Dirt Road Charm: AgChat....the Best Conference Yet!!

I had the amazing opportunity to attend the AgChat Foundation 2.0 Conference this past week in Kansas City. There is not enough I can say about this conference. It was literally the first conference I have ever been to that captured my attention the whole time. Not once did I ever lose interest or want to close my eyes in boredom and take a nap! It was so very inspiring and literally gets you excited!

The conference really helped show you how to better share your story of agriculture through all the social media tools. Also the presentations by some of the industry leaders were very informational and eye opening as to what consumers are thinking and seeing when it comes to the agriculture industry.

One of the greatest things I love about the agriculture industry as a whole is that the people are so welcoming and friendly. I headed off to this conference not knowing a single person. Many of the people I knew through social media but had never met in person. I happened to get connected with another person to share a room and save on hotel costs which was exciting because then I figured I would be able to meet someone and maybe "piggy back" them throughout the conference since I didn't know anyone....that was definitely not needed!

My view on the way out there.....love fly over states!

When I landed in Kansas City I was waiting down at baggage claim and this female looks at me and goes...are you here for the AgChat conf? I'm guessing you are because of your cowboy boots. I always knew my cowboy boots would come in handy in more ways than just keeping my feet fashionable and dry! Another great thing is that one of the couples rented a vehicle while down there and were offering to pick people up from the airport and shuttle them back to the hotel. What big hearts people have to just offer to pick up complete strangers and shuttle them back and forth. I clearly took them up on this offer!

The first night we had a "tweet up". This is such a great idea. Most of us at the conf had already communicated via twitter and really only knew each other by our twitter handles. We all got together in downtown KC and actually got to meet everyone in person! It was a great success and so fun putting faces to names! I finally got to meet my roomie Janeal. She has her Ph.D. in meat science and was an awesome person to connect with! If any of you have any questions/concerns about your meat definitely look her up!!!

The next day was full of presentations and break out sessions to better understand all the social media tools and show how to use these tools to their fullest potential. That evening after dinner we had a swap meet. Everyone brought items that represented agriculture from their area and swapped with people from all across the country to learn a little about the agriculture in other areas. On the last day they surprised us with a special guest.....none other than The Peterson Farm Brothers. These guys made the "I'm Farming and I grow it" parody that went viral!

The Peterson Bros and myself.....I was slightly excited to meet them.....Don't judge

The conference only lasted 2 days but it was such an experience. I would suggest to everyone that is out there sharing their story and agvocating to apply to attend this conference for next year. You will absolutely love it and not be disappointed! I had the time of my life and connecting with all the other people in the industry was priceless!