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College Farmer: Spending time in the passenger seat sparked the passion to become an ag communicator.

December 23, 2019

2 Min Read
pickup driving on a dusty rural road
COUNTRY CONVERSATION: Will Robinson was not just listening to his dad during drives across Missouri in farm trucks. No, his ears were tuned into the voices on the radio. SJMichl/Getty Images

By Will Robinson

The first time I exhibited one of my family’s pigs was at the Summer Type Conference in 2001, then held in Columbus, Ohio. After what seemed like far too much time on the judge’s behalf to decide, 3-year-old me abruptly sat down in the show ring and began decorating my animal with some very nice wood shavings covering the ground.

As I exited the ring with my pig amid laughter from onlookers, I felt a firm grip and saw the disappointed face of my older sister. With a level of sternness that I didn’t know a 5-year-old could possess, she told me to never do that again — so far, I haven’t.

All in the family

My background in agriculture is firmly rooted in the swine industry. However, home consists of four sisters, a horse, a dog, some cattle and more show pigs. Along with my family, I have been fortunate to travel to 26 states exhibiting and selling our pigs across the country.

Having the opportunity to meet people from New York to California allowed me to witness how diverse the agriculture field is. It also has given me a better understanding of those outside of the industry and allowed me to more completely see the communication struggles between producers and consumers.

Considering myself an agricultural communicator, I believe it is my job to help each side better understand the other. And traveling with family over the years helped me figure out how.

Passion for communications

From a young age, I was drawn to radio. I remember riding shotgun in the seat of my dad’s farm truck, hanging on every word that came across the FM airwaves (sometimes AM, depending on Cardinals games).

Combining my passions for agriculture and broadcast, I found the perfect landing spot within the University of Missouri’s science and agricultural journalism degree program, where I specialize in broadcast journalism. This past summer, I interned at Brownfield Ag News in Jefferson City, Mo., and I will be back with the team over Christmas break.

I am excited to dive into a vast number of topics, triumphs and struggles within agriculture as this year’s College Farmer for the Missouri Ruralist. I look forward to sharing my experiences in the agriculture industry.

There is still the question of whether my columns will produce a stern talking-to from my sisters, but I’m sure they’ll be reading. After all, the best stories from growing up on the farm often begin with “my sisters and I.”

Robinson is a senior majoring in science and agricultural journalism at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. Contact him at [email protected].

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