s five-state territory.

“We encourage all eligible students to apply for the 2022 scholarship later this year,” adds Ill. “The applications we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing has been incredibly impressive, and we thoroughly enjoy learning about each student’s unique background and career aspirations.”

For more information about the scholarship and other Foundation programs, please visit fcfoundationforag.org.

LISTEN TO The Peterson Brother's EPISODE HERE OR FIND US ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST LISTENING APP!

On this episode of the Farm Credit AgVocates Podcast, we interview Greg and Kendal Peterson of internet sensation, The Peterson Farm Brothers. You may recognize their name from their 20 different parody music videos, but the brothers are also huge advocates for the ag industry, writing "myth-busting" blogs and sharing their operation's daily happenings on social media. 

In this episode, you'll learn how they got started and why they think it's so important for other producers to start telling their stories and making the effort to educate consumers.

 Johanna Rohrer:

Welcome to the Farm Credit AgVocates Podcast. I'm your host Johanna Rohrer, Marketing Specialist at Horizon Farm Credit. Today's guests are well-known as creative influencers in agriculture, helping to positively influence and tell the story of Ag. The Peterson Farm Brothers consists of three brothers, Greg, Nathan, and Kendal Peterson. Together they produce entertaining and educational videos on their YouTube channel and blog about common misconceptions in Ag. In addition, they're known for speaking up about agriculture and encouraging others to share their farm story. We are thrilled to be able to connect with the Peterson family. Without further ado, let's welcome Greg and Kendal to the podcast. Welcome.

Peterson Brothers:

(Both) Hey.

Johanna Rohrer:

It’s great for you to join us here in the MidAtlantic region.

I THOUGHT WE'D JUST GET STARTED AND ASK YOU TO JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR FARM.

Peterson Brothers:

(Greg) Sure, so we live on a family farm. I'm Greg, I'm the oldest brother and I'm married to my wife BrookeAnna. Nathan is the middle brother, he’s married to his wife, Riley, and he's home taking care of the farm. A lot of times when we travel, it's just two of the three brothers and we kind of rotate around. Kendal and his wife Caelan, he's the youngest brother, and then our sister, Laura, and our parents are the family farm operation. Our farm is a fifth generation family farm. I'll let Kendal tell about what we grow.

(Kendal) Our background is feeder cattle, and we grow a lot of just typical Kansas crops, corn wheat, milo, alfalfa beans, and some forages. So that keeps us busy. And we like to joke that we raised another commodity, videos. That's kind of our diversified farm there in Kansas. That's where we filmed and where we work every day. We were where we worked together and that's where the dream kind of came up to show our friends what we do on the farm. We wanted them to be able to see what we're doing on weekends and then after school, when we were young, when we made the videos.

Johanna Rohrer:

Greg, I know one of your most popular videos a few years ago was “I'm Farming and I Grow It,” which was my first introduction in particular to your family.

DID YOU EVER INTEND TO MAKE THIS MUCH OF A WAVE IN AG WHEN YOU STARTED PRODUCING YOUR CONTENT?

Peterson Brothers:

(Greg) No, we never really had a big picture plan. We didn't plan to go viral. Even like Kendal said, that first video on “Farming and I grow it,” it was really more aimed at our friends and people we actually knew. We knew we were putting it on YouTube and we filmed it to be seen by more people than our friends. The most views we ever talked about it getting was 50,000. We told that to each other kind of as a joke, like this is going to go viral, we're going to get 50,000 views. And what ended up happening was we got 5 million views in just a week, so 5 million instead of 50,000. It was a surprise to all of us, especially our parents. They were pretty overwhelmed right at the beginning there. We'd had our YouTube channel for a couple months, but we hadn't really uploaded anything. That was our first kind of real video that we'd done. And it really blew up.

Johanna Rohrer:

Obviously you're managing a couple of communication channels, videos, blogs, and you have to write some of your content to make it all kind of come together and flush out.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PART OR DO EACH OF YOU HAVE SEPARATE JOBS IN THE PROCESS OF WHEN YOU DECIDE TO PUT A NEW VIDEO PARODY TOGETHER?

