June newsletter
When I was a young man, a 14-year-old freshman in high school I believe, I had to deliver some hard-hitting news to my mom. I got off the bus, walked in the house and had to tell her I had flunked a biology test. She was crushed and I’m pretty sure she was convinced I had no future. She immediately went to the shed and told my dad who then proceeded to get a hold of me and “set me straight”. He sat me down on the front tire of a 4020 and started with the lecture. And it was one of the most humiliating lectures ever. “What are you going to do with your life?” he asked. The thought I had to myself as he asked that was: ‘that’s the dumbest question I’ve ever heard’. I sure didn’t tell him that, but I did immediately reply: “well I’m going to be a farmer of course”. “You are not going to be a farmer” he insisted immediately. He then went on to give me the long dreadful talk about the less than glamorous aspects of the current situation as it was in 1984 related to the business side of farming. He also warned me of the dirty, hard, smelly, and maybe less than glamorous jobs associated with ag that didn’t pay very well that were a perfect spot for students who flunked biology tests. There was a lot more to that seemingly endless and awful lecture that I’ll spare you the details of, but it has lingered with me for 40 more years. As I usually do, I bucked the trend and found a way to get into farming, and it wasn’t exactly any way he had in mind. It all worked out in the end, I think, but I took the long hard road as usual.
Today’s world is better. Kids don’t need to take the long hard road. Unlike 1984, today’s “farm crisis” as some put it, has a silver lining for our youth. We don’t have enough people available to work in our industry. Ag related jobs are hard to fill. And there are a lot of really good jobs that aren’t dirty and humiliating like 1984. Sales, research, legal, skilled operator, and agronomy jobs that were rare or nearly impossible to find 40 years ago are abundant today. There are a lot of great FFA programs and such out there, but the city schools have nothing for these kids as far as a curriculum to learn about ag. They literally live next door to the greatest agricultural lands on earth, one of the best agricultural colleges in the world, and have no idea what it’s all about or that there could be an enjoyable and rewarding career waiting for them. Think of the pool of sharp young minds that may be untapped. But some of these kids need a nudge, and some encouragement to take that step towards our industry. To foster or encourage an interest. This is where our Foundation steps in and delivers. Sending teachers into the classrooms and connecting college and high school age kids to scholarships to help encourage an ag related career in hopes of keeping them right here at home so we can fill those needs from locals.
Our foundation staffers and board have thought “out of the box” for ways to raise the funds to finance these programs. The biggest fundraiser of all, the annual gala, is just a few weeks away. As I write this it’s sold out. But the annual golf cart raffle tickets will be available all summer. I also think the best way for you to be financially involved with the Champaign County Farm Bureau Foundation, as a farmer is a newer initiative called the Foundation Farmers. Essentially donating an acre’s worth of crop on an annual basis by simply writing the check or donating the grain. Easy and effective. Many of us who have joined this group look at it as a way to positively affect the future of rural ag programming and education here in Champaign County for generations to come. I hope you will consider doing the same. Call the office for more information or to get involved.
