I was raised in a farming community, where agriculture is part of everyday life. The simple joys it brought me filled my heart and spirit, driving me to pursue a career in agriculture. The hardships that came with it taught me what hard work really is and showed me how to persevere through the grunt. This life has shaped me into a passionate leader and advocate for agriculturists everywhere. My first job was as a farmhand at the local dairy. I learned the ins and outs of running a business, doing what seems like everything at once, and, most importantly, putting others before myself. As Paul Harvey put it, “God said, ‘I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt and watch it die, and dry his eyes and say, ‘maybe next year.’’ So, God made a farmer.” I had to grow up real quick for that. The thousands of hours, blood, sweat, and tears I put into the farm taught me more than any classroom ever could. However, living in agriculture isn’t enough for me. Without a communal understanding of agriculture, it won’t survive. Family farms will die, resources will be depleted, and the world will never truly understand or appreciate what agriculture really is. Throughout my life, I’ve watched my parents, teachers, employers, and friends, all agriculturists, go to work, work, and then work some more. Yet, the world seems to hate them. You’ll hear all the time on the news that farming is responsible for killing the planet and that farmers are money-hungry sharks upping your grocery bills every week. The world doesn’t know that they are up before dawn and past sunset milking, harvesting, shipping, mucking, planting, repairing, and producing, all on top of raising their families, going to church, teaching a classroom, or working a second job. Because of this, it’s my responsibility to stand up for them. To advocate for the farmers who are so busy they don’t have time to stand up to the world and show it how wrong it really is. Agriculture is important to me because I must make it important to everyone. My impact on the world will not be covered by national news. I won't earn a gold medal or receive a plaque with my name on it. Instead, my impact will simply be reminding people of the dedication that agriculturalists have to life. We feed the world, we rescue the animals, and we conserve the trees and the water. Our goal and sole mission is to improve the quality of life for all, so that no person may go hungry or without. My impact is being the reminder. Reminding those to think about the food on their table and who grew it, the clothes on their back and who sewed them, and even the books they read and the paper they write on and who pieced that together.