Peterson Brothers:

(Kendal) We definitely have separate jobs. Greg's really the creative mastermind behind it all and makes sure that we're getting content out on the different social media sites. Nathan and I help with lyrics occasionally, but for the most part, it’s Greg that comes up with the lyrics. The parody videos are the big projects, they take the most time and the most creative outlet. The blogs and posts on Facebook, Instagram, and different social media are more like Nathan and I. We can just pull our phones out of our pocket and share what we're doing right then and there.  So that's a little simpler and not as much planning has to go into it.

Johanna Rohrer:

Initially when you made your first music parody, what made you want to try to do that?  Because it was something that was super creative and something that maybe wasn't well-known in that space.

WHAT WAS THE BURNING DRIVE TO WANT TO TRY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?

Peterson Brothers:

(Greg) This was back in 2012 when we made that first parody and I was a junior at Kansas State University and I was majoring in Ag Communications. A lot of what my major talked about in our classes was how we can reach people outside of Ag. How can we communicate what we as farmers do to people, to consumers. And so I already kind of had that background just from school, so that was a big driving force of why I wanted to make the video. We also grew up in the middle of Kansas, so we weren't urban, but we are close to a town of 50,000 people. So at our high school, we had a lot of city kids and we were always trying to convince them that farming was cooler than they thought it was. We were just trying to make farming cool. And it just shifted from a few of our friends to a lot of people online.

Johanna Rohrer:

Absolutely, I can relate with that because having grown up in the MidAtlantic region and on a family farm myself, a part of our operation is row crops and traditional production, but another piece of it is direct marketing to consumers. As a young child, by the time I was able to make change, I was in a sales room selling fruit and vegetables to our community, so making that connection between consumers and our family story, I can definitely relate with that. And then also going to school and realizing that my elementary school that I went to, didn't really have any farm kids in it.  I think this generation shift to help tell the story of agriculture is really needed and it's really cool that you've been able to do that through your music parodies.

ANOTHER QUESTION THAT I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT IS, HOW DO YOU PICK YOUR SONGS? YOU GET REALLY CREATIVE WITH YOUR SONG CHOICES. SO HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THAT?

Peterson Brothers:

(Greg) Well, not every song is able to be a parody, I mean it's not like we can truly take a song and make a parody of it. I sometimes joke that they write themselves because sometimes you'll try to come up with an idea and there'll be nothing for this song or that song but then, “oh, here’s this song, here's an idea here and this kind of works.” Sometimes we parody songs that we really like that style of music. And sometimes we parody songs where we don't even like the song, but it's popular and it works.

I think our number one goal is, will this parody be successful? Is this a song that's worth taking the time because it takes a lot of time to put these together? We’re not going to waste a bunch of time on a song that's not popular, that’s not going to be successful. We've done a couple of parodies where we really liked the music behind it, but then there's some that we're almost embarrassed of the song. This is a terrible song.

(Kendal) After we sang it a few too many times, then we really don't like the beat behind it because then it gets stuck in your head.

Johanna Rohrer:

Yeah. I'm sure having the right song makes the process a little bit more fun.

Peterson Brothers:

(Greg) Yeah, it does. Sometimes, you know, it's the connection between the original and the parody, it's almost every single line. And then some songs, you've got maybe a line here, a line there, like in “I'm Farming and I Grow It.” It was the example where we were able to refer to those original lyrics or just the concept of the song and the music video on almost every single line, so that made a very good parody.

Johanna Rohrer:

SPEAKING OF LYRICS, WHO WRITES THE LYRICS, WHO'S PRIMARILY THE CREATIVE MIND BEHIND THAT SPACE?

Peterson Brothers:

(Greg) I do most of the lyric writing and people ask, how do you write the lyrics? How long does it take? I don’t know, I really don’t know. I have a notes app on my phone where I jot down ideas and a lot of those come while I'm working on the farm. If I've gone through a spell where I haven't worked much on the farm, then you don't come up with as many ideas. A lot of creativity just comes from it.  It's not necessarily a quick process. You have to spend a lot of time with nothing, and then everything comes at once.

