Living the Best Life in a Corner Booth

Picture this, you arrived at college as a freshman, straight out of high school and eager to make friends with people in the same major as you. The first day of classes comes and goes, and you met many people but you’re too shy to say anything to anyone. That was me day one at Western Illinois University. To everyone I meet today they would think I was lying if I told them I used to not talk unless talked to. Forever I will be thankful for that corner booth.

This picture was posted on the WIUAg instagram page by Kay Montanez.

Every group of people has that significant spot they always meet up and hang out. For the agriculture students at WIU it was the corner booth, at least it was for as long as I could remember. Immediately coming to college that corner booth became the area I made all the best memories. It was the place my brother made me meet him on my first day of classes, right then and there it became my safe haven. Every day during lunch you could find three tables full of agriculture students. Most importantly you would find the people who I like to call my best friends. Second semester freshman year I would be there for three hours between classes, not one of those hours I would be alone. Because of that booth I had made more friends than I could count. I encourage anyone when first coming to college to step out of your comfort zone. You will never realize the memories or friends you are missing out on if you stay in your little bubble.

One of the most popular times this would be about half of the agriculture students who would join for lunch at the corner booth. This photo was posted on the WIU Ag Instagram page by Stephanie Miller.

No matter what kind of day you were having by the end of your break by sitting at that booth you would have a smile on your face. Multiple times I would be crying from the amount of laughter I was consumed in. The quote from the movie Winnie the Pooh “we didn’t realize we were making memories we just knew we were having fun” is extremely true when it comes to these moments. The friends I made or the clubs I joined I would have never thought about if it was not for the booth. I am so thankful every day that on the first day of school I decided to meet with my brother in the Union. With Covid-19 putting many restrictions on the university, we have not been able to meet at that corner booth which made me realize how important it was to me. Whether it was help for homework or just to turn my frown upside down I knew the corner booth would be able to do just that. It was this way for many people. Hopefully in the spring we are able to meet together at that corner booth again. 

“It was definitely a sense of community. No matter what time of day you walked in the union, you would find an Aggie sitting there eating or studying. You always knew you would be welcome to sit there. It meant friendship, laughter, and memories.”

Karissa Graves, Dec. 2019

Photo taken by the WIU Visual Production Center

Hello everyone! My name is Brianna Walsh and I am currently a senior majoring in agriculture education with a minor in agriculture mechanics technology. The place I like to call home is Jerseyville, IL. My future plans are to student teach in the Spring of 2022 and then find my next location that feels like home to serve as an agriculture education and FFA advisor. Here at Western I work as a student worker in the Ag Mechanics shop and as a greenhouse manager at Hart’s Nursery in Bushnell, IL. Currently I am a member of Sigma Alpha, Collegiate Farm Bureau, Ag Mechanics Club, Collegiate FFA/PAS/AgEd club, and the AgVocator Recruitment Team. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my blog!

Deciding What You Want To Do For The Rest Of Your Life

Have you ever had someone ask you what you wanted to do or be for the rest of your life? The thought of that question just gives me chills, or at least it used too. Growing up I always used to joke saying I wanted to be “the boss” of Stock Farms one day. It didn’t hit me until my senior year of high school that I should probably really start looking around and exploring my options for what I wanted to do after high school. I’m not your typical girl who has grown up on a farm and been involved in 4-H my whole life, but that’s okay. All I knew was my family farmed for years.

Pictured is my Dad (in tandem), my uncle Aaron (right of tandem), and my late grandpa Glen (left of tandem). This is one of the first semi’s my dad and uncle Aaron purchased off of their father, Glen, in the 1990s.

My first year at WIU I decided I would major in teaching. Well, that wasn’t for me. I felt very sad and frustrated that I couldn’t find something that intrigued me. My first semester at college I also participated in the MC process for Sigma Alpha. This is a professional agriculture sorority at WIU. I had gotten in by the end of that fall semester. Everyone was always confused when I told them I was in an agriculture sorority, but wasn’t studying ag. Trust me, I was confused too, but was super ecstatic to be able to become an active member of Sigma Alpha.

