A day in the life of U.S. agriculture.
What does farm life look like for Vanessa?
Vanessa Barr, PR group leader, is part of our boots-on-the-ground team of marketing experts who double as farmers and ranchers. Their expertise helps us to know the business of our agriculture clients inside and out. In celebration of National Ag Week, Vanessa shares a peek into her farm life with her husband, Jerry, and daughter, Mia.
We love our #farmlife.
This is where we work, live and play. We already see how our daughter loves the land and animals.
We have a lot of teaching moments in #farmlife.
Jerry is sure to take time to show Mia how to care for the animals. Mia embraces these lessons and is ready to share what her daddy taught her with others. I love the way she admires her daddy and watches his every move when they are feeding cows together or riding in the tractor. I pray that admiration never fades.
We love our daughter’s help.
The scoop shovel is as big as she is, but Mia wants to help feed the cows. We encourage her to try, and we love that she wants to be involved.
We give lots of cow cuddles.
After giving her favorite brown Swiss cow a little extra feed/treat, Mia gives the heifer some love and attention. The heifer is happy to get the additional devotion.
We put up hay for our cows – and to sell.
We wait out the weather and then rush to get the hay up before the next rainstorm comes through. It’s part of farming, and although it can be stressful, we love what we do.
Vanessa Barr, Group Leader, PR
You can learn something new about agriculture every day. That is why it is fascinating not only to farm with my husband but also work in ag communications. Once a dairy, the farm has been in my husband’s family since 1938. Today, we raise dairy replacement heifers as well as grow and sell alfalfa and grass hay.
Changes in crop technology and equipment help us to be better at what we do. Learning from other farmers and sharing their stories helps build a strong ag community.
Our daughter is learning with the many questions she asks. She listens and watches intently as she feeds the heifers with us or rides in the tractor. She is already helping tell our ag story to the next generation.
