Meet Mary Irelan, University of Illinois student and about to become, AgWired blogger. Actually, she’ll just be blogging her experiences as a first time visitor to Commodity Classic next week. Her trip is being sponsored by Monsanto as part of it’s Future Ag Journalists Fellowship program. Monsanto wants to make sure the future agricultural communicators get some “new media” training.
Meet Margy Fischer, University of Missouri student and also blogging her Commodity Classic experience right here on AgWired. Both Mary and Margy will begin blogging their trip next Tuesday. All their posts will be categorized by their name so you can easily find them, since they’ll be mixed in with my coverage of the event. Additionally, they’ll also be helping me with my coverage. I was very happy to find out that they will be bringing a digital camera and notebook computer. That’s what the ag journalist of the future must be equipped with.
This is very cool and I can’t wait to see what our Monsanto Future Ag Journalists have to say. The same goes for Monsanto Public Affairs Manager Mica DeLong. She says the opportunity will provide the students with a unique real-world media experience. Monsanto has a long- standing commitment to promoting youth involvement in agriculture by supporting programs such as Future Farmers of America, 4-H, Agriculture Future of America, Ag in the Classroom and other notable agriculture youth and leader development organizations.
“These students will make some new contacts and learn more about the agricultural industry at one of the largest and most widely recognized ag events of the year,” says DeLong. “ZimmComm has offered a unique opportunity for both students to write for AgWired, which gives them exposure to one of the newest forms of communications and can really broaden their knowledge.”
I think Monsanto is one of the companies that’s “getting it.” They’re already video podcasting and now they’ve created an opportunity for students like Mary and Margy to create event coverage via a blog. Who would have imagined this a year ago when we got AgWired kick started?
Guess who ZimmComm will be looking for at graduation time.