Ask Aimee Bissell what she sees in the faces of agriculture, and she doesn’t need to look further than her own backyard.
“As a mom, a wife and a mother, it looks like promise,” she says. “I see a family that is passionate about agriculture.”
Bissell and her husband Klint farm near here in Taylor County, Iowa, with their sons — Braydon, 19, and Tucker, 15. Braydon farms full-time with his family, and Tucker has similar plans when he graduates.
Both boys are renting their own farm ground near their southwest Iowa home. They are the seventh generation of their family to farm.
“We are sixth and seventh generation, but we don’t farm any ground that has been in the family for a long time,” Bissell says. “We are farming first-generation ground.”
She is involved with the CommonGround program, a program that helps connect farmers of all ages. She says she sees hope in their faces.
“We are willing to face adversity. We’re passionate about what we do,” she says.
Having the boys on the farm is a blessing, Bissell says.
“We’re set up so the operation could sustain all of us,” she says. “We have made that a priority.”
Hayden Holdgrafer represents the fresh face of agriculture. The 17-year-old son of Brian and Keri Holdgrafer is a senior at Easton Valley High School in east central Iowa. His family grows corn and soybeans, makes some hay, and has a cow/calf herd.
Holdgrafer serves as president of his school’s FFA chapter and plans to make his living on the farm.
“I have loved farming my whole life, but it wasn’t until I was old enough to really start helping on the farm and operating the equipment that I realized I might want to make my living by farming,” he says.
“My involvement in FFA and my Supervised Agriculture Experience Projects have played a key role in helping me determine my future.
“I have five FFA SAE projects that have grown over my four years in high school to be 70 acres of corn, 56 acres of soybeans, some hay and 19 cows. Although my project grew in size during high school, I am most proud of all the improvements I made. Each year I evaluated what went wrong and what I could do to make each project more efficient or more profitable. I love that challenge. That’s the part of farming that I find the most appealing. Each day there are new problems and new challenges, and I like the idea of problem-solving and trying new products and techniques.”
Holdgrafer has also served as his 4-H club president, and is president of his senior class.
He is excited about agriculture, and looks forward to returning to the farm after he graduates from Iowa State University.
“Many of my friends in ag that I have met through FFA, or showing cattle in 4-H, have resumes, experiences and accomplishments similar to mine,” he says. “The young people growing up in ag and returning to the industry are strong. What we lack in quantity we make up for in quality. Today’s ag kids will surprise some people who are frustrated with our generation. We are accountable, responsible, respectful and willing to work hard. If I can share one message from today’s young ag leaders it’s don’t give up on us — just give us a chance!”
As the leader of Iowa’s ag industry, Mike Naig has met thousands of people during his tenure as state ag secretary. The future is bright, he says.
Source:agupdate.com
Categories: Iowa, Business