Back on Campus!

I have been back at school for a week now, and I must say that EVERYTHING about college is easier the second time around. I knew not to pack as much, I unpacked everything in less than two hours, and finding my classes was a breeze. In fact, it almost seems like I never left! I am really excited about my classes this semester. I have some amazing professors and many of the classes focus on my major. I am also looking forward to being more involved in the College of ACES. I am now on Student Advancement Committee which oversees several events during ACES Week including Lunch with the Deans, and feed your fACES. We also develop alumni relations through events such as the ACES Thank-A-Thon where we call to thank alumni who donated to the College of ACES. This semester I am also one of the student representatives on the Policy Committee through ACES Student Council. The Council has representatives from each club within the College of ACES and helps the clubs to interact and improve our college. The James Scholar Program is always a good idea as well. This program encourages the students in it to maintain a high GPA, and complete an honors course each year. As a James Scholar you also have an obligation to attend the Honors Symposium which is similar to a retreat for all of the James Scholars. Each student who attends eats for free and has the opportunity to interact from students from all backgrounds and majors. Last year when I attended, I ate lunch next to a senior in crop science who had a specialty hay business and had recently received the job of providing hay for the Budweiser Clydesdales in St. Louis. You just never know who you are going to meet when you get involved. I apologize for rambling, but I hope this gives everyone an idea of some of the incredible opportunities we have on this campus. I wish everyone the best of luck in this fall semester and consider getting involved, you will make many new friends and the opportunities are endless. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. I am not an expert by any means, but I do know that it isn't always easy to get involved on a large campus and I know a lot of people who would be willing to help. Best of Luck!

Summer Update

Hello everyone!

It is hard to believe that my first year of college has passed already and summer is in full swing! I have been keeping busy here at home on the farm and I have not done a very good job keeping up with my blog, but I thought that it would be nice to give a quick summer update. The month of May has been fantastic! I have had time to re-organize my life at home and be together with my family. I have enjoyed spending time outside exercising our dogs and trying to keep up with some house work.

In the evenings I enjoy boating with friends. I have been working hard to improve my water skiing skills with the goal of skiing a slalom course by the end of the summer.

This coming week I will begin a "nanny" position for a family in Bloomington. I will care for two kids, Maya is 7 and Zane is 5. We will have fun going to swim team practice, golf practice, The Children's Discovery Museum, the library, parks, etc. I will also begin a summer statistics course next week.

I am looking forward to my 19th birthday which is only a short 7 days away! I have no plans thus far, but I am excited to have all of my family and friends near by. I cannot believe how time flies, as I get older I think time keeps going faster! I hope everyone is enjoying this warm, gorgeous weather, and I will do my best to keep up with posts and include my favorite photographs! Until next time...

To my readers:

I received a kind, eye-opening comment today regarding my previous post about the portfolio/ blogging workshop. As a result, I would like to clarify the last part of my message. It is VERY important to take your academic career seriously IN ADDITION to gaining "out of the classroom" experiences such as workshops, motivational speakers, or internships. In retrospect, I feel that I may have mislead my readers to think that these experiences were more important than academics. What I meant to convey is there is a delicate balance between academics and alternative forms of learning, and I think students sometimes forget that, including myself. I apologize for the confusion, and I wish everyone good luck in the last few weeks of classes. Thank you for the comments as well. ENJOY THIS BEAUTIFUL SPRING WEATHER (finally)!!!

"The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand."

Tuesday evening, April 17th, the James Scholar Media Team in collaboration with the Agriculture Communicators of Tomorrow hosted a portfolio and blogging workshop. Despite low numbers of attendees, everyone who came took home a great deal of knowledge (even if they were there to teach). For all of you who were not present, I would like to give a brief summary of the information presented so that you too can utilize the information.