(Kendal) You can't really force it either. You can't just force a creative idea to pop in your head.

(Greg) It reminds me of writing a paper in school. Being in the Ag Communications and Journalism major, we had two papers due a week my senior year. Sometimes you'd sit there for three or four days before the paper’s due and you just got nothing. And then you'd just hammer out the whole paper in one night. It's a little like that.  Nathan and Kendal will help with a few lines or they'll pitch in an idea or provide feedback.

Johanna Rohrer:

You pick a song, you start to write the lyrics and you're in production.

WHAT DOES THAT PROCESS LOOK LIKE?

Peterson Brothers:

(Greg) I will sit down and come up with the lyrics and that's usually the first step. That can take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.  The “Highway to Sell” video took a couple months just because we were so busy working on the farm. After that, we'll record the audio first and get that finished.

(Kendal) When we go out to film, we take a piece of paper with any ideas that we have jotted to the side of each line. For the first few videos, we had tons of ideas because we could just walk anywhere on the farm and show what was going on and the different equipment that we were using, or crops that we were growing in. It was really easy and now we've kind of run out of some of our ideas. So we have to think a little harder when we're walking around the farm, making things engaging or making them relate to the original song. Once it's filmed, probably the majority of the time from that point on is spent editing, sliding the clips together, making the lips line up correctly and having transitions that are good in the video.

(Greg) There’s a lot of B roll footage that we shoot throughout the year that is thrown into the parodies. And so, it’s a process for sure.

Johanna Rohrer:

I've noticed in the last two parodies that I feel like you've engaged with a bunch of other audiences and I think that's really cool. In particular, my two nieces love to watch your parodies, they're three and seven and they love the new parody, “Corn Revolution.”  I just wonder when you were putting these videos together and you do that collaboration, what was your thought behind that?

WHERE DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA TO REACH OUT TO MORE PEOPLE THAN JUST FEATURING YOU GUYS IN YOUR FILMS?

Peterson Brothers:

(Greg) I think Kendal kind of talked about it a little bit, we’ve done so many kind of cookie cutter parodies where it's just us and it's our farm, and people have seen it. I mean, that's not a new idea anymore. And so we started featuring other YouTubers, way back in probably 2015, 2016, Farmer Derek and Little Fred, from New York.  Those were the first couple of YouTubers we parodied and there really weren't very many other farmer YouTubers at that point. Now there’s quite a few. And then of course we've received submissions from fans or from kids. We’ve done that on several parodies. We did it on “Taking Care of Livestock,” “We Will Milk Cows,” and “Corn Revolution.”

(Kendal) When you bring in other families, they bring a lot of excitement to the video and that's their five second spot or two second spot, and so they can fit a lot of excitement in that one spot. It helps that they can share the video and say, “I'm in this video.” And so that “Corn Revolution” video, had a lot of kids in that who were very excited to watch it and see themselves in the clip.

(Greg) I really wrote that song with featuring kids in mind, with the chorus. So that one was actually a creative process from the running of the music to the extra amount of work out. I put in a lot of work in the “Corn Revolution” for sure.

Johanna Rohrer:

Oh, well, I can reassure you that there are some really young agricultural families that I think are enjoying that video quite a bit. And I guess that just leads me to ask you a question. There are a lot of younger kids that I think do look up to you in this space, and did you ever think that when you started this whole video process, that would happen as farmers and agriculturalists? We're less than 2% of the population and at the end of the day, we kind of all have that common ground of being connected to the land and growing up from generation to generation.

DID YOU EVER THINK, WHEN YOU STARTED THIS THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE LITTLE KIDS THAT ARE GOING TO LOOK UP TO YOU?

