Young Farmer and Rancher Update
Susan Wilkins, YF&R Chair
I always enjoy the State Fair of
West Virginia. But probably not
for any of the reasons one would
think. Last year, for instance, I
didn’t see a single concert, ride any
rides, buy a cinnamon bun, or even
spend much time in the barns. No,
my State Fair enjoyment centers
solely on ice cream. You see, for the last several years, I
have helped the Maxwelton Ruritan Club sell ice cream
in their stand beside the Dairy Barn.
I like selling ice cream for three main reasons. First
of all, rarely do mean or rude people eat ice cream.
(Perhaps I should include a disclaimer here that this
statement is not scientifically proven!) And, in my
experience, if a customer starts out mean or rude when
they order, by the time they get an oversized, hand
dipped cone of Rocky Road, Moosetracks or Butter
Pecan, their rudeness melts away. My favorite
customers are the kids whose eyes light up like
its Christmas morning when I hand them a cone.
The second reason I like selling ice cream is the
sampling. After all, a shift lasts between 6 and
7 hours. A person has to eat something during
that time and plus, when a customer asks for a
recommendation on ice cream flavors, I need to be
able to honestly tell them!
Another State Fair has come and gone, and with
it, our summer begins to wind to a close. The Annual
Meeting will soon be upon us and the Young Farmers
and Ranchers Committee will again be holding our
Discussion Meet, Excellence in Ag, and Achievement
Award contests. State winners of each contest will
receive a trip to the 2015 AFBF Annual Convention
in San Diego, California to compete for Chevy/GMC
trucks, Case IH tractors, Stihl chainsaws, and cash.
We encourage any young farmer between the ages
of 18 and 35 to enter one of these contests. All county
presidents were mailed nomination forms earlier in the
spring to nominate young farmers in their county. West
Virginia is filled with outstanding young people who we
would like to recognize for their achievements. Please
help us spread the word! Applications are available
from Eric Thomason in the State Office. The deadline to
apply is September 30, 2014.
And the third reason is the questions I get to
answer. Being located so near the cattle barns,
I’ve answered questions like “What cow in the
barn did this ice cream come from?” “Does the
chocolate ice cream come from a brown cow?”
“Is this ice cream made from milk?” Sometimes
the questions can be a little crazy, but it is one
more way I can help promote agriculture. People
are often intimidated when they think about
being an advocate for this industry, but if you can
incorporate it into something you’re already doing,
it makes it a lot easier! So I challenge you to find
just sm