Portfolio workshop:

why? Opens the door to conversation

what? A simple notebook with your name on the outside; a resume on the inside sleeve (with EXTRA copies); and a table of contents including your resume, writing samples, and any other work that you have completed.

how? Save original copies of your work, and update your resume on a regular basis.

when? It is NEVER too early to start a portfolio, just be sure to update it as your abilities improve.

who? Anyone pursuing any career can and SHOULD have a portfolio.

where? Take your portfolio to any conference, internship or job interview you attend. You never know when it might come in handy!

Blogging workshop:

why? Blogging is one of the latest and greatest advancements in new media. A blog can be used as a kind of diary (to express your personal interests) or a form of professional development (for a business or a person).

what? "Blog" is short for web log.

how? I prefer to use blogger.com. This website helps you create a blog in three simple steps. If I can do it, then ANYONE can!

when? Blogs are quick and easy to start. I had mine up and running in less than fifteen minutes. Like a portfolio, it is never too early to start a blog. A professional blog can come in handy when you start applying for jobs as well.

who? YOU!

Where? There are several different websites that you can use to start a blog. Like I said, I would suggest blogger.com.

I hope these tidbits help everyone! In addition, I would like to say that I really encourage all of the James Scholars and ACT members to come to more of our activities. They are purely for YOUR personal and professional development. Thanks for checking out my blog! : )

"The least of learning is done in the classrooms."
~ Thomas Merton

One POWERFUL Message

On Thursday, March 29th, I had the priviledge of introducing Debra Berg, author of The Power of One: The Unsung Everyday Heroes Rescuing America's Cities. I found Debra's message to be incredibly impowering and I even got goosebumps a few times, which is always a true sign of a motivating speech. Debra's message revolved around the acronym S.N.L. (not Saturday Night Live of course, but it sure helped me remember it)!

S - SERVICE

N - NETWORKING

L - LEGACY

These three aspects can help people to accomplish their own mission in life, similar to those people in Debra's book. The success of each individual Debra talked about was based off S.N.L. One particular man that Debra interviewed for her book, gave up a profitable career in the NFL to SERVE youth in his community. He utilized his NETWORK to fund programs for inner city youth in order to keep them safe and out of trouble. As a result of his hard work and sacrifice, this man formed his own LEGACY and accomplished his mission in life. Debra concluded her speech by saying, in reality, the phrase should be THE POWER OF TWO. While it takes only one person to come up with an idea, it takes a network of people to make the idea a reality. The main idea: EVERYONE can accomplish their mission in life, all you need is S.N.L.

To purchase your own copy of The Power of One, go to http://www.powerone.org/ or visit your local bookstore.

New Knowledge = New Opportunities

When I first began my internship with Monsanto, I taught myself how to create a blog. Although I don't always get along with computers, I found blogging to be interesting, creative, and actually FUN. I enjoyed playing with templates, pictures, colors, and thinking of new and original posts. Now that I am back at school, I have discovered a way to spread my new love for blogging to fellow students at the University of Illinois. As a new James Scholar I wanted to get involved with the James Scholar Media Team (JSMT). On April 17th at 7 pm in the Monsanto Room of the ACES library, a couple of student bloggers and I, from the JSMT, will teach a workshop on creating your own blog. The workshop will also include a lesson on starting your own portfolio. I am thrilled that I will have the opportunity to share some of the knowledge I gained from my internship with fellow students interested in agriculture. Creating your own professional blog is a great way to familiarize yourself with new media and it is an excellent resume builder for any blossoming communicator.

Top Five Tips for Future Ag Communicators

1. Know the industry: familiarize yourself with agriculture magazines, radio stations and experts to help you understand the latest issues and technology in our industry.

2. Have confidence in your abilities: Be able to write an effective article, take photographs, and communicate with people in a professional manner.

3. Dress professionally: Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. It is a proven fact that other people's perception of you is influenced, to some extent, by appearance.

4. Go above and beyond: Anyone can do the bare minimum. Work hard and think outside of the box, you will be rewarded in the long run.

5. Be yourself: It is easy to get caught up trying to be someone you are not. Be proud of your strengths and be aware of your weaknesses. Watch other people and emulate the traits that appeal to you, but never compromise your individuality.

