Langreck: In my wildest dreams

Saying I am passionate for anything related to agriculture, especially Indiana agriculture, would be an understatement. I wear my passion for the industry I grew up in, and made a career in, on my sleeve, and every chance I get, I work something about agriculture into my daily conversations, whether it is about vocational agriculture like FFA or a story about helping my son with his sheep.

I am positive my constant desire to tell my agriculture story has probably annoyed and gotten on the nerves of a few people over the years, but that does not stop me from continuing to share it at every chance I get.

That is one of the reasons I love being an agriculture journalist because I get to spend my days talking and working with people who have dedicated their livelihood to their farm or agriculture operation.

After a farm tour, field day or agriculture convention, I take the information I gathered and learned from the event and turn it into a story that is shared with the public so they also have the opportunity to learn what I did and experience all aspects of the agriculture industry.

For as long as I can remember, I always dreamed of having my byline in a newspaper writing about the latest innovations and advancements in the agriculture industry that would allow people to stay informed on current ag events.

Recently, I attended a media field day that highlighted some of Indiana’s agriculture operations. I have attended numerous field days and conferences over the years, but something that happened at one of the stops on this tour caught my attention and has stayed with me since.

The first stop of the tour was at Carter Dairy Farm in Frankfort, where John Carter runs and operates the dairy farm alongside his parents, Jeff and Kathy.

The dairy farm itself features two robotic milking machines that handle all the milking of the farm’s 80-head herd. However, that wasn’t the part of the tour that impressed me — it was actually something that happened in the pasture.

After John turned the herd out to pasture, he encouraged us to grab a glass bottle of milk and stand in the pasture and do a milk toast.

While his son was making sure the gate to the pasture was secure, Jeff was chatting with Bruce Kettler, who serves as the director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, about the dairy operation.

After they were done talking, Jeff suggested that he, Bruce and John all take a chug of milk and make a toast. With the cows in the background, the three individuals sharing an ice-cold drink of milk and a clear blue sky, the words “picture perfect” came to mind.

After the toast was done, I overheard Jeff say that in his wildest dreams he never thought he would be standing where he was that very day, drinking milk with the state director of agriculture.

Those simple words really struck a chord in me because never had such words truly summed up how I have felt about dozens of opportunities I have had while working and being involved in the agriculture industry.