Since Trent so graciously told everyone that I was responsible for the website I thought you may want to know who I am and why I felt compelled to be part of Faces of Agriculture.
My husband, Chad, and I have three wonderful children - Corly, Clayton and Claira. We live approximately 45 minutes west of Des Moines, Iowa near Panora. Our operation includes 4400 wean to finish spaces, 3300 feeder to finish spaces and 160 acres of row crops - just enough to get the "itch" out of Chad's system. Chad and I both grew up on farms but neither of us had the overwhelming desire to do a lot of row cropping. I grew up on a farm in south central Iowa - only I didn't have hogs, we had beef cattle. Never in my childhood did I ever want to marry a pig farmer but I wouldn't change it now.
Over the past ten years in Iowa, we have had a massive increase in regulation and an outcry from a small - yet vocal - sector of people. For several of these past ten years, I chose to sit silently and assume that they would eventually go away - I was wrong.
Three years at a Farm Bureau convention in Des Moines, I heard Bruce Vincent tell of a group that was threatening our ability to produce food and fiber. I thought there was no way that could happen here - not in the United States and definitely not in Iowa. Then, a year ago I met Trent Loos in Des Moines at the Faces of Agriculture Rally. The seed that Bruce Vincent planted 3 years ago sprouted when I heard Trent say, almost word for word, what I had been thinking and feeling.
Today, Chad and I are involved in different commodity groups and organizations. We take every opportunity to tell people what we do and how we do it. I found that what people are afraid of is what they don't know. With the general public being removed 2-3 generations from the farm, their perception of food production is formed by what they read and hear. You and I know that isn't always accurate but they don't. It is up to us - not an organization or commodity group - to make sure our customers form their opinions based on accurate facts.
This website is very much in it's infancy. Our desire is to provide you as the producer any information or help you need in championing your area of food production. Please help me by providing feedback on what you would like to see included.
Welcome to the Faces of Agriculture website and I look forward to hearing from you.
Amy Wilkerson
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