Upson Lecture Series: Vance Crowe

Vance Crowe - Director of Millennial Engagement, Monsanto

Farmers and ranchers wear a number of different hats - manager, botanist, animal scientist, nutritionist and many more. All in order to grown safe food for a hungry world. However, in the past decade or so they have also had to start wearing the hat of marketing practitioner by opening their doors to people who are interested in the food grown on farms and ranches. Many of these interested consumers are millennials who are cognizant of their food choices and are constantly searching for information.

To give light to some of the thinking behind the consumer trend to discover more about the food we eat, Food For Thought is hosting the next installment of the Upson Lecture Series by featuring Vance Crowe, Director of Millennial Engagement for Monsanto. Crowe will speak at Forum Hall on K-State's campus on November 10 at 7 pm and will address common consumer misperceptions about food production and from where those misperceptions stem with his lecture titled "Crossing Over the Mountain: Understanding Memes and Networks to Outcompete the Fear of Modern Agriculture.”

Be sure to join us on K-State's campus at 7 pm on November 10 for an exciting discussion about transparency in food production!

The event is free and open to the public - the Upson Lecture Series has been fully endowed by the generous support of the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine classes of 1962 and 1966.

For more information about the lecture, contact Brandi Buzzard Frobose, a Food For Thought
member, at bbuzzard13@gmail.com  or Lindy Bilberry, the lecture series’ coordinator
at bilberry@ksu.edu.

Upson Lecture Series - Charlie Arnot and Big Food Recording on YouTube

If you weren't able to attend Charlie Arnot's recent Upson Lecture Series that addressed why people love to hate "Big Food," your fretting can end - the lecture is now available to view on the Food For Thought YouTube page!

Or, if you are click-averse, you can view the lecture below!

We would love to hear your thoughts about Charlie's presentation - so please leave them below!

Upson Lecture Series to Address Big Food

What is Big Food?

Why do some consumers fear Big Food and why do others hate it?

Food For Thought is excited to host Charlie Arnot, CEO of the Center for Food Integrity, who will address these very questions with his lecture "Size Matters: Why We Love to Hate 'Big Food'" on March 2, 2015 at 7 pm in the K-State Student Union Forum Hall.

The event is free and open to the public and FREE BACON  sponsored by the Kansas Pork Association will be given to the first 200 attendees.

This is a lecture that is sure to ignite feelings and discussion and you won't want to miss it! Please join us in Manhattan on March 2 for a hot-button lecture that will get you thinking!

*The Upson Lecture Series has been fully endowed by the generous support of the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine classes of 1962 and 1966.

Bruce Vincent Lecture Now Online!

Bruce Vincent speaking at K-State as part of the Upson Lecture Series

If you weren't able to attend the Upson Lecture Series event featuring Bruce Vincent, which is highly unfortunate, but were still wanting to hear his message, I have great news for you!

The lecture is now available online on the Food For Thought YouTube channel - you can click over there and watch or you can view it below.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this event happen - specifically the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine classes of 1962 and 1966 for fully endowing the Upson Lecture Series. Sincere gratitude is also extended to Frontier Farm Credit and American Ag Credit for their generous role in bringing Bruce to K-State!

Get Those Hands Dirty! Bruce Vincent to Speak at K-State for Upson Lecture Series

Do you like Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs? Well, get ready because you're going to love the next installment of the Upson Lecture Series!

This coming Monday, November 10 in the K-State Student Union in Forum Hall, Bruce Vincent a third-generation logger from Libby, Montana will be speaking about getting involved in careers that get your hands dirty and the thought process and attitude behind producing goods that stimulate the economy and create a healthy environment.

Think about it, without farmers and the tough, dirty jobs they do we would not eat. Without coal miners or linesman/women we wouldn't have electricity. There is a whole world out there that is driven by hardworking men and women who are committed to using their hands, in addition to their heads, to keep the gears grinding.

Please make plans to join Food For Thought on Monday, November 10 at 7 pm in the K-State Student Union Forum Hall as Bruce Vincent presents "Wish Vision There is Hope -- How NOT to be the Career of Last Choice." It will be an eye-opening lecture and hopefully one that sparks you to institute change.

This installment of the Upson Lecture Series is partially funded with generous support from Frontier Farm Credit and American Ag Credit. Additionally, the Upson Lecture Series has now been fully endowed by the K-State Veterinary Medicine Classes of 1962 and 1966. We are excited about the amazingly generous support of these groups and look forward to bringing many more inspiring and intelligent speakers to KSU for future ULS events!

See you there!

 

Upson Lecture Series: Lee Borck and Entrepreneurship

 

Food For Thought is excited to announce our next speaker in the Upson Lecture Series!

 

Mr. Lee Borck, Kansas business owner and former president of the Kansas Livestock Association, will be speaking about the importance of building strong relationships and maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit on K-State campus next Monday.

 

Borck's message relates to a wide demographic - students, faculty and community members alike will benefit from his advice and experience.

 

If you are in the Manhattan area, please join Food For Thought at the K-State Vet School in Frick Auditorium on April 28 at 7 pm. The event is free and open to the public so we hope to see you there!

 



 

 

Rachel Ramsey Cruze-Upson Lecture Series

The latest Upson Lecture Series speaker, Rachel Ramsey Cruze, presentation made the front page of the K-State Collegian today. The presentation was a success at there were over 500 students in attendance. The link to the article can be found here. We are also planning on putting a video together from the lecture. Details to follow.

Until next time,

Miles Theurer

ULS Secretary Rodman - Success!

Well, Secretary Rodman spoke about Kansas Agriculture in the year 2025 on Monday night and we are thrilled with the turnout - almost 250 people showed up to learn more about our state's most important industry. Thanks to all who attended and we hope you gained a better perspective of Kansas' role in global agriculture.

As previously announced, the hashtag #ULSRodman was the handle to follow and there were some great tweets by the audience. We've also included some pictures from the evening.

A great turnout for our guest, Secretary Rodman

Secertary Rodman addressed many important issues including water conservation, population and food interactions, future opportunities for young people in agriculture and the desire and capability for Kansas agriculture to expand and meet global food demand.

Thanks again for all who attended - we appreciate your support of agriculture, Food For Thought and bridging the gap!

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

Upson Lecture with Secretary Dale Rodman Tonight!

Tonight is the night!

 

Tonight we welcome Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Dale Rodman to Kansas State University