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Youth follow roads of opportunityBy Jennifer Bremer According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, the average age of the American farmer is 55, but there are some, much younger than that who are capitalizing on endless opportunities in agriculture. When they hear that the age of the U.S. farmer is rising, it just gives them more incentive to get the word out to their peers that agriculture feeds, clothes and fuels the world. Sharing the agriculture story Fifth generation cattle producer Amanda Nolz shares her story of agriculture nearly every day. "Agriculture is my passion. It is a driving force in everything I do and I want to ensure the integrity of the world's food supply through getting the message out about agriculture," she said. Agriculture hasn't always been a passion for Nolz. In fact, when she was entering high school, it wasn't cool to be from the farm and instead of being herself, she tried to mold into everyone else. However, it didn't take her long to realize being from the farm was nothing to be ashamed of and that she should actually be proud of it. "Back then I wanted absolutely nothing to do with agriculture, and I thought there definitely was no future in it for me. It wasn't until my year as a National Beef Ambassador in 2006 that my life was truly changed," she said. During her year as ambassador, she traveled the country educating consumers, producers and the public about beef and agriculture. She hopes to educate consumers about agriculture since there are so many misconceptions about how livestock and crops are raised. Nolz is currently a junior at South Dakota State University, majoring in agriculture journalism with a minor in Spanish. She is involved in many activities on campus, including Sigma Alpha sorority, Block and Bridle club, the Little International and is a member of the meats judging team that brought home a championship from the National Western Stock Show Intercollegiate Meats Judging Contest in January. Work experience Through her work as a beef ambassador and some freelance writing, she was given the opportunity to be the press secretary for the Steaks for Troops program. The Steaks for Troops or All American Beef Battalion is made up of a group of individuals involved in the U.S. beef industry who are working to support troops by organizing and sponsoring steak feeds, entertainment, programs, meetings and projects for service members and their families. "It's a great organization and they have given me a great opportunity to help out for a good cause," she said. Speaking to the public is something Nolz has enjoyed doing for most of her life. She competed in her first speaking contest at age 8 and now enjoys speaking to groups about agriculture and why it motivates her. Passing on the good word on agriculture Standing up for agriculture is also something she is not afraid to do. At the 2006 National FFA Convention, Nolz led a group of nearly 600 students to walk out of the Carrie Underwood concert held during the convention. "Carrie Underwood is an active member of the Humane Society of the United States and a vocal vegetarian. Nolz found it ironic that the FFA would have someone so anti-agriculture at their convention. "Because FFA is important to me and is a great organization, I still told people to buy the tickets to support FFA, but to walk out of the concert once it started," she said. "It was very interesting to see other students do that and felt good that I could stand up for agriculture in a good way." Nolz also promotes agriculture through her weekly radio show called "Chewing the Cud," which airs on 100 stations and reaches 4 million listeners. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association also sponsors her blog at www.chewingthecud.org. "My radio show and blog give me a chance to support agriculture even more," she added. While she is a busy young lady, she also has a full class load and hopes to graduate in May 2009 and one day would like to write a book about how agriculture has affected her life and the lives of people all around the world. Educating individuals about agriculture Killeen, Texas native, Wade Fisher also believes in agriculture since it has given him so many opportunities to educate individuals that cross his path. "As early as 6, my parents would say that I didn't know a stranger, and still to this day, I can strike up a conversation with nearly anyone," he said. "My background gives me the opportunity to tell others how their lives are related to agriculture." Fisher said he enjoys talking to people one-on-one, whether it be at an airport, a fair or on the street. "I tell them that I am the president of the largest student organization at Texas A&M University -- the Saddle and Sirloin club. Then they tell me they are a vegetarian," he said. "Little do they actually know that nearly everything in their lives is related to agriculture." Fisher grew up on a small cattle and horse ranch north of Austin. He also is involved extensively in the sheep industry with his grandparents flock near Brownwood, Texas. "Raising and showing lambs has given me the opportunity to travel across the country," he said. "It also gave me one of the most important aspects of growing up in agriculture -- responsibility." Lifelong skills Involvement in 4-H and FFA also helped him learn the leadership skills needed to be able to interact with all different types of people and especially learn how to sell himself. The senior animal science and business student has enjoyed his year as president of Saddle and Sirloin, an office which his dad held in 1979. During his term, Fisher had a goal to meet or beat his dad's record for ham sales while he was at A&M. This year he tied his dad's record. Ham sales are the club's main fundraiser each year. "We are not only the first father-son presidents of Saddle and Sirloin at Texas A&M, but we also share the ham sales record," he said. Being a leader of the Saddle and Sirloin has also given him the opportunity to serve the college in other leadership roles. He is currently pushing for a change of the name of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at A&M. He hopes that the name will be changed to the College of AgriLife. "It is a tripod affect that is occurring. We want to let everyone know we want to keep our roots and that agriculture is connected to everything in life," Fisher said. Changing the college's name would be the third part of the tripod as the other two parts have already been changed -- the Texas AgriLife Research Centers and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. The name change is expected for the college within the coming years. Fisher has also been actively involved in raising money for the Howard Hesby Student Atrium. Hesby was a professor at Texas A&M for 34 years and wanted to provide students with a main place to gather since their previous gathering place had been occupied by another part of the college. He is proud to say he has helped get three-fourths of the way to the goal of raising $600,000 to remodel the Kleberg Animal and Food Science's building atrium and dedicate it as the Howard Hesby Student Atrium. "It was important to him when he was alive and we want to honor him by fulfilling his dream for future students," he said. Opportunities continue to find their way to Fisher as he looks forward to graduating in May. "I have held two part-time jobs while in college and each has offered me positions upon graduation," he said. "It's good to know I will be able to continue promoting agriculture in the future." Agriculture way of life Iowa farm girl Bridget Driscoll has known nothing but agriculture during her lifetime. Growing up on a Angus cow-calf operation near Williamsburg has provided her with endless opportunities. "Our family started raising Angus cattle in 1910. We currently have about 400 cows," she said. Growing up raising and showing Angus cattle has helped her achieve a goal she has had ever since she can remember -- wearing the coveted green jacket as a member of the National Junior Angus Association Board of Directors. "I was elected on the board last summer and it has given me such a great opportunity to give back to an organization that has done so much for me," she added. Her involvement with the Iowa Junior Angus Association has included several offices and awards for her dedication. "I have been able to travel all across the country attending shows and leadership conferences and meet people from all aspects of the industry," said Driscoll. Involvement in 4-H and FFA has helped her develop leadership and speaking skills needed to promote agriculture. Providing for the future While attending an Angus event, Driscoll became interested in learning more about carcass ultrasounding. At the age of 17, she became a certified ultrasound technician and travels Iowa and surrounding states ultrasounding cattle for carcass merit. "It's probably not the normal part-time job for a person my age, but I really enjoy being able to use the technology to help out other beef producers," she said. She also works at the Certified Ultrasound Processing Lab in Ames. The Iowa State University junior in animal science and agriculture communications hopes to some day be an animal science professor at the college level. "I want to be able to teach other students about all the opportunities out there in the beef industry and agriculture in general," she said. Being a leader in agriculture has given her the opportunity to educate others about how important agriculture is in every day life of people all around the world. "Agriculture is my life. The world wouldn't be able to survive without agriculture," said Driscoll. "Agriculture will always be a part of the world's growing economy." Jennifer Bremer can be reached by phone at 515-833-2120 or by e-mail at jbremermaj@hotmail.com. 3/10/08 Date: 3/6/08
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