After I realized that education just wasn’t for me, I switched over to studying Business Management. I liked it a lot and enjoyed the classes, but still felt like I just wasn’t where I belonged. I knew I needed to start shadowing people or working certain jobs to find out just what I liked. I had contemplated hair school after college. Even went to visit two cosmetology schools. I thought maybe a couple times that I should just stick to my roots and study agriculture, but I was always indecisive. I knew deep down the only way I would find out if I wanted to work in agriculture was working a job within the field.

This past summer I worked as a field inspector for Bayer. When I first got the job everyone told me how much I would hate being outside in the heat all day and in corn fields. After this I was crying to my dad thinking about quitting before I even started. A dad knows best and he made me stick with it. (Thanks dad!)

After I worked all summer long as a field inspector and enjoyed it, I knew agriculture was for me. I had then changed my major to agricultural business one week before the start of school. Better late than never right! Now I am a junior studying ag business, pretty involved in the School of Agriculture, and excited to see where the future is going to take me!

“Finding the medium that excites your imagination, that you love to play with and work in, is an important step to freeing your creative energies” -Ken Robinson

You don’t want to wake up everyday and dread going to work, and this was honestly how I felt just attending the different classes I took. I knew that if I didn’t like the classes I was taking for being a teacher or managing a business, then I wouldn’t like the job that would come after that. I was so upset and thrown off that I couldn’t find something I enjoyed studying; that I almost dropped out of school. The reason that it is so important that you find what makes you happy is because the more you enjoy your job, the more successful you will be. It was my personal goal to wake up happy to go to school and excited to learn more about what I decided to study, and I have achieved it. My friends and family will sometimes joke how it only took several different majors to find what I actually like, but that is completely okay! The average freshmen will change their major numerous times. What matters is that we come out of college happy with the degree we have and what job we are going to take.

Hello everyone! My name is Megan Stock and I am currently a junior majoring in Agriculture Business. I grew up in Beardstown, Illinois. This summer I will be interning with Bayer Crop Science as a Product Supply Production Intern. I will then graduate in December of 2021 and work within the agriculture field. At WIU I am a member of Sigma Alpha, Ag Council, Ag business, and on the Ag-Vocator Recruitment Team. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!

The Importance of Genetics in Livestock Production

Animals and livestock are much more than just food for people. Production and breeding of some animals is someone’s passion and career. Animals are assets. This means that they hold value. I was born and raised on a farm, raising show pigs. Most of my memories as a youth are related to showing pigs and the importance of their genetics. Being competitive in the show industry means you have a good genetic line in your herd.

This show pig was born and raised on our farm. This type of show stock is very different than what you would see in a production hog farm.

What Are Genetics?

Genetics are the properties or features of an organism. For example, characteristics of that organism. In livestock, we want a conservation of animal genetic resources. This would prevent the loss of genetic diversity that we want in the livestock populations.

When thinking about this topic and talking to some local breeders, I came up with some reasons showing how genetics of livestock are important.

1. Genetic Improvement/Selection- This is based on the principle that products like milk, mean, wool, etc. are improved by their genetics. This improvement can be achieved by the power of selection. By selection genetically superior animals, this improves your next generation of animals. This will increase productivity, especially considering environmental conditions expected in the future. Some traits commonly looked for are fertility, disease resistance, and longevity.
2. Conservation- The conservation of livestock genetics is very important and many measures are taken in order to prevent the loss of genetics in the livestock community. This will protect breeds from extinction and will make sure the genetic lines stay pure to their species. This conservation can include both the living animal in live populations or through cryoconservation. This is the preservation through freezing at very low temperatures. This is common with semen or embryos.
3. Diversity- Livestock diversity is required to meet current production needs in many different environments. This will facilitate rapid adaptation to changing breed objectives. When it comes to efficiency in some species it comes down to the use of diversity in genetic lines. Diversity allows breeders to obtain the best animal possible, with integrating different breeds and genetic lines with one another.

