{"id":41190,"date":"2021-12-20T14:33:59","date_gmt":"2021-12-20T20:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/?p=41190"},"modified":"2021-12-20T14:33:59","modified_gmt":"2021-12-20T20:33:59","slug":"the-little-essay-that-could","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/","title":{"rendered":"The Little Essay That Could"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This past spring when Devin Herricks, 11, of Cashton set about to write an essay about soybeans in his fourth-grade class, he thought it was an average homework assignment. Little did he know, his essay would ultimately land on the desk of President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n

As a student in Mrs. Beth Lee\u2019s class at Cashton Elementary, Devin assumed the essay assignment was simply an opportunity to brush up on his budding writing skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had been learning about writing essays, so I thought it was a practice assignment,\u201d Devin said.<\/p>\n

As a part of the 2021 Wisconsin Ag in the Classroom essay contest, Devin and his classmates read Wisconsin Farm Bureau\u2019s 2020-2021 Book of the Year, \u201cFull of Beans: Henry Ford Grows a Car\u201d by Peggy Thomas, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. Students then wrote 100- to 300-word essays surrounding the essay contest\u2019s theme, ‘How have Wisconsin soybean farmers fueled Wisconsin\u2019s economy?’<\/p>\n

Being raised on his family\u2019s dairy farm, Devin was fascinated with the essay topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have dairy cows, corn, alfalfa, rye and oats,\u201d Devin explained. \u201cI knew you could feed beef with soybeans, but it was unbelievable to learn what soybeans could be made into. I learned that soybeans are more than just to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devin was named the Monroe County Farm Bureau and District 4 winner in the 2021 Wisconsin Ag in the Classroom essay contest and served as one of nine finalists in the state competition. He was surprised to learn he had won.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know it had been submitted for a contest until I was presented with the county award in class,\u201d Devin said. \u201cOne day, we were called outside for a special presentation regarding the soybean essay, which is when I learned I was the District 4 winner, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Farming is a family affair for Devin\u2019s family including his parents, Dan and Michelle, and younger brother, Dylan, 6. Each has responsibilities on their 600-cow dairy farm that is owned in a partnership with Devin\u2019s grandparents, Jack and Pat Herricks.<\/p>\n

This past June, the Herricks family was informed that President Biden would be visiting in nearby La Crosse. Michelle jumped at the opportunity to contact him.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrior to President Biden\u2019s visit, I wrote a letter inviting him to the farm,\u201d Michelle said. \u201cI was shocked when the White House called informing us that they had received our letter and that, while coming to the farm was not feasible, they invited us to meet the president in La Crosse.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family graciously accepted the invitation and attended the president\u2019s address focused on infrastructure at La Crosse\u2019s Multiple Transit Utility headquarters on June 29. Before the address, the Herricks family met and were introduced to the president.<\/p>\n

The president said something that sparked an idea in Devin\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe president mentioned farming and even soybeans. I mentioned my essay to him and he said he would really like to read it,\u201d Devin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were given his aide\u2019s email to send him Devin\u2019s essay,\u201d Michelle said. \u201cTo be honest, none of us expected him to actually read it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, on July 14, the family opened the mailbox surprised to see an envelope with a return address for the White House.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought it was a picture of us with the president from the White House photographer, but we opened it to find a letter from the president thanking Devin and praising him for a job well done,\u201d Michelle said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Devin is pictured with President Biden and his little brother, Dylan. Supplied photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In his letter, the president thanked the family for joining him in La Crosse and shared what he had learned from Devin\u2019s essay. Devin said the experience taught him a valuable lesson.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing how one assignment could end up in all these different places,\u201d Devin said.<\/p>\n

Michelle credits Devin\u2019s teacher for the role she played in his education.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this is thanks to his teacher; Cashton is blessed with an amazing staff of teachers,\u201d Michelle said. \u201cHe really learned a lot from Beth Lee and she\u2019s the one to thank that he even had this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devin plans to participate in the 2022 essay contest, which is open to fourth- and fifth-grade students. In the meantime, he\u2019s working with his grandpa to implement some changes on the farm.<\/p>\n

