One of my favorite things about being a Farm Bureau member is knowing that I’m part of an organization that wields a lot of power when it comes to advocating for agriculture. When Farm Bureau speaks, our voice is heard and echoes across the land.
On April 21, UW-River Falls Collegiate Farm Bureau members are making their voices heard and taking a stand for farming and agriculture. We’re hosting our annual Ag Day on Campus as a means of reaching out to the public and informing them about where their food comes from and the people who work hard to bring it to them. You see, UW-River Falls is in a pretty unique spot where student demographics are concerned. While UWRF is known as a university with a strong agriculture background, we’re also a half hour from the Twin Cities with a high percentage of our student body hailing from the aforementioned metropolitan area. That can make for a pretty far-reaching disconnect at times, which means we must devise creative ways to dispel any myths our fellow Falcons have heard and share with them the truth about farming.
This year’s theme, “Slow Moving AgVenture”, shines a light on farm safety. The Bureau of Labor Statistics consistently ranks farming among the most dangerous occupations in the United States, so it’s really important that we understand the need for caution and awareness when going about our business on the farm…and making sure that customers know the many perils we face when working to bring food from farm to fork. Through hands-on learning activities and sharing our stories through one-on-one dialogue, we can really make a difference. For example, some may object to the use of artificial insemination on dairy farms because they don’t think it’s “natural”. However, if I tell them how my Grandpa Statz’s bull Fred pinned him against a silo and broke nine of his ribs, then they understand why we use AI.
We’re all busy people, and no one knows that better than a college student. Despite all of our life obligations yanking us in a million different directions, sometimes we need to carve out some time to take a stand for what we believe in. As collegiate Farm Bureau members, we’re making sure our voices are heard. Ag Day on Campus is the beginning of a ripple effect that will spread the truth about agriculture far and wide across not just our university, but our communities and in turn our country.
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