Improving genetics are should be important to everyone in show stock or production. Improving genetics increases the value of the animals, making them more productive.

Meet the Author

I’m Peyton Bowman from Sciota, IL. I am a Junior at Western Illinois University majoring in Agriculture Business. I also am on the Western Volleyball team. I grew up raising show pigs and being very involved in the agriculture community. My plan after graduation is to get a job in the Ag Business industry to give back to my local community. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!

Knowledge is Power: The importance of a Agriculture Internship

I always seemed to hear about internships and how important they are, but I never truly knew how vital they were until I completed one for myself. From my high school years and into my college years, I always had a job on our family farm and working in Ag retail, but I had never gone through a formal internship until the summer between my junior and senior years of college. This was the first time I went into a job knowing nothing about the operation I was about to do and that was a different experience for me. My dad has told me, “don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone because knowledge is power,” and that has been proved to me throughout the years and especially following my internship experience.

wyffels.com

It all got started from attending the Ag career fair and meeting with various companies exchanging resumes for business cards and awaiting potential calls back. After thinking long and hard about what I wanted to do, I ended up accepting a Production Internship with Wyffels Hybrids working in field operations growing seed corn. I knew it was going to be an excellent opportunity for me as Wyffels is a very desirable company that would give me great experiences. I also knew that the knowledge base I would gain would be important as most people don’t know how much work it takes for seed corn to end up in a bag being put in a planter.

The Internship

The first phase of the internship included a lot of hands on work cleaning out planters and working with the seed growers. Seed had to be organized and prepared for every field in a specific order and loaded in the planter by a Wyffels representative. After every field was planted, then the planters had to be cleaned out thoroughly as to not contaminate the next field with seeds that are not supposed to be there. A typical planter clean-out would take somewhere around 30-60 minutes and multiple clean-outs per day was not unusual. During the time we were not cleaning out planters, I was out scouting fields checking for planting depth and any planting issues that were obvious. In addition, every acre needed to be counted by GPS to allow for accurate yield estimates later in the season.

Once the crops began to emerge and grow is when much more of the scouting began. Once the crop reached the growth stage of around V4, then it was time to coordinate volunteer crews that were in charge of walking fields and cutting out any volunteer corn between the rows. Volunteer corn can cause a pollination of two parent seeds that are not intended to be in a field that can cause a purity issue at the end of the season. By the end of the volunteer crew walking, it was time to begin the rouging process. The rouging process is very similar to volunteer crews except crews began to analyze the plants at a quick glance and cut out any plants that had substantially different height or looked different. This is also a very important process in order to not cause any purity issues at the end of the growing season.

Photo of crews cutting out volunteer corn

The final phase of the internship involved the many steps of the detasseling process. In a nutshell, the fields needed to be scouted to look at the growing ear shoots and tassels to determine a date when the detasseling process needed to begin. Once the field was ready, then the tops of the female rows would get the tops cut off to try to even up the field in height so the tassels can be removed easier. The cutting machine is basically a spinning blade over every row that cuts the plant just as a mower cuts grass. After a day, then the pulling machine would be run through the field to totally remove the tassels. The pulling machine has small spinning tires over each row that grab the tassels and pull them out of the plant and throw them onto the ground. After the two passes by machine, crews of workers would walk the fields and pull out any additional tassels that the machines could have missed.

Photo of the female rows of corn post cut

Seed production is a side of agriculture that I had minimal prior knowledge of. I am extremely grateful at the opportunity I got and know the knowledge I gained will benefit me in the future. Having the base knowledge of how the corn gets into the bags that you see being loaded into planters will be important regardless where my career takes me.

About the Author

Hello, my name is Austin Parkinson. I am currently a senior at Western Illinois University pursuing a degree in Agriculture Business Management. I grew up in Wataga, IL, where I was involved with my family’s row crop operation. After graduation in May, I plan to acquire a career in agriculture and help on the family farm whenever possible. Thank you for reading!