Devin said, \u201cI\u2019m trying to convince Grandpa Jack that it\u2019s time to grow some soybeans on our farm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Story by Cassie Sonnentag. Originally appeared in the October|November 2021 Rural Route. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past spring when Devin Herricks, 11, of Cashton set about to write an essay about soybeans in his fourth-grade class, he thought it was an average homework assignment. Little did he know, his essay would ultimately land on the desk of President Joe Biden. As a student in Mrs. Beth Lee\u2019s class at Cashton […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":41192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[913],"tags":[96,300,621,900,2169],"coauthors":[27],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Little Essay That Could - Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Little Essay That Could - Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This past spring when Devin Herricks, 11, of Cashton set about to write an essay about soybeans in his fourth-grade class, he thought it was an average homework assignment. Little did he know, his essay would ultimately land on the desk of President Joe Biden. As a student in Mrs. Beth Lee\u2019s class at Cashton […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WIFarmBureau\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-20T20:33:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IMG_5850-1024x1024.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynn Siekmann\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@WIFarmBureau\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WIFarmBureau\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynn Siekmann\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynn Siekmann\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d1171a9090da4b28bfb254bd5b69d3fe\"},\"headline\":\"The Little Essay That Could\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-20T20:33:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-20T20:33:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/\"},\"wordCount\":773,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IMG_5850.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Ag in the Classroom\",\"essay\",\"essay contest\",\"featured\",\"President Biden\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Farm Bureau Involvement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/\",\"name\":\"The Little Essay That Could - Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IMG_5850.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-20T20:33:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-20T20:33:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IMG_5850.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IMG_5850.jpg\",\"width\":2242,\"height\":2242},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Farm Bureau Involvement\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/category\/farm-bureau-involvement\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Little Essay That Could\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/\",\"name\":\"Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation\",\"description\":\"A Voice for Farmers. A Vision for Agriculture.\u00ae\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/WFBF_Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/WFBF_Logo.png\",\"width\":1374,\"height\":252,\"caption\":\"Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WIFarmBureau\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/WIFarmBureau\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wifarmbureau\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/wi-farm-bureau-federation\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/wifarmbureau\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wifarmbureau\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d1171a9090da4b28bfb254bd5b69d3fe\",\"name\":\"Lynn Siekmann\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/author\/lsiekmann\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Little Essay That Could - Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Little Essay That Could - Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation","og_description":"This past spring when Devin Herricks, 11, of Cashton set about to write an essay about soybeans in his fourth-grade class, he thought it was an average homework assignment. Little did he know, his essay would ultimately land on the desk of President Joe Biden. As a student in Mrs. Beth Lee\u2019s class at Cashton […]","og_url":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/","og_site_name":"Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WIFarmBureau","article_published_time":"2021-12-20T20:33:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":1024,"url":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IMG_5850-1024x1024.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lynn Siekmann","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@WIFarmBureau","twitter_site":"@WIFarmBureau","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lynn Siekmann","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/"},"author":{"name":"Lynn Siekmann","@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d1171a9090da4b28bfb254bd5b69d3fe"},"headline":"The Little Essay That Could","datePublished":"2021-12-20T20:33:59+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-20T20:33:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/"},"wordCount":773,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IMG_5850.jpg","keywords":["Ag in the Classroom","essay","essay contest","featured","President Biden"],"articleSection":["Farm Bureau Involvement"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/","url":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/","name":"The Little Essay That Could - Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IMG_5850.jpg","datePublished":"2021-12-20T20:33:59+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-20T20:33:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IMG_5850.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IMG_5850.jpg","width":2242,"height":2242},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/farm-bureau-involvement\/the-little-essay-that-could\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Farm Bureau Involvement","item":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/category\/farm-bureau-involvement\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Little Essay That Could"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/","name":"Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation","description":"A Voice for Farmers. A Vision for Agriculture.\u00ae","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#organization","name":"Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation","url":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/WFBF_Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/WFBF_Logo.png","width":1374,"height":252,"caption":"Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WIFarmBureau","https:\/\/x.com\/WIFarmBureau","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wifarmbureau\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/wi-farm-bureau-federation\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/wifarmbureau\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wifarmbureau\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d1171a9090da4b28bfb254bd5b69d3fe","name":"Lynn Siekmann","url":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/author\/lsiekmann\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IMG_5850.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41190"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41190"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41194,"href":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41190\/revisions\/41194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41190"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfbf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=41190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}