I watched the documentary 'Supersize Me', I found it to be very eye opening to just how much of an issue eating fast food was becoming in America. I believe the director and everyone involved in the making of the film succeed in creating a sense of responsibility in all the viewers, I know it certainly has persuaded met to change my eating habits and I have even noticed myself trying to change the eating habits of other people as well. This is something I hope to have accomplished with my documentary, giving my viewers a sense of responsibility in their part to change to outlook of the agricultural industry.

My first semester at the University of Kentucky has been very stressful, however,  I have found that many classes came much easier to me than others, WRD 110, was one of those classes. I have always had a strength of being able to speak and present in front of classmates and groups of people, so the communication part of the class was very easy for me. I do feel as though I am not the greatest writer, so that came as a big challenge during many of the assignments during class, however, with the help from various peers and my instructor I truly believe that I got better a the semester progressed.

The process of creating my documentary has been going fairly smooth. The problem I am focusing on is the lack of consumer knowledge and interest in agriculture. The difficult part of the documentary is finding people with enough to interest on the topic to interview. I believe that I am going to have a fairly interesting documentary with the way that I will be filming. I am very optimistic about finishing the process and hope to have a final product that will be interesting to all the viewers.

Faktorovich, Anna. "Interviews with Farmers." Pennsylvania Literary Journal. Vol. 7. N.p.: Pennsylvania Literary Journal, 2015. 16-34. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

This source is an interview conducted with a farmer in Frankfort, KY. I found many things that the farmer, Richard Jones, said to be very interesting. Some of the main points he mentions are how farms are typically passed down through generations, how tough working on a farm can be, the benefits of learning to work hard, the benefits of living in a rural setting, and how having to work with other people has shaped him into a better communicator and leader. I can use all of the information he has given to show just how much of an impact agriculture can have on an individual and a community.

"Kentucky Plans Ambitious Hemp Agenda." Southeast Farm Press 42.15 (2015): 14. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.           

This source focused on the industrial hemp production in the state of Kentucky. I found this article very interesting since one of my professors in the leading researcher on the project. I can use this information to show how diverse agriculture is in the state.

The agricultural community in my area is very diverse. Coming from northern Kentucky, I was very accustomed to driving down the road and seeing a beef herd grazing in the field, migrant workers cutting a field of tobacco, or square bales of alfalfa hay checkered across the landscape. But as I was introduced to many other students at the University of Kentucky, I saw just how diverse agriculture was throughout the state.

The largest beef producing state east of the Mississippi River, Kentucky’s beef cattle serve as the 3^rd highest cash crop in the state. Growing up on a 325 acre family farm in Jonesville, KY, my life has been significantly influenced by the agricultural community. On my farm you can find anything from a flock of chickens in the yard to my sister riding the horse across the pasture, however, my favorite, and most important part of the farm is our herd of aproximately 25 cows and their calves along with the herd bull. This fall when we sold our batch of calves at Owenton Stockyards in Owenton, KY, our calves averaged $1,000 per head, which equates to about $1.90 per pound. A another stockyards we often sell at the average price per pound for calves of similar size last week averaged at $1.86 per pound. Being a part of the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity (AGR) has shown me just how many families across the state are affected by the beef industry, like myself, many of the guys come from small family farms where they may have a herd between 20-40 head of cattle, while some of the guys have large production herds of over 100 female cows and their calves. Another aspect of the cattle industry that I was not as familiar with was the dairy industry. A friend of mine here at the university, Brack Seale, has been involved in the dairy industry all his life and is wanting to start his own dairy when he graduates from UK. Another friend I met through AGR is John Riney, as I was starting to meet everyone, I was amazed to hear that his family owns a dairy operation where they milk nearly 1500 head of Holestein cattle every day, learning this inspired me to do some research on the dairy industry in KY. According to the Kentucky Dairy Development Council, the average dairy cow generates over $13,700 each year. After doing my research, I found a new respect for the dairy industry that I was not aware if before I came to UK. Pictured below are 3 yearling heifers that we are currently weaning in order introduce to the breeding herd this spring. Our cattle consist of mostly Angus bloodlines, with some Brangus lineage mixed in. We also have 2 registered Hereford cows, one if which is in the foreground of the picture below, in the future, I plan to market registered Angus and Hereford cattle.



Another agricultural industry in the state of Kentucky I would like to inform you on is the grain industry, specifially corn. In the nation, Kentucky ranks 13^th in corn production and corn serves as Kentucky’s number 1 cash crop. One of my AGR brothers, Eric Schwenke, is a grain farmer from Boone county, KY. Eric and his family raise over 700 acres of corn, and, over the past 5 years, has averaged 190 bushels per acre, since my family has not raised any signifact ammount of grain crops in the past, I was very surprised to hear how many bushels Eric and his family were abelto produce. Below is a picture of Eric working in the fields of his Boone county farm.

 

 

 

One of my oldest memories is of me and my grandfather collecting eggs from the chicken coop every morning, running back to the hosue to peer over my grandma’s shoulder to watch her fry them on the skillet, then having breakfast with both of them before grandpa went out to the field to work in the hay. This memory is probably the reason I became very involved in the poultry industry at the county and state level. Growing up I showed in the 4-H/FFA Poultry Show at the Grant County Fair, becoming a dominant competitior with both my show stock and my knowledge of poultry in the Showmanship Contest. As I got older I became very active in my county’s FFA program and competed in many regional and state poultry impromptu competitons, its obvious I have a love for the poultry industry. The industry is Kentucky’s number 1 agricultural commodity, and the state ranks 8^th in the nation in broiler production.

            As I have grown up I have found one thing very interesting about the agriculture industry, and it’s the reason I chose to write about the agricultural community. I believe that my involvment in this community is the reason I have become such an out-spoken, respectful individual. Through my experience working with other students and adults that are involved in agriculture, I have found that they are some of the most respectful people and some of the strongest leaders I have ever met, and I am proud to include myself in this community.

            As I stated earlier, I am from the little town of Jonesville, KY, where my family has had our roots planted since 1930 and I am the fourth generation to live and farm on the land that my great-grandfather claimed long ago. Now, it is my turn to work the same earth that he did. I am very proud to call the 325 acre beef and grass hay farm nestled against one and a half miles of Eagle Creek, on the western border of Grant County, carrying on the tradition that my ancestors did for so many years. Pictured below is a picture I recently took of a sunset sinking behind a tree line on my farm.

 

 

"Cattle Industry - Fayette Alliance." Fayette Alliance Cattle Industry Comments. N.p., 08 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.      http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/Sv-Is143.txt

"Kentucky Dairy Development Council." Kentucky Dairy Development Council. Kentucky Dairy Developemebt Council, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015. http://www.kydairy.org/

 



This is a picture of the brothers of the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity. I am very blessed to have been selected to become a part of the brotherhood this fall. I have chosen this picture because nearly every one of these young men has a background in agriculture and is pursuing a career in the field. Their insights on the agricultural community will be very beneficial to me to use on the documentary.