Going out with a Bang: My Final Time in the Ring

Many people go through their lives and have days that stick out in their heads. From beginning to end, they can remember every single detail that occurred, just like it was yesterday. That is exactly how July 9, 2020 will always be for me.

Flashback to March of 2020, everyone’s lives were altered due to COVID-19, the same goes for me. Classes at Western Illinois University were put online until the end of the semester and I moved home till August. At first, worry set in my mind. I wondered to myself, “How would I be able to move home and stay connected to the livestock industry?”

I had told myself before that I was done showing pigs and that was a finished chapter in my life. I was 21 years old and felt like I was a “has been” that had no business trying show my final year of eligibility. However, the realization that I had to go home and I would have a more flexible schedule to care for show pigs made me decide that I needed to have pigs in the barn for my final year.

Getting the pigs home was more exciting to me than ever before. It was like an itch I had been wanting to scratch for a long time. At that time, we didn’t even know what the Coronavirus would entail. I think most of us thought it would go away in a matter of weeks and life would go back to normal.

However, that was not the case. More and more livestock shows were cancelled and rescheduled all over the country. At one point, I thought I was putting in work for nothing because I expected every pig show to be cancelled. Yet, in a summer of uncertainty, it allowed me to have some normalcy in a project that I spent every single day on. We may have heard a new fact about COVID-19 every day, but everything that happened in the barn remained the same.

The ability to even have a National show during the summer of 2020 was incredible in itself. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to load up the trailer with pigs and tack to travel across the Midwest to show for my final year of eligibility at the 2020 National Junior Show.

Now, I’m not going to lie, the week was stressful. I had four pigs on the trailer, which means I had only four shots left to do something big for the rest of my show career. Three of the four pigs had taken the trip hard. They weren’t eating how they should be. They weren’t drinking how they should be. And they definitely weren’t acting 100% how they needed to be. I was nervous that I had just wasted all of my family’s time and money bringing pigs to a show just for them all to get the gate. I had to constantly remind myself that coming to the show in general was a blessing in itself.

Luckily for me, God and some awesome individuals had placed a very special pig in my possession. My Berkshire gilt did everything right from the day she left our house, to the day she showed. She was eating and drinking everything she needed. At times at home, her attitude had been a challenge to overcome in the yard, but at the show she had her game face on when it came time to show.

I was honestly sick to stomach when we made our way to the ring. I knew she was my best shot to do anything big, but I also knew how challenging the Berkshire gilt ring would be to win because there were so many incredible gilts that were showing. I was in the last class of the breed with some tough competition. I wasn’t quite sure if the judge would even like my gilt, so I had no clue where she would end up in class. My heart raced and my palms sweated. I just wanted her to have a shot.

Luckily, she did because we got through our class and won the Berk Gilts. When we went in for the grand drive, nerves set in because I saw a glimpse of hope to win. And I think my gilt felt the same because she drove like a dream for the 25 minutes we were in the ring. She had the will to win. That, combined with the incredible crew I had standing behind me, was exactly why she did win.

Photo Courtesy of Legacy Livestock Imaging

Being able to walk out of the show ring for the final time after winning one of the biggest gilt shows in the country was extremely rewarding and humbling for me. I was able to see how many awesome things have occurred in my life. Showing has cultivated so many opportunities for me, so it was a joy to finish my show career in the most perfect way possible.

“You’re never done, your roles just change.”

Dan Hoge

There are so many people that have helped me throughout my time showing. I’m so grateful for them and the opportunity to show in the first place.

Thank you to the National Swine Registry, Certified Pedigreed Swine, and American Berkshire Association because these organizations and their sponsors made what was thought to be an impossible show, possible.

Thank you to Heimer Hampshires for raising an awesome gilt and for letting me have the chance to show her this summer.

 Thank you to the whole crew at Stoller Livestock for being there every step of the way throughout the summer and at the show. You guys pushed me to be my best and I think it showed.

Thank you to my family. Ever since I was six years old, you have supported my decision to show livestock and have enjoyed all the fun along the way. You have been there for me during the worst times and the best times of my show career. I’m grateful to have been raised around livestock and wouldn’t change my life for the world.

