KANSAS!!!! The land of beef, wheat, sunflowers, and the Wizard of Oz of course!

If you would have told me three months ago that my journey as Miss Idaho would take me to Kansas, I would have never believed you. Yet, this past monday, I found myself boarding a plane to (you guessed it) Wichita, Kansas for the 2009 American Farm Bureau Promotions and Education National Committee Meeting! I'd never been to Kansas before, so this was definitely a new, incredible experience that I will never forget!

One of my first experiences in Kansas was being welcomed to Kansas by Miss Kansas, Becki Ronen, herself! How many people get that opportunity? :) Sandy (my traveling buddy) and I were able to have dinner with Becki and her awesome mom at a local restaurant that was infamous for its delicious hummus and entrees! It was amazing! It was even better though to catch up with one of my Miss America sisters and hear about all the incredible things she is doing in Kansas! We had so much fun at dinner, and we finished the evening by doing a bit of shopping at one of Wichita's excellent malls.

The next morning, the conference started off with a bang where all the representatives from different states shared some of their success stories for agricultural promotions and education activities they have accomplished. It was so awesome to hear about some of the creative things that were being done in other states, and I now have a few more ideas now how to promote my platform over the next couple months! From there, I participated in workshops on Animal Rights Education, Public Speaking, and using Facebook and Twitter to get out the message. With the evening to spare, Sandy, Russ (an Idaho Farm Bureau representative) and I went to Wichita's Old Town to have some very yummy Latin food! Just thinking about that dinner makes my mouth water! After that, Sandy and I finished the night with some shopping and a very VERY small bowl of gelato (I hope my trainer doesn't read this :) ).

On wednesday, the Kansas Farm Bureau took us on a bunch of tours featuring agriculture companies and farms in Eastern Kansas. Our first stop was a farm where two brothers farm over 3000 acres, but actually own only 160 acres. They had all of their incredible tractors and combines lined up for us to check out, and described how they work to lease property from over 30 landlords. Those guys are ambitious! After having a fabulous lunch, we went to a ranch where in addition to raising cattle, they also collect energy via modern windmills! They had 100 windmills on the property, and it was very beautiful to see the windmills with the backdrop of the Kansas Flint Hills Prairie. We finished our tours at Walnut Valley Meat Packing in El Dorado, Kansas. I am always fascinated by meat packing plants (I know...I'm a little weird) and it was awesome to see the process they go through to individually package meat for local individuals.

Thursday was the last day of the conference, which just happened to start with a speech presented by yours truly! They had asked me to speak about a month ago, and I felt so privileged to share my unique and interesting story about how I've come to develop the views on agriculture that I am so passionate about today, and what I am doing to spread the message about the importance of supporting American Agriculture-the original green industry! To conclude the conference, a hog farmer from Missouri, Chris Chinn, then spoke about the message she spreads and the importance that we all find ways to educate people at airports, schools, and church about the reality of the agriculture industry. She was awesome! The link to her video about her family's hog farm on youtube is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOpVYj2bKIE. Please check it out so you can see how much farmers, just like Chris, truly care for their animals!

After an amazing conference where I became even more motivated about the value and strength of my platform, I was ready to head home! Sandy was heading to Raliegh to spend some time with her oldest son, so it was just Russ and I on the return trip to Boise. After boarding the plane, the door would not close, so they had us return back to the airport's terminal. Even with the expertise of the airport's mechanic, the door would not close! Luckily, Russ and I were able to get booked on the next flight for Denver which left only three hours later. Once in Denver, we were on standby on a flight to Boise, and by some luck I managed to get the last seat! Sometimes traveling isn't exactly fun, but I was very happy to make it back to Idaho safely.

I would like to personally thank Marsha Purcell (with American Farm Bureau), the Kansas Farm Bureau, and all the incredible people I met in Kansas for such an incredible time! It is so refreshing to see that people from other parts of the country are just as passionate and dedicated to telling people the real story of agriculture as I am, and it was awesome to share ideas and brainstorm.

Pictures will be coming soon....I promise!

Until next time...God Bless!

~Kara