On June 4, several of us from Paulsen headed to Des Moines for the World Pork Expo’s 25th anniversary. Paulsen was there along with Passenger Productions to shoot video for Show-Rite, a line of show feed owned by Hubbard Feeds.

A record crowd of 20,000 attendees gathered for three days of total swine immersion. And a record crowd of 2,500 hogs entered the WPX Junior National show and sale. It’s clearly a robust and growing activity.

Children from all over the U.S. came to show their animals. Of course, their parents came, too. Driving all the way to Des Moines from Louisiana or Texas or Delaware with a hog trailer in tow is quite a commitment.

These were some impressive families. I spoke with a few children, whose speech was pleasantly peppered with, “Yes, Ma’ams,” and I found them to be unusually mature and responsible. Through video interviews, I also had the chance to speak with quite a few adults involved with the show industry in various roles.

What these adults had in common was that they’d grown up showing animals. One gentleman told me about attending the very first World Pork Expo as a child to show hogs. He was back this year for the 25th anniversary with his own children, who were showing as well.

Another gentleman, who sells both show and commercial feed, said he believes showing animals is the single most important activity for building the next generation of livestock producers. Not only does it allow farm kids to “grow up” in the business, but it gives newcomers a way into agriculture without making an immediate, full-scale commitment.

These folks said that being involved in 4-H and FFA as children led directly to their careers in ag today. Some are farmers and some work in agribusiness. That’s also true of some of my co-workers at Paulsen, like Chelsey Hunnel, Janet Andersen, Krystil Smit, Sara Steever, Marcus Squier and others.

Children and adults alike told me that 4-H and FFA are exceptionally positive activities for kids – better than sports, hobbies or jobs.

Any company or organization involved with agriculture would do well to connect with and support 4-H and FFA. It’s the future of farming. And it’s a growing market.

Young man showing a hog at the WPX 2013 Junior National Show & Sale in Des Moines.

Clara Jacob of Paulsen with Big Red, a 300-pound Show-Rite fed hog.

We celebrate trees, giving them their own day, and, of course, Joyce Kilmer’s poem. But we also tend to take them for granted much of the time. When you consider the important role trees play in agriculture, it’s crucial that we pay attention to what’s happening to what is an overlooked American crop.

Growing up on a farm in eastern South Dakota, one of the best resources for adventure was our shelterbelt. In the spring, summer and fall, there were tree forts to build, adventures to plan and execute. And in the winter there were huge snowdrifts that meant carving out tunnels for winter hideouts.

As I grew a bit older, I learned that these marvelous places weren’t there just for childhood enjoyment and fantasy. Shelterbelts served a positive purpose for agriculture in the Great Plains. And it all came about in response to the devastating droughts of the 1930s.

On July 21, 1934, President Roosevelt instructed the Forest Service to initiate the Prairie States Forestry Project. The idea was to plant shelterbelts in six Great Plains states that would help protect crops and wildlife from wind and intercept blowing snow and sand, and also be a source of wood. By the time the project was completed in 1942, more than 145 million trees had been planted.
Shelterbelts survived and thrived for decades. But due to a number of circumstances, many have been neglected and fallen into sad shape. As I drive through rural areas today, much of that neglect is pretty obvious. A recent spring ice storm in South Dakota has added to the problem in southeastern South Dakota.

It’s been said that leadership is planting trees under whose shade you’ll never sit. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is exercising some of that type of leadership when it comes to shelterbelt restoration and renovation. Three years ago, federal grants were made available to South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska through the Great Plains Shelterbelt Renovation project for shelterbelt maintenance and restoration. Dolly Parton said that “storms make trees take deeper roots.” So there’s hope. But there’s also a long way to go to bring shelterbelts back.

I recently traveled to the west side of South Dakota, the beautiful Black Hills, where there’s still plenty of natural beauty to be found. But the forests continue to be threatened and heavily damaged by the mountain pine beetle epidemic. The South Dakota Department of Agriculture is working with the federal Bureau of Land Management and other groups to try to manage and mitigate the damage.

As you can see in this photo, many landowners are removing damaged trees and thinning healthy tree stands. Other measures include cut and chunk, cut and burn, prescribed fire and chemical spraying. The fight goes on and will for years to come.

It’s good to remember that trees are another valuable crop that this country has in abundance. But just like any other crop, trees are at risk from the elements and creatures. That’s why the Departments of Agriculture, both federal and local, take an active role in keeping this beautiful and valuable crop healthy and viable for generations to come.

The outdoor writer Hal Borland said it well, “If you would know strength and patience, welcome the company of trees.”

After eight days and over 2,000 miles of windshield time, I can say unequivocally that certain aspects of agriculture are alive and kicking.

Paulsen, along with Passenger Productions, drove to Lexington, Kentucky, to shoot video for a feed manufacturer client.

At Keeneland we shot morning exercises, racing and a two-year-old sale, where horses were commanding upwards of $300,000. We visited thoroughbred and standardbred farms, the Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center for reschooling adoptable racehorses and Kentucky Riding for Hope. (We also enjoyed temperatures in the high 70s while folks at home were slammed by the ice storm of the century.)

While the racing industry is facing challenges, the equine sector itself is going strong. Within the growing rural lifestyle market, horses are a key part of what people want.

Farther north, we interviewed several families who board horses for travelers and city dwellers. We met people who train horses and another family that operates a Cowboy Mounted Shooting facility.

And in Shipshewanna, Ohio, we saw horses in a completely different role—as transportation. It’s an area with a large population of Amish and Mennonite communities where every third “vehicle” in town is a horse and buggy.

Horses are a unique part of agriculture and an economic driver. While we did see areas ravaged by economic downturn, we also saw communities and businesses that were alive and kicking.

While it’s hard to say why some areas flourish and others don’t, I suspect it has something to do with the ability of people to adapt. Maybe horses are like the canary in the coal mine when it comes to agriculture. Because discovering innovative ways to create an income stream using horses looks a lot like finding creative new ways to respond to changes in the agricultural economy.

A racehorse at Keeneland gets a bath after its morning workout.

When it comes to awards, the only thing more satisfying than seeing client work recognized is when one of your own dedicated employees is honored, and that was the case for Paulsen Marketing at the South Dakota Advertising Federation’s 47th annual ADDY Awards Show.

Paulsen celebrated an honored colleague and accepted three awards at the ADDYs held March 15 in Sioux Falls.

Paulsen’s top award of the night was a Gold ADDY for a 60-second TV commercial produced on behalf of the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council titled, “Feed The World.”

Paulsen won two Silver ADDYs as well – one in the Digital Advertising, Tablet Category for the Raven Product Guide App that Paulsen produced for Raven Industries (available from iTunes and Google Play); and another in the Elements of Advertising, Illustration category for Cooperative Credit’s 2012 Annual Report.

Several Paulsenites were in attendance to support colleague Janet Andersen as she received the 2012 Creative Legacy Award.

In 2005 the South Dakota Advertising Federation developed the Creative Legacy Award as a way to recognize individuals in the local advertising community who have set the standard for creative accomplishment within the industry, achieved an impressive body of work in their career and serve as a mentor or inspiration to co-workers.

With over 30 years in the Sioux Falls area advertising industry, Janet has been integral to the progress and successful growth of communications in the region. She is a senior project manager at Paulsen and works one-on-one with clients as an account executive while also managing projects internally. Because of Janet’s deep experience in graphics and production, she’s able to offer valuable insights to key agency clients and bridge the communications gap between account service and creative.

Our agency produced a special video to commemorate Janet’s Creative Legacy Award.

Congratulations Janet!