2008 Ag Day Essay Winners:
Grades 7-9 -
First Place Essay by Lily Kroontje
From Farmers to You
By Lily Kroontje
We are from rich fertile soil,
nurtured by an overflowing river.
We are from gently rolling fields,
created by hours of removing stump laden woodlands.
We are from acres of green and gold corn,
standing tall with tassels rustling in the wind.
We are from neat rows of green buds,
transformed into abundant crops of beans and peas.
We are from dense dirt laden brown potatoes,
scavenged from the ground each fall.
We are from tart glossy apples,
dangling in the autumn wind waiting to be baked into warm crisp pies.
We are from plump juicy strawberries,
with a sweetness creating smiles every year.
We are from tightly strung lines of dark red raspberries,
their aroma wafting from the sun drenched fields.
We are from cows grazing in the morning dew,
slowing sauntering to the barn.
We are from rich creamy milk,
bottled or dried to serve the world.
We are from tractors orange, blue, green or red,
weaving a winding pattern through the field.
We are from being night owls and early birds,
ensuring today's breakdowns are fixed by tomorrow.
We are from banter on pricing and politics,
without control of world wide market woes.
We are from, "Won't it ever stop raining?"
to "When will it rain again?"
We are from the earth,
feeding both man and beast through out the year.
We are from creating foods,
that fill children's lunch boxes and line shelves of stores wordwide.
We are the farmers of Whatcom County,
bringing agriculture to everyone.
Grades 7-9 -
Second Place Essay by Mikal Olson
"The Circle of Life"
by Mikal Olson
Remember showing your kids the Disney movie, "The Lion King"? Simba inquires about the antelope being part of nature's balance. His dad answers, "After we eat the antelope and die, we turn into the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. It's part of the circle of life." This viewpoint is worth considering while dealing with agricultural problems in Whatcom County. I've read in the newspaper about the starlings and their impact on berry crops. Instead of using massacring traps and pesticides, laborious kites, or irritating "air cannons" to rid our fields of the birds, I agree with the suggestion to use trained hawks.
I support the method of using trained hawks because it is an ethical, undemanding, peaceful solution. First, instead of the massacring traps and pesticides, hawks would simply carry out nature's balance and the circle of life by killing only what's expected of nature to keep its balance. Our goal isn't to kill the starlings, but to minimize their impact on our fields. Next, why pay a teen to operate a fairly expensive kite when a hawk could solely and effectively patrol 6 to 7 acres of land (more than any hovering kite) for not a whole lot more money. Finally, unlike loud obnoxious "air cannons", a hawk isn't bothering anyone, other than starlings, when silently patrolling a berry field.
Nature is known as the serene, tranquil environment surrounding us, definitely not full of thousands of dead birds, protracted kites and bothersome "air cannons". We use nature for agriculture, and if that is the starling's choice, let it be. However, I think we can ethically, simply, and peacefully protect our berries for juices, jellies and jams. That's the circle of life...for everyone.
Grades 10-12 -
First Place Essay by Laurel Bareman
Agriculture- It's For Everyone
By Laurel Bareman
Many times when people hear the word ‘agriculture', they think of a bunch of hicks that don't bother to go to college and drive John Deere® tractors. But is this a good view of what agriculture's really like? Anyone who knows much about agriculture would disagree. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, agriculture is "the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products".1 Wow! That might include the tractors, Carhartts, and baseball caps that many people think of when they hear the word agriculture, but it sure includes a lot more! In fact, agriculture is the base of our county. Everyone should be involved in agriculture!
Okay, so agriculture is important to Whatcom County. Just how important is it? Some farms in Whatcom County have existed for over 100 years! Farms are a very important part of our history. In Whatcom County there are approximately 1500 farms! County agriculture is responsible for about $600 million in economic activity.2 This includes everything from driving milk trucks to selling local agriculture products, to working in the raspberry fields. Think about your daily routine. You might have cereal for breakfast, with milk from Edaleen Dairy. Later in the morning, you eat a locally grown apple. For dinner, you have a casserole made with hamburger from a local farmer. All these are examples of how county agriculture affects our everyday lives. And this is just our local county agriculture affects us. Agriculture in general affects us even more!
So how can you become involved in agriculture? If you live on a farm, that's pretty easy. All you need to do is look in the backyard and it's obvious that agriculture is important in your life. If you don't farm though, this can be tougher. However, there are some great organizations which can help you get involved in agriculture, without you having to go and buy a farm. For example, 4-H is a youth organization administered by the U.S Department of Agriculture, which encourages youth to reach their full potential.3 There are many 4-H clubs in Whatcom County. Joining a 4-H club is a great way to become involved in agriculture, as well as an opportunity to win cool prizes such as trips, scholarships, and cash. This is just one great way in which you can be more involved in agriculture, because agriculture benefits you in so many ways.
So next time you bite into that juicy apple, or have a delicious hamburger, think about what went into it, and appreciate agriculture for what it is: an important part of our community, and an important part of you!
Grades 10-12 -
Second Place Essay by Brooke VanderVeen
By Brooke VanderVeen
In 1977, Barbara Jordan explained, "What the people want is very simple. They want an America as good as its promise."1 From the very beginning, when the roots of our country were first founded, America has stood firm in being an agriculturally productive and self-reliant country. We take pride in our ability to feed ourselves and our countrymen, as well as export our products to other nations. However, the greatest challenge facing American agriculture has just begun to appear.
When the founding of America occurred, she was a vast and open land - a land filled with opportunity and belief. The opportunity for farmers to utilize the fertile land, and the belief of the non-farmers that meals would always be available to them. We prospered with a small, yet ever so faithful, population. This population was evenly balanced between those in agriculture, and those not.
Today, the separation between agriculturists and "city folk" continues to expand. As more farmland is developed into houses, farmers are restrained as to the land they have available to them. These facts of life require farmers to adopt new techniques involving the production of their goods, in able to produce more food with the same, or even less, land available to them. Even so, farmers continue to strive to produce their high-quality products at low, affordable prices.
The future for agriculture can be strong with flexibility and adoption. Our future is seen as even less land available for farming practices to take place. It is necessary for farmers to adopt new practices on their farms that will allow them to produce more food, in order meet the needs of our country's growing population. As more technology becomes involved in the process of producing agricultural items, meeting the demand of the consumer becomes a more difficult task for the farmer.
Consumers want to be guaranteed that the food that they are buying is both healthy and safe. Even today in America's world of communication and media, it is difficult to find the unslanted truth. Information is always available, but it is an impossible task to determine if a fact is reliable or not. Herein lays the challenge.
Farmers in America must guarantee to their consumers that the food they are producing is safe, and must be able to backup this claim with the reliable facts. Similarly, it is the responsibility of the consumer to stay open-minded as to the changes in practices of agriculture, and to understand the necessity of agriculture in today's world.
America has always promised that she will provide for her citizens, economically and agriculturally. As we continue to allow America to prosper in today's world, she will hold true to this promise.
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