Thank you all for making my last day in the show ring, July 9, 2020, a day I will never forget.

Meet the Author:

Photo taken by WIU Visual Production Center

My name is Bailey Irick, I am from Markle, Indiana. I am currently a senior at Western Illinois University pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Agriculture. I am extremely involved with the Livestock Judging Team and the Hoof N Horn Club at Western Illinois University. I was also a member of the 2018-2019 Illinois Central College Livestock Judging Team. I am very passionate about the agriculture industry and after graduation I plan to continue my education at WIU to pursue a Master’s of Business Administration. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

How Joining An Ag Based Fraternity Benefited Me

Growing up and working in an agriculturally based area has always inspired me to get a job in the Agricultural Industry. While not growing up on a farm, I knew I had some obstacles to overcome if I wanted to be successful. When I first enrolled at WIU, I heard of Alpha Gamma Rho, an agricultural-based fraternity. I decided to join AGR due to shared interests I had within the group. At the time, I never realized how this decision would benefit me throughout my college career.

The first benefit I noticed was how AGR affected my social life. When I joined four years ago, I quickly got to know the members. Soon after, I met multiple alumni that came around. Coming in as a true freshman, this meant I would get to meet eight new classes of recruits throughout my time in AGR. That opportunity has allowed me to network at a high level. Through my fraternity, I received a summer job with Monsanto and an internship with FS. In both of those opportunities, I met former AGR alumni and members from other schools while building my resume at the same time.

An AGR, classmate and myself presenting our research project for an agronomy class

The second way Alpha Gamma Rho has benefited me is academically. Since we have such a large chapter, there are always members from AGR in at least one, if not all, of my classes. Having friends to attend class and study with becomes very beneficial, especially as an Ag major. We can bounce ideas off of each other and stay informed on what’s going on throughout different industry routes. The other nice part is since we all come from different backgrounds, we can help each other with subjects that another might struggle with. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses in agriculture.

Joining a fraternity isn’t all fun and games. Alpha Gamma Rho has taught me how to manage my time while being a leader. We have philanthropies, intramurals, socials, homecoming, greek week, and multiple community service events during a typical year. These events teach us how to be involved within greek life and our community while maintaining good grades. Without adequate time management skills, this would not be easy. During my career, I have possessed two executive board positions. One involved me coordinating our Golf Outing and Smokin Hog, which are our two philanthropies. The second involved me watching over other member’s grades and taking action when needed. These positions have taught me how to be well organized, time-efficient, and confident with what I do.

2019-2020 Eboard Group, photo taken by Kolby Vandenbergh

As my college career is coming to an end, I am more than thankful I joined Alpha Gamma Rho. The benefits and memories I obtained are going to follow me for the rest of my life. My name is James Talley, and I am a senior studying Agricultural Science with a minor in Agronomy. I am from Amboy, a small town located in Northern Illinois. Thank you for reading my blog.

There’s More to it than just the Show Ring.

Photo by Mom

Livestock has always been a huge part of mine and my family’s lives. I watched some of our close family and friends exhibit cattle and sheep and decided I wanted to follow in their footsteps. I started out showing lambs at open shows at local county fairs since I wasn’t old enough to compete in junior 4-H shows events yet. I remember one of my first lambs I had and the challenges I overcame. I was practicing my showmanship skills when things got a little interesting. This lamb was bigger than me and weighed twice as much as I did; as I was practicing bracing him for my upcoming show he jumped and knocked me down stepping on my face and leaving some road rash. At a young age, I figured out that when you get knocked down you have to get right back up.

As I got older and able to compete in 4-H events, my focus became cattle. I have learned so many life lessons from spending countless hours in the barn working with livestock. The livestock industry has allowed me to compete in various contests and traveling the United States competing in shows at the county, state, and national levels. My family and I have been able to bond and travel new cities and states as we spend numerous hours in the truck traveling to events all year long. I have made many friendships that have continued to grow over the years that are irreplaceable. I cannot thank my family enough for allowing me to get involved in such a great industry and always encouraging me to do my best.