Enthusiastic about Ethanol

While at the Commodity Classic, I enjoyed looking at all of the booths, especially Monsanto's. This year Monsanto had four major divisions in their booth: Yield Gard, Vistive, Round-up Ready, and biofuels/ethanol. I found the ethanol section of the booth extremely interesting. Paul Lopez (NR Specialist) and Troy Hobbes (Corn Biofuel Strategy Leader) shared with me some of the basics of ethanol, the latest technology in the field, and the main objective behind Illinois push for ethanol plant development.

Growing up surrounded by agriculture, I had always heard a lot about ethanol and the benefits of using ethanol, but I have to admit I never knew how it was made. To begin, Paul and Troy walked me through the basics of how ethanol is created. In the first step, the corn is ground and mixed with water in cook tank at 200 degrees. The extreme temperature sterilizes the corn and causes the starch molecules to rupture and break down into simple sugars. In the second tank the enzyme Glucoamylase is added which breaks down the sugars into glucose. Yeast is also added in this step which converts the glucose into alcohol. After this 48 hour process, the mixture is distilled and the dried distillers grains (everything that is not fermented) are separated from the alcohol. In the final step, the alcohol is distilled out of the water.

To wrap up, we discussed the growing demand for ethanol plants in the state of Illinois. According to Troy Hobbes, the push for these plants has to do with energy independence. "Ethanol allows us not to import as much oil, keeping dollars at home." Illinois has been a big proponent of biofuels. The state of Illinois has a great agriculture community and the government wants to get the most of that community while benefiting farmers, rural communities, and the United States.

Post Preview

I made it home from Tampa, and I am working hard to get back into the college routine. I just wanted to give everyone an update about my up and coming posts. In the next couple of days, expect to see posts on biofuels/ethanol, Tips for future Ag Communicators, and an overview of my trip to the 2007 Commodity Classic!

Did I mention that I am missing the warm, sunny weather of Tampa? : )

An Enchanted Evening on the Water

I know many of you have been looking forward to hearing about our evening at the National Corn Growers Association Yield Contest recognition banquet. To begin, I must tell you that it was absolutely enchanting! When Monsanto puts on an event to recognize their sales men and women and their successful farmers they put their ALL into it. Tyne and I began our evening pinning corsages on all the wives of the National and State Corn Growers Yield Contest winners (we tried our best not to draw blood). We boarded the Star Ship, and were greeted by the most hospitable crew you could possibly imagine. The decorations, recognition stage, food, and fireworks were all immaculate. Best of all however, were the people. We met farmers as well as Dekalb and Asgrow dealers from the states of Nebraska to New York. The farmers and their families were in good spirits, and almost everyone I spoke to said their favorite part about the evening was meeting all the wonderful people. I had the privilege of interviewing one such man from Milner, North Dakota.

Tom Mund along with his wife, son, and daughter-in-law made the long journey to Tampa to receive recognition for second place in the State for the irrigated crop division. Tom and his son grow irrigated corn (Dekalb), soybeans, navy beans, and wheat. The past couple of days, I have heard farmers rave about their seed dealers and Tom was certainly no exception. He said, "We have a wonderful female dealer that knows her stuff better than a lot of men. She comes around and looks at our test plots and advises us about new varieties -- that's very valuable to us because they often become our chosen variety in the future." While visiting with Tom, I asked about the value of a high quality seed. Despite a lack of rain, Tom said, "we had a fantastic crop for the amount of moisture we had." He also called the genetics in today's varieties "just unbelievable." Tom's dad watched over the combining this year and could not believe that the farm was rolling in 180 bushel dry land corn after going without rain for such a long period of time. Tom's award winning story is a true testimony to the value of Monsanto genetics. In addition to a successful crop, Tom's farm goes back four generations. Tom himself has been farming since 1969, and has been farming with his son for the past ten years. Tom's favorite portion of the evening was "the conversation with farmers and Monsanto representatives as well as getting ideas from fellow corn growers." Tom encourages young farmers to get involved anywhere they can represent agriculture and be educated on how to represent it well. He stated, "Go to the National meetings and listen to the fantastic speakers -- my experience in various organizations has exposed me to a tremendous amount of very intelligent people. And they always say if you're going to be a leader and be successful, follow a good leader."


