My very first blog entry...

Welcome to my blog!  I am new at blogging so it may take me a while to figure this all out!  I am an Illinois native, growing up on a corn, soybean, and cattle farm in west central Illinois. I moved to Kansas almost 4 years ago when I married a Kansas farmboy. We farm with my husband's family and live on a corn, soybean, milo, wheat, alfalfa, and beef cattle ranch in north central Kansas. Summers can get hectic when the hay is ready, wheat harvest is in full swing, and I am running all over Kansas working claims! With that being said, I really enjoy working for Diversified Crop Insurance Services (DCIS).  Our motto is to be "World Class In All Respects" and I strive to be that way in my personal and professional life.

I decided to start blogging for several reasons:

1.  I feel myself lacking behind in technology even though I am only 28 years old!  I have a twitter account but don't really get why I have one.  I also don't know how to work my 65 year old dad's touch screen smart phone ( I am getting an Iphone this week which should alleviate this concern).  I also recently had a conversation with my husband's aunt about technology in schools.  All students at her school will be learning on Ipads next year...no books, papers, pencils, only Ipads!  And this school is a rural school in western Kansas.  If a 3rd grader can work a touchscreen Ipad, I can at least figure out how to write a blog.

2.  I want to tell our story of life on the farm.  Dan works for his dad (Ernie) and uncles (John and Phil) in exchange for the use of their machinery.  This exchange of labor for equipment is typically how farmers get started and is exactly how my Dad began farming in Illinois with my Grandpa over 40 years ago!  Land, machinery, and input costs are astronomical these days.  It is very difficult to "start" farming if your family has no land base or equipment.  Therefore, I will always be grateful to Dan's family for giving us the opportunity to start farming with them.  Our farm continues to expand as we recently purchased some acreage and are happy to have something to call "our own."

August 22, 2009
My favorite pictures from our wedding day.  It was taken on the farm south of Barnes.

3.   My sister (Maria) talks to me about social media everyday.  She has encouraged me to take a closer look at social media. I am convinced that the internet is the best tool to tell our story and shed a positive light on agriculture. Thanks Maria! Hopefully you will be one of my first faithful followers.