Peterson Brothers:

(Kendal) Well, we didn't even feel that old yet, I don't think. And so, I was 15 when we made the first video and so we were going to FFA conventions and going to these things, and I felt like I was the same age as a lot of people. I was advocating to a bunch of ranchers who had been working for 50 years and they were experts in their field and I hadn't even been to college yet. Then, looking towards the kids, you can definitely see how they just eat up the videos and they want to watch it, and their parents even tell us that they can't get them to stop watching the videos. They watch it and they ask for it over and over.  Our mom always told us to be leaders for good and so I think that part has kind of carried over into this part of our life, where we want to set that good example. It’s definitely been a motivating factor for us too. We feel like we can get the younger generation excited about agriculture and taking over the reins and working on their own projects, and working with the land and that legacy that you're talking about. That is definitely a driving force for us. And we think about it a lot more now than we probably did during that first video.

(Greg) It’s something we take very seriously as being role models for kids. It’s something that was recognized by the very first video. We were sent hundreds of videos of kids watching what we were doing. And then of course, when we started doing speaking engagements and traveling, we would meet thousands of kids over the years who just look up to you and it's such a responsibility. We don't take that for granted. We were in FFA, 4-H and leadership organizations growing up and that's always been a part of who we are and we’ve tried not to change from that.  

Johanna Rohrer:

It’s such a good reminder to realize for those of us that are growing up in the industry, that really every day we have an opportunity to lead and it's not only just within our industry, but it's also within our community.

I’M JUST CURIOUS, WHAT OTHER TYPES OF ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR FARMERS WHO WANT TO HELP SHARE THE STORY OF AGRICULTURE? YOU SAID YOU KNOW YOU'RE A LITTLE BIT YOUNGER AND JUST GETTING STARTED IN YOUR CAREER AND YOUR FARMING OPERATIONS, BUT FOR THOSE FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS OR ARE BRAND NEW TO AGRICULTURE, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR THEM?

Peterson Brothers:

(Greg) What we've learned is just sometimes you just want to farm and you don't feel like sharing. It takes effort, it takes work to reach out, to share what you're doing. We always encourage people to take the initiative and it's something that you don't just do once. You have to continue to take that step, continue to do it and it’s important. At the same time, don't be too hard on yourself. We’ve talked a little bit about how every little bit counts. You don't have to make a YouTube video that reaches millions of people to make a difference, even if you're just reaching out to a couple of people who are in your family or your friends, or your community, that helps.

(Kendal) I would also say don’t take for granted the stuff that you kind of just learned and you inherently knew, whether that's growing up on the farm or growing up with an organization such as FFA or 4-H . A lot of people can learn a lot from the simple things, such as doing chores and what it takes to take care of livestock, and sharing the simple things that are regulars for our day. Whether you know, doing chores and stuff, they can learn this is what a farmer is doing and this is what it takes to raise food, livestock, and milk, or whatever it is in your region. Then, when they see that they might have a question about that part of the industry, they'll come to you and they'll ask because they've seen a clip of it, or they've heard that’s something you've talked about in your group of friends. And that's a good way to get known as kind of a token person to be asked questions about

Johanna Rohrer:

In Ag it's important that we all continue to help tell the story of agriculture. I think we have a responsibility to help share what we've all grown up to know in our homes.  I think some things you have to be deliberate in how you want to share, and also become that trusted community member. Whether that's in the digital space or just in your home environment, there's always an opportunity to connect with people.

I'm just curious what motivates you to keep coming up with creative ideas? You’ve had “Corn Revolution” that's come out recently and a new video here just recently “Highway to Sell.”

WHAT’S THAT BURNING PASSION THAT HELPS MOTIVATE YOU TO SAY, “I WANT TO DO ANOTHER VIDEO”?

