A few weeks ago, I traveled to Kansas City, MO with two of my fellow Hokies in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to represent Virginia Tech at the Agriculture Future of America Leaders Conference (AFA LC). This was the beginning of Virginia Tech’s involvement with the program that focuses on networking and professional development for collegiate students studying agriculture. The Leaders Conference claims that name because the delegates attending don’t need “training in leadership” but rather training for leaders, and that’s precisely what AFA LC does. Learn more about AFA and AFA Leaders Conference here: http://www.agfuture.org/s/1342/index.aspx?sid=1342&gid=1&pgid=488  

I was super psyched about the experience and I didn’t even know what was coming. All I knew was we were going to be split by year in school to focus on some sort of professional development skill(s) and this year’s theme was “Activate.” My track, Track 2, was focused on communication- everything from body language to professional writing. I didn’t know much about AFA LC, but that’s what I knew. I expected it to be fancy and fun, to run into one person I knew, and to get a random roommate for the 4 days.

I walked into the pristine and elegant Sheraton lobby lined with major companies’ and organizations’ signs ranging from ADM to Monsanto to Dairy Farmers of America. I began to question the reality of how wonderful everything was and it got me wondering if I was dreaming. I couldn’t believe it. I was blown away repeatedly and we hadn’t even done anything yet. I just kept thinking about how lucky I was to be there.

Then moments later, I ran into three people I knew. These three are phenomenal individuals who have represented the agriculture industry at either the state or national level in FFA or 4-H. Running into these three made me question the situation even more. Then in a second, it all clicked- I was among the best of the best. I was considered to be at the same level as them and I was there for the same reason as them. I kept thinking to myself, “Elizabeth, this isn’t right. You’re just a girl who plays with cows for fun and broke her pinky playing a non-contact sport. Like what?” But AFA showed me that I deserved to be there, and a primary reason being my passion.

The 590 delegates who attended AFA LC are the cream of the crop and the best of the best when it comes to the future of agriculture. We were hand picked to attend to learn how to keep the world going and growing with a professional twist. But why does this matter?

We 590 delegates are going to be at the forefront of agriculture for the next 50+ years. We are the people who will be faced with some of the most difficult challenges the world has ever seen. We are the people who will be responsible for feeding the world’s population that is expected to double by 2050. We are going to have to change agriculture and fight for our rights while we do it.

Well let me tell you, meeting 590 people from across the country was a blast, especially for an extrovert like me. I learned so much from my peers and from the absolutely incredible line-up of speakers we were fortunate to hear learn from all weekend long. (Blog to come soon about the speakers and other miscellaneous AFA details…)

The weekend I think could be summed up by an activity that I will forever remember we did on the last day. We were sitting at tables with peers in our track with young professionals in the corporate agricultural workforce. People who work for CHS, John Deere, and other companies in the industry all got mingled in with the sophomores during a session led by a graduate of Virginia Tech in Dairy Science. (Small world, huh?) He gave us a list of 60-70 words that are outstanding qualities to have as a leader. Individually, we picked a top 5, and then we came together to form a cumulative top 5 for the table. Passion was the common thread. Passion was picked in the top 5 for every single group in the room of nearly 200 students. Passion is why we were there and it’s why we’re working in agriculture. No one on this planet will tell you that farming is easy. If they do, feel free to pinch them for me.

AFA proved to me that you don’t have to be the absolute best at something to be among the best. You don’t have to have a 4.0 or be the star of a club, organization, or team. You don’t have to have a lifelong history in a particular field or have all the money in the world. But, in whatever you do, if you have real, genuine passion behind you, you’re going to be the best. This is especially true in agriculture.

Everyone at AFA LC was immensely passionate about agriculture and where he/she sees him or herself in it down the road. This was so evident in my track as speakers told us about how hard it’s going to be to do everything we need to in this industry. They warned us of the difficulties we will face but also stood behind us and reminded us that they believe in us.

The delegates were so intrigued and inspired to make the future bright for the industry and even lifestyle we hold so close to our hearts. But when’s the last time that you were in a room of 590 people all eager to face the challenges of tomorrow? And when were you in a room of 590 people who want to feed the world with a total number of people we probably can’t even calculate yet?

Gratefully I had the chance to be at AFA Leaders Conference. And because of opportunities like this, I rest assured that agriculture will prosper, especially through challenges we as an industry may face for years and years.

Thank you AFA for an incomparable learning experience to anything I’ve ever done in my life and thank you for activating even more passion in me for agriculture.