The evening ended with a bang, literally. Colorful fireworks lit up the sky just before we headed back to shore. Celebrating with successful corn growers from around the United States was a wonderful experience for everyone involved.

Yield Gard VT

Good morning everyone! I was up bright and early this morning for Monsanto's press conferences, but I am still going strong. The second press conference today covered Monsanto's latest YieldGard technology -- YieldGard VT. YieldGard VT is the brand for VecTran (Vector Transformation) technology that provides Monsanto with a better opportunity to place genes on the chromosomes for which optimal performance of the stacked traits is achieved. VecTran technology is a more natural insertion process that results in “hotter” stacked-trait hybrids with a highly active and more consistent barrier of insect protection. A limited YieldGard VT launch is planned on over 1 million acres for 2007, with plans for significant expansion for the 2008 growing season. The first YieldGard VT product launched is YieldGard Triple, which contains the second generation of the YieldGard Rootworm trait, the YieldGard Corn Borer trait and Roundup Ready 2 technology. Following the press conference I had my first radio call in with Josh St. Peters from Radio ILFB (Illinois Farm Bureau). Josh and I discussed what YieldGard VT is and what it will do for the farmers. The broadcast will be on the Radio Farm Bureau website (audio link - broadcast may take a while to load and my portion of RFD Today is at the end), and can also be heard on WHOW Clinton AM1520 between 9 and 11 this morning. Stay online for more postings about the National Corn Growers Association Yield Contest banquet last night, as well as updates about the latest technology in our industry, and the exciting happenings of the Commodity Classic 2007.

A Few Notes for my Readers

I apologize for not having the time to post a story on the National Corn Growers Association Yield Contest recognition banquet tonight, but I will get to it the first opportunity I have tomorrow. I also wanted to let everyone know that if you posted a question under comments, you may click on the comments link under the story you inquired about to see my response. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to keep up on the events here at the 2007 Commodity Classic, and I will look forward to posting more blogs tomorrow!

Check out the picture of me and Tyne enjoying our evening on the yacht!

My First Interview!

As an intern at the Classic, I have had so many new experiences in such a short period of time, and I am loving it! This morning, I had the opportunity to interview two very admirable people involved in agricultural communications. While eating breakfast with my fellow intern, Tyne Morgan, I happened to meet John Walter the creator and editor of agriculture online. John's website is the online portion of Successful Farming. While visiting with John, I learned that over one hundred years ago Successful Farming began the Meredith Corporation (now the second largest publisher in the United States). The Meredith Corporation owns many forms of media, including magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies Home Journal, Fitness, Successful Farming, and many more. John really emphasized the value of a family business and the importance of maintaining "agriculture roots," just as the Meredith Corporation has over the years. Even though my first interview was short, John said before he left, "Usually I am the one interviewing people, this was nice." I had a great time visiting with John, and learned the value of the strongly rooted companies we have in our industry. I even discovered that Mel Meredith, the great-granddaughter of E.T. Meredith who began Meredith Corporation, is the proud owner of the yacht sitting in the harbor outside our hotel! Tyne and I are extremely privileged to be invited to the National Corn Growers Association banquet on that particular yacht this evening. We are really looking forward to meeting several successful farming families from around the United States tonight. Check back later this evening for a post about our experiences and the wonderful families we encountered.

Taking over Tampa

My adventure to the 2007 Commodity Classic has finally begun! I have made the journey from the freezing cold, flat ground of central Illinois to the warm, green, palm tree covered city of Tampa. My travels went well, with the exception of getting struck by lightning shortly after taking off from Bloomington (that gave me a bit of a scare).

