AgWired

So, I just wanted to take a second and write about my whole experience so far. So I arrived at the Farm Progress Show yesterday at 2:00. I have never had the chance to come to the Farm Progress Show so this is all new to me. I was thinking… there’s going to be some really big tents and then just some vendors… but no… This place is way bigger!! As I came closer, you can see all the tents from the road and it was like a maze trying to get into the grounds. As for me, I had no clue where I was going so maybe it was a little bit harder, plus the rain didn’t help anything because I couldn’t go everywhere or otherwise I would have been stuck.

Chuck did a great job of teaching me how to use the programs so now, hopefully as you have read, I have been busy writing posts. I hope you enjoy my stories!! I’ve learned a lot more information about Monsanto, and the farm progress show in general. I can’t stress enough how much I thank them for giving me the opportunity for coming here!! After a fun filled day in the mud, last night Mica and Tami from Monsanto took me out to eat! We ate at Jefferey’s in Iowa City and as you can imagine, we walk in with jeans on and mud all over our boots and it would just happen to be a really ritzy place!! We walked in and Tammy asked if we could eat there because we weren’t dressed for the occasion at all so Jefferey’s staff put us in a separate room by ourselves!! The food was great (even though the beef was organic.) The steaks were cooked to a “T”!! As we proceeded to leave, I’m following Mica in her car back to the hotel and soon enough here are cop lights flashing… I’m thinking just my luck! So I pull over and I had a head light out so he pulled me over to tell me that… thank God I didn’t get a ticket!!

My time here has been eventful to say the least. Things I never thought would have happened have… I got to bed last night around 12:00a and I was up this morning at 4:30a. Short night for a long day. Parking was difficult this morning due to all the mud. I vigorously worked all day today working with Chuck. Hopefully as you have listened, I did my first interview! I was a little nervous for my first one, plus it didn’t help that I was interviewing intimidating people from Monsanto but I had a fun time doing it! I also had the chance to walk around a little bit, not too much though. The crowds were minimal today, for what I saw but I think the weather had a lot to do with that. I was talking with some fellow team members from Monsanto and they had 900 people go through their pipeline test plot by noon so I guess quite a few people were at the show today. I don’t get to see many of the people because I spend most of my day in the Media Tent.

As for now, I’m just sitting in my hotel room!! I am enjoying a nice night to myself, lying down. I hope to hear from you all tomorrow and be ready for several more posts!! Good night!

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

Now, here’s something you don’t see everyday! “Chics with Axes”

Most of the time, when you think of Lumberjacks, you think of men… or at least I did! Until today, I was just observing the crowds and noticed lots of chainsaws out and women standing around them. It drew my attention so I went over to take a look.

Here at the Farm Progress Show, they have three ladies here that compete all over the United States in Lumberjack competitions. The ladies are part of the Timber Tina’s World Champion Lumberjills. Two of the ladies present at the show were from Maine. Maine is where the original ancestors settled and that is where axes, saws, and the concept of making these everyday activities into a competition.

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

As I was walking around the Farm Progress Show, I was able to see some interesting demonstrations.

I was walking through all the mud and people, and then I stopped when I saw this man burning something in barrel. Come to find out, this man was burning metal. I walked up during the middle of the demonstration but I found it very interesting! The man’s name is David Williamson, from Ogden, IA and he calls himself a collaborating artist. Mr. Williamson is apart of the program Project Aware.

Project Aware is set up to clean the Iowa Rivers. Every year, two hundred plus people get together, grab their canoes, and pick up junk. You wouldn’t believe how much junk can collect over time. Trash has been piling up for over the past 100 years and Mr. Williamson is making an effort to clean it up. Project Aware has been in place for the past four years. The location changes every year, it has been everywhere in Iowa from the Maquoketa River, Des Moines River, English River, Sue River, and the Iowa River.

This year, they met during the third week in June and the two hundred plus group of men and women worked their hearts out. They picked up twenty-four tons of JUNK! Out of that twenty-four tons, five tons of that was tires and thirty-five percent of the junk was able to be recycled.

Not only do they recycle the junk, Mr. Williamson enjoys making sculptures. Making something so beautiful out of something so ugly can be very rewarding! Here at the Farm Progress Show, he has two sculptures on display, as you can see in the picture. The one is built up from a tire rim into a tear drop and the other is a gigantic ore. The last crew he had working for him wanted to make an ore for all the hard work they had done throughout the last week.

The work that the crews do is incredible and remarkable. Mr. Williamson’s goals are to make Iowa cleaner, environmental friendly, and making something like trash so useless, something useful! For information and results you can to go the DNR Website.

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

Here’s the current street scene here at Farm Progress.

It may seem like I haven’t gotten far away from the media tent yet. That’s because I haven’t. Besides pouring rain all morning I’m now waiting for the mud to settle down so I don’t do a disgraceful fall with my equipment hanging off me.

Besides my own coverage I’ve also been helping out reporters with internet issues. In the course of developing the new media skills needed for today’s agcricultural communicator I have learned a lot about troubleshooting my own technical problems. My IT guy usually tells me on the phone that I know enough to “take care of it myself.”

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

The golf carts are in high demand here this morning. I wonder how much they’re getting for them today.

As you can see they don’t need paddles but . . .

Just a few minutes ago the sun came out and it’s warming up here at the show.

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto: