Sustainability - A Global Buzzword

Today I'm launching the first of three posts about agriculture in Ireland, specifically agricultural sustainability in Ireland. Those of you who know me know that I'm extremely passionate about sustainability, especially in the agriculture industry. For those of you that didn't know, let me explain.

In January 2013 I had the amazing opportunity to attend a Bayer CropScience Sustainability in Agriculture Executive Course on behalf of the Red River Farm Network. This course brought together agricultural stakeholders from across the country to talk about sustainability in agriculture. This course both challenged and excited me and, at the time, I didn't realize the profound impact the course would have on my life. To learn more about that course check out the blog post I wrote.

This course sparked my interested in the concept of sustainability and how farmers are sharing their sustainability stories with consumers. I am passionate about every aspect of sustainability: how it is defined, how it is measured, how consumers view the sustainability of agriculture, how businesses practice sustainability, and so much more. My passion for this topic led me to basing my thesis on sustainability along the agricultural supply chain. In addition, I am working on a project with some colleagues aimed at understanding how consumers and agriculturalists perceive sustainability at the farm-level.

Last spring I signed up for a short-term study abroad in Ireland. As part of the course I was instructed to identify a topic of interest that I wanted to investigate while in Ireland. Any guesses on what topic I selected? Of course, it was sustainability! I couldn't wait to learn about agricultural sustainability in Ireland. After a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel to Ireland and learn about agriculture and agricultural communications, I wanted to share what I learned. I learned so much that I'm breaking it into a three-part series. This first post is focused on the key takeaways about agricultural sustainability in Ireland.

• The word sustainability has certainly become a buzzword in the U.S. and it has also become a popular term in Ireland in recent years.
• Just like in the U.S. there is no universal definition of sustainability. While many of the people I visited with had similar definitions, each definition was unique.
• Sustainability is affecting the lives of consumers. It's what they want to hear about and what they want farmers to practice.
• The concept of sustainability is changing the way farmers farm. A majority of Irish farmers are involved in some sort of program to help them demonstrate their environmental sustainability.
• Ireland has sustainability programs for every area of ag/food production.

In my next post, I will be introducing you to some of the farmers and agriculturalists I visited with while in Ireland and sharing their views of sustainability. I hope you come back to check it out!

Until next time,

Never Forget Your Roots

It’s hard to believe in two weeks I will have completed my third semester of graduate school – seems like just yesterday I packed up my belongings and moved to Kansas. I guess it’s true what they say, time flies when you’re having fun!

With graduation peering around the corner, a growing number of people have started asking me what I will do after I graduate. The truth is I still don’t have a solid answer to that question. I’m learning not to place limits on what I can do or where life can take me.

Over the last several years I have had the amazing opportunity to travel and experience life in a variety of places including Milwaukee, Nicaragua, Manhattan, Brazil and, most recently, Ireland. While life has taken me to these places for a variety of reasons and for different lengths of time, I always take a piece of home with me wherever I go. The lessons I learned growing up have helped prepare me for a future that has no limits.

Thinking about the future can be nerve-wracking and brings with it all sorts of uncertainties, but I know that wherever life takes me my roots will always be planted firmly on the beautiful North Dakota farm where I was raised. No amount of miles can take those lessons away.

If I could offer one piece of advice to you it would be this- dream as big as you want but never forget your roots. The lessons you’ve learned along the way will give you a strong foundation to be successful wherever your dreams take you.

“There’s no forgetting my humble beginnings; where I’m going, God only knows” – Small Town Soul by Gwen Sebastian

P.S. Next week I’m launching a three-part blog series called Sustainability – A Global Buzzword to highlight my recent trip to Ireland. Be sure to check it out!

Until next time,