Agricultural journalism was never something I had considered as a career until my college years. In fact, I didn’t even know it existed. But here I am, two months out of college working as an agricultural journalist. Let me tell you, it feels like a dream.
I grew up on a cherry farm in northern Michigan—far enough off the beaten path to experience the blessing that farm life can be. My five siblings and I worked—and played—every day, or so it seemed, in those orchards. It felt like we were the only ones not taking grand summer vacations as a family. My father’s family has been in the business more than 100 years, and I think I’m finally beginning to understand why.
I left home for college—Eastern Michigan University—eager and anxious at the same time to be getting away from home and embarking on my own life away from the farm. The next four years were finally going to be the vacation I’d looked forward to my whole life. I chose to study journalism—an easy choice, as I have always loved writing. I later added anthropology as a second major—growing up on a farm didn’t include much time for exploring other cultures, and when I finally did at school, I fell in love. Needless to say, the four-year vacation turned out to be much harder work than I had thought, and it surprised me to realize that all the time I’d been trying to get away from my roots, all I wanted was to find a way to return to them.
And then it happened. My journalism professor pushed me to explore different aspects of journalism and encouraged me to look into agriculture more deeply—her own appreciation and respect for the agriculture industry inspired me. Soon, all of my class work was focusing on farm news—something I am positive my fellow journalism students grew tired of quickly. Soon, my anthropology class work also centered on agriculture as I studied the dawn of agriculture in human civilizations and the current cultural impacts of the decline of the American family farm. That same journalism professor later introduced me to a book called “The Invisible Farm.” This book was just the extra push I had been needing to find my way home. The book discussed the lack of agriculture in the news and the common misconceptions that non-farmers have about the agriculture industry. It amazed me that the American people knew so little about the food they ate and the people who supply it. What’s worse, most don’t even seem to care. It was then that I knew I had found my calling.
There is nothing I enjoy more than spending a day in the field with growers listening to their stories and later writing those stories down to be preserved. I never would have thought that after years of trying to get away from the farm I would find my way back—at least in some capacity. Much less, I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I have so far. I look forward to getting to know as much as I can about the industry and the people who run it.