Photo by Caseelynn

I have made great memories during 13 years of exhibiting livestock, but the best happened this past summer in Abilene, Texas at the Junior National Shorthorn Show. This show was extra special as it was the last Junior National event I could compete in. The American Shorthorn Association worked hard and spent countless hours to make this show possible due to the pandemic. As we headed to Texas to compete at my last Junior Nationals, I couldn’t help but to think back on all the previous Junior Nationals that I have been apart of, and the numerous friendships I have made. As the week went on and all the contest completed the big day was finally here where I exhibited my heifer in the final show of my Junior National career. As my class entered the ring, all my hours of preparation not only with this heifer but all the cattle over the last 13 years come to an end with this heifer and this show. I won my class and was able to go onto my division, and then continuing to the grand drive. The moment the judged slapped my heifer as the Grand Champion Female will be one I can not explain and certainly will never forget. I exhibited the Grand Champion Heifer at my last Junior National event. How memorable was this? Well, it’s been a goal of mine since I started showing. By winning it has really shown me that the last 13 years of hard work and dedication have been well worth it. As my junior roll has now come to an end I would tell other junior members to dream big and “Don’t wish for it, work for it” (unknown). No matter what your success looks like in the ring you are always winning outside of the ring. The experience you gain, life lessons learned, and the friends/connections you obtain make every moment of hard work worth it in the end.

Photo by Cindy Cagwin/Johnston

About the author

I am Cole Whisman I reside in Illinois City, Illinois. I am currently a senior at Western Illinois University, working on my Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science. I am excited to purse a job in the agricultural field after graduating from WIU.

The Differences in the Careers of Agriculture

The industry of agriculture is incredibly extensive and provides plenty of jobs and careers in many different types of fields. As someone who has had plenty of exposures to the many types of fields, I didn’t have a set path on where and what I wanted to do that involved Ag. A simplistic break down of the two largest fields will hopefully help anyone else with the same issue on what could possibly interest them.

I. Agriculture Retail

One of the biggest parts of the field of agriculture is the retailers. This is essential for big companies distributing their products to the farmers that would use them. This includes anything from pesticides to crop seed. These companies can also provide things such as application and crop consultant services. This is the largest part of the agriculture industry and primarily revolves around the business aspect. Most common jobs/careers are crop consultants, sales reps of certain types of products, plant/site managers, and applicator positions. This side of the industry is incredibly competitive, wether its involving sales, or overall efficiency of service. Having a career in this field requires a large demand of ambition, drive, and work ethic. People and social skills are also a key advantage due to a large portion of the jobs revolve around communication with clientele.

Dyersville, IA – Nutrien Ag Solutions Retail Farm Centre (Taken by Employee) Sep 4, 2019

II. Agriculture Research

Another big side of the agriculture industry is part of the large production companies involving research. Companies such as Bayer, Dupont, and Syngenta are constantly developing new products such as seed and chemical. Most common jobs/careers are agronomists, plant breeders, research assistants, crop physiologists, crop pathologists, and chem developers to name a few. Certain employees are tasked with managing the tests and research plots for new and developing products. Some are tasked with managing entire projects across multiple job sites. A career in this field requires you to be truly passionate and interested in the progress of agriculture from a technological and scientific standpoint. Must be good at extensive planning and well adaptive to new concepts.

(Source – http://oklahomafarmreport.com/wire/agri-innovations/05987_SyngentaHybrids08052013_113834.php#.UgM4D5KNm8B)

The destiny of world civilization depends upon providing a decent standard of living for all mankind.

– Norman Borlaug

My name is Andrew Frakes. I am a junior and I’m majoring in Ag Science with a minor in Animal Science at Western Illinois University. I’ll be graduating next fall and hopefully start a career as a crop consultant or chemical rep for an ag retailer. Hopefully my insight on these different fields has given a better idea of career paths.