Now that I have arrived, I can finally answer the question that some of my readers, as well as myself have been asking. What is the Commodity Classic? According to a veteran of the Classic, Mr. Willie Vogt, the Corporate Editorial Director for Farm Progress Companies (the largest Ag publication in the United States), "The Commodity Classic is a unique meeting of leaders, including ASA, NCGA, and NAWG. The Classic is an opportunity for these leaders to interface with leading farmers who are big in their states, understand the issues, and are trying their darnedest to keep this industry viable."

The Trade Show opens at 3pm, and I am looking forward to visiting the various booths, and meeting several of the key players in our industry. Willie Vogt promotes the value of trade shows in educating farmers about modern technology in our industry. Mr Vogt says, "Don't come and look for the yard sticks, visit the show. There is the hardware of the business: Ag Co, Deere, New Holland, Case; and there is the software of the business: Mosanto, Syngynta, Bayer, Pioneer; and you need to understand both sides of the business and what the changes are." With almost 5000 Agricultural professionals and exceptional farmers from around the United States, the Commodity Classic has taken Tampa by storm, and I am thrilled to be in the middle of it! As I continue to meet new people and experience more of the show and this beautiful city I will keep you posted. If any of my readers have questions about the Classic, feel free to make a comment and I will do my best to bring the show to you.

Agriculture at Home

The countdown to the 2007 Commodity Classic has begun! I have only two days left before I board the plane to Tampa, and I am so excited. I cannot wait to meet everyone from Monsanto, and learn about the newest innovations in the agriculture industry. Before I head off to the Classic, I thought all of my readers might be interested to know a little bit about my Ag background. I grew up surrounded by production agriculture. My family manages a large, modern pork farm that has recently established a connection to Monsanto. Toward the end of January my dad, Patrick Bane, along with a small army of friends and employees began the weary, three day task of transporting 1500 gilts to the newly fumigated and renovated Bane Family Pork Farm. The partnership between my dad and four of his brothers had recently made the decision to modernize our operation by shipping the existing herd and importing a new variety of genetically superior Monsanto gilts. To provide more information to all you readers, I interviewed my dad's twin brother, Dr. Phillip Bane. Dr. Bane, who is also our herd veterinarian says, “The new herd sits higher on the genetic pyramid; therefore, we can produce breeding stock as opposed to market stock, adding value to our production as a whole.” Dr. Bane also discussed the health benefits associated with the new herd. “The Monsanto gilts, which come from Canada, are free of common diseases found in the United States such as PRRS (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome), Mycoplasma, and Circo Virus.” Bane Family Pork Farm is a strong supporter of Monsanto’s new venture into animal genetics. We have already seen improved temperament in the new herd and have faith in their strong milking ability, durability, and longevity. Dr. Philip Bane represented the partnership in saying, “Monsanto is an evolving powerhouse with a bright future in animal genetics, and we are thrilled to be a part of that." Over Thanksgiving break and Christmas break, I worked with my dad, uncles, and our employees to start records for the new herd. Our family is truly excited to venture into this new area of livestock production, and I am incredibly proud to be a part of it! I hope to share my family's story and learn more about other agriculture practices on my trip to Tampa.

The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Growing up, I have been surrounded by agriculture. My dad and his brothers manage a pork operation, and my mom is the Director of Commercial Agribusiness at Country Insurance and Financial Services. I have always had a passion for the agriculture industry. In high school I was an active leader and member in 4-H and the National FFA Organization. I became involved in FFA public speaking and addressed agriculture issues such as public concerns with hog farms and genetically modified foods. When it came time to choose a college, the University of Illinois was a long awaited selection. I chose to major in Agricultural Communications with the goal of educating the public about our modern advances and our bright future in the agriculture industry. I never would have dreamed that an opportunity like the Commodity Classic would present itself as a freshman at the University of Illinois. I am thrilled that I will have the chance to meet some of the most admirable communicators in the industry. The career experience that will present itself and the memories that will be made will last a lifetime. My family and friends are ecstatic for me, and I am absolutely honored to have this opportunity of a lifetime!