Peterson Brothers:

(Greg) I think there's been times over the last eight years where we've done a video because it's been awhile and we needed to do a video, but most of them are a desire from me to create. I've always been a creator. Even before the YouTube videos, I think anyone who has a creative mind like that, they can relate to that, whether it's a musician or an author.  There is kind of this burning sensation to create and to be able to look back at what you've created in the past and then think about what you want to create in the future. Also, social media has changed a lot.  We weren’t really making any money when we first started, and now YouTube and Facebook, they pay something.  We’ve tried to create even more content than just the music videos as it has become even more of an actual job than just volunteering your time. So there’s a little bit of both of that.  I've always lived life with the goal of trying to make a difference, and so that's probably the number one thing for me.

(Kendal) I would say we can see the difference that we've made both in encouraging kids to pursue Ag and also in reaching people who knew nothing about Ag and to see the impact of that with different videos, the comment section, and when meeting people. I would say that's what pushes me, and also just knowing that for some reason, there are thousands of people out there that care that I'm out walking with my cows.  I can pull my phone out and just show them what I'm doing.  I think it's funny, but it's also motivating at the same time. I like that part of things, that even though I'm out in the middle of nowhere in Kansas, there's people that care, they want to see how my cows are doing.

Johanna Rohrer:

That leads me to kind of talk a little bit about misconceptions in agriculture, because we do have quite a few of them in our industry, and it is encouraging for us to be able to have people like you who are sharing that very authentic, real story of, “Hey, I'm out here in the field, feeding my cows, caring for them.”

WHAT HELPS YOU SELECT THOSE AGRICULTURAL MISCONCEPTIONS THAT YOU CHOOSE TO SHARE WITH? OR IS IT JUST WHAT YOU'RE FEELING THAT DAY? “I REALLY WANT TO SHARE ABOUT THIS” OR IS THERE EVER ANY PARTICULAR STRATEGY TOWARDS WHAT YOU SHARE IN THAT SPACE?

Peterson Brothers:

(Greg) I don’t know if there’s strategy. We see a lot of our comments on our videos and you can tell obviously the comments are from people outside of Ag and you really start to pick up on things that they hear and they ask if a lot of these things are really true. Our first topic we tackled was GMOs back in 2014, which was our first blog. It took a while to get to the point where I felt like I knew what I was talking about. Kendal talked about how we didn't feel like experts and I think part of it is we've learned how to answer some of these questions. From talking to people smarter than us, talking to the experts, and then being able to convert that into video form. Just because someone is a scientist, doesn't mean they're necessarily good at conveying that information to people.

Honestly, we started with the blogs and now my plan is to actually transition those blogs into video content that's short and engaging. As good as the blogs have been, I do think that people are more apt to watch videos and that there's a different level of trust when you can see the person whose talking to you and actually visually see what's going on. I think that’s a big part of what we need to do in the future, and continue to do. And that's another motivation for advocacy.

Johanna Rohrer:

So before we sign off today, I have one final question for both of you.

GREG, I'LL START WITH YOU. WHAT DO YOU ADVOCATE FOR IN AGRICULTURE?

Peterson Brothers:

(Greg) That's a good question. I advocate for probably families. We've met so many thousands of families on the road as we travel, speak, and perform. There’s a lot of large Ag businesses and we're thankful for those, but at the core of the Ag industry are the farm families who are working around this country and around the world. That is who I advocate for. I know those families from meeting them. I know my family, I know my community, and for people to assume that we would be purposefully doing something to harm the environment, animals, or the food supply, it doesn't make sense. I truly feel if [consumers] can connect with the actual people [working] in agriculture, they would realize that they're not being misled. We’re not perfect, of course, but it’s when you get to know the people and so that's, that's what I advocate.

(Kendal) I would say I advocate for that way of life, farmers with what we're doing out there is we're taking land, we're taking the animals, and we're improving upon them. We are doing the best job that we can with our livestock, producing a set of calves, producing milk or producing the most yield that we can get out of an acre. Also, treating that land well so that in five years, it's yielding even more or in 20 years, it's yielding for the next generation, and doing as much as we can with what God's given us. And I think that's the way of life that is worth protecting and worth advocating for.

Johanna Rohrer:

Greg and Kendal. Thanks for joining us to share your personal experience and encouraging others to join you in telling the story of agriculture.

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