Agriculture is part of my family history and has always been a part of my life. Being part of a farming family offered me the opportunity to experience this lifestyle and fostered a love for all things agricultural. I know that agriculture is much more than growing things and having an unlimited supply of creatures to care for and pet. It has helped me learn many life skills I use daily in every aspect of life.
My favorite role is working with the alpacas — which has taught me that they, like any animal, are unpredictable and not on any time schedule. There are times that the animals’ needs come before my own. This has taught me to manage my time more effectively and prioritize everything I need to do. I have to manage my school work, extracurricular activities, chores, vet checks and anything else that comes up. This has helped me be more flexible and less selfish. For example, last winter I arrived home from school and before I even set down my backpack I received a call that an alpaca was ill, the veterinarian was on the way and I needed to be at the farm as soon as possible. So I went to the farm in flats, leggings and a cute top in the middle of Wisconsin’s winter. I might have been freezing by the end of the night but the vet needed me and we saved Max. It was the first time I ever heard an alpacas heartbeat!
Agriculture has also taught me to move on my feet and think outside the box. As a farmer you don’t always have the exact tool or resource you need so you have to improvise. Sometimes it’s “how can I keep the animals from jumping the fences?” or “what medicine can I give them when there aren’t many medicines made just for the camelid family?” Adapting things for the alpacas and learning about agriculture has taught me it is an innovative field! Alpacas are a big part of the sustainable agriculture movement and I continue to explore the ways agriculture is changing to meet the world’s needs. This has made me more aware of what I eat and how much farmers sacrifice to put food on everyone’s table.
The more I have learned about the full arena of agriculture, the more I appreciate how it touches every aspect of my life. But, the most impactful thing agriculture has done is provide the career path to my dream job. I have fallen in love with the alpaca business so much I need it to be a part of my everyday life. One day I hope to own my own farm, but for now I will continue to pursue an education with a focus on a career that involves alpacas, and continue to bring awareness to this field of Agriculture.
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