Finding my thread in agriculture
Header photo by Kayla Hart
by Kayla Hart
A few weeks ago, I stood in a room full of agriculture teachers celebrating their milestone awards.
I had the opportunity to visit with my high school ag teacher, and I found myself thinking about how different my life looks today than I ever imagined it would when I sat in his classroom.
Kayla and her high school ag teacher, Lane Moellenkamp.
At the time, agriculture was pretty simple to me. It was our family farm near Chaseley; cattle, crops, FFA meetings, and whatever project I happened to be working on. I knew I loved agriculture, but I didn't know what that would look like as a career.
Today, agriculture is still the thread running through my life, but it has taken me through some places I never expected.
FFA Auctioneering Camp and contest participants pose for a photo at Big Iron.
My work may take me into a conversation with an agriculture teacher or a donor. Other days, I can be found preparing the state officers to meet industry partners. Recently at Big Iron, I watched our newly elected state officers connect with Star Partners and experience firsthand the people and businesses that shape our industry. We also showcased North Dakota's first FFA auctioneering contest, giving students another way to explore an agriculture-related skill and career. To round out Big Iron, it ended with a radio interview advocating for the Blue Jackets Bright Futures program and sharing its impact to our youth in agriculture – or those just discovering it.
Radio interview with WDAY, host Bridgette Readel (past state FFA officer) is on the left.
Then there are the parts of agriculture that aren't part of my job at all. I still go home to the family farm and promote our custom-processed beef. I am extensively involved in Farm Bureau. I take photos. Sometimes I fly a drone over a field and see agriculture from a completely different perspective.
On paper, those things might not seem connected. To me, they are.
They are all part of the same thread.
I think that's one of the things I appreciate most about agriculture. There isn't one path into this industry, and there certainly isn't one definition of what an agricultural career looks like.
Some people raise cattle. Some grow trees. Some raise crayfish. Some teach. Some work in finance, research, equipment, communications, or advocacy. Some spend their days working directly with producers, while others help tell the story of agriculture to people who may never have stepped foot on a farm.
For young people considering their future, I hope they can see that agriculture has room for all those interests.
My FFA jacket was one of the first places I started finding my own thread in agriculture. I just didn't know at the time where it would lead.
Years later, I'm still following it.
And maybe that's the best part. The thread has taken me through classrooms, farms, industry events, and new opportunities I never expected. But somehow, it always leads me back to agriculture.
Kayla Hart is from Chaseley, North Dakota, and works for the North Dakota FFA Foundation. She represents District 5 on the North Dakota Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee, and also serves as committee chair.