Rain and Twilight

If you haven’t already noticed, I am a long ways away from home. To be exact from the front door of my dorm in Manhattan, KS to my driveway in Pullman, WA, it is 1528 miles.  With the distance comes a lot of questions, about where I grew up. The top being: “How do you like the rain?” “Have you been to Forks?” and “So, you aren't used to small towns and this much agriculture?” And to those questions I smile! I compare the common questions I am asked, to asking someone from Kansas how Dorothy and Toto are, or if they live in the middle of nowhere.

“How do you like the rain?”

I love the rain I am a farmer’s daughter! But, what people are often referring to is the Seattle area, where it rains on average 40-50” each year. I live on the east side of the state, literally four miles from the Idaho border, where we average 15-20” of rain each year. In Eastern Washington is gets into the 90’s in the summer and below zero some winters, we see a little bit of everything! Though, I do have to admit, the weather in Kansas is a bit more temperamental.

“Have you been to Forks?” (Like Twilights Forks)

No! Forks is an eight and half hour drive, including a ferry ride. But I know someone who grew up there and they also have an FFA chapter! 

“So, you aren’t used to small towns and this much agriculture?”

Wrong! I grew up in a small town, on a wheat farm (that often gets gasps). And wheat isn’t the only thing produced in Washington; it is the 2^nd most agriculturally diverse state, behind California. The state produces over 320 different agricultural products! Needless to say, if you take a drive across the state you can roll through the fields of wheat, pass by the pastures of cattle, see the famous grapes of the Columbia Valley, eat an apple fresh off a tree, pick some cherries for a pie, try some cheese, fresh from a dairy, eat fresh sea food on a harbor, pick up some logs to build a log home, and so much more! The diversity of Washington’s agriculture is amazing!

Coming to Kansas has taught me a lot about stereo types related to the places people are from. I challenge you that the next time you meet someone from a place you have never been, to take the time to understand what the place they are from is really like, before you assume it is like what you’ve seen the movies and on the news!

-Paige

The Girl from Washington

A hop, skip and a jump away is where I am from home. I was born and raised in Pullman, WA and now I am a freshman at Kansas State University. I grew up in the heart of the Palouse, home of the Cougs, alongside the rolling fields of wheat on my family’s farm. A few quick facts about me:    

•  I have lived with my parents and brothers (Rob and Jeremy), in the same house since I was born. (It is over 100 years old!)

• I have 15 first cousins on my dad’s side of the family and 13 on my mom’s.
• My family raises wheat, dry peas and garbanzo beans. We also have a small herd of cattle.

• I am duel majoring Agricultural Communications & Journalism and Marketing.
• As of now after college I want to work in public relations or marketing for an agriculturally based company.
• I am allergic to cow’s milk, so that means I can’t eat anything with dairy in it.
•  FFA, enough said.
•  I am Wildcat and a Cougar, meaning I bleed purple and crimson (where I am from that isn't allowed).
• Member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority!
• I make and sell necklaces
• I love Crayola Color Crayons and coloring books :)
• The things I love most are God, my family, my friends, and agriculture.

You’re probably wondering the most asked question of me in the past six months, why K-State? That answer is simple and complex. For the complex version, I grew up in a college town, where Washington State University (the land-grant university in Washington) is located. I always knew that I needed to go out and experience some place new, but it wasn’t until I took a year off before college, and traveled around Washington and the country serving as an FFA state officer, that I realized I was ready to take that step for college. I had previously visited KSU as a senior in high school and after my visit it continued to come up in research and conversation. I realized I wanted and needed to be a part of the College of Agriculture at K-State so I applied, got accepted, paid a down payment, and the rest is history! The short answer is who wouldn’t want to be a Wildcat?

Being a part of production agriculture since the day I was born, has taught me a lot about where my food comes from. My background on the farm has made me want to continue to be involved and work in the industry. Although I don’t plan on returning to my family’s farm full time, I would like to return home during our yearly harvest to continue to contribute to both my family’s farm and production agriculture. 

Through this blog I hope to share my experiences as a college student in agriculture!

-Paige