Young Ag Leaders Conference

The Institute for Rural America is in Kansas City, MO this week, and so is Liz. She flew out Sunday and won't be home until Thursday night. I guess the hotel is nice and the speakers at the conference are really interesting. (Here is a pdf of the schedule.)

She spoke yesterday with a lady involved in the Missouri Prop B battle, who offered her email address so I can talk with her as well. Prop B was touted as an anti-puppy mill initiative. However, according to this lady, a certain individual who runs a large animal rights group, (whose name I won't mention here, as I don't need trolls filling up my comments)*** (but his initials are the same as the first letters of the words "Wall Paper") has promised to apply the bill to farm animals as well. Here is a map of how the vote went down last fall. As you can see it was divided along rural vs urban lines. Country folks, who actually live with and understand animals voted no. Folks in the city voted yes.

Later in the week Liz will be attending the National Farmers Organization convention in the same spot. Last year she attended as a young farmer representative. This year she works for the cooperative. It is amazing the opportunities that a life time in agriculture, a college degree, and her own hard work have opened up for her. When I was her age I was working at someone else's farm just learning to milk cows.

It is also pretty exciting for someone who has never been on a plane to watch their offspring fly off to distant cities to talk with and learn from important ag leaders. I get to some events here in NY and much enjoy them, but this is big doin's to me. Can't wait until she is home though. I am, after all, a mom first, and a farmer second.

And I am jealous of the bird watching. Eagles nesting right in view of the hotel window. Lots of water birds and maybe ospreys as well. They kinda make my gold finches pale by comparison. I hear there is a board walk and she may take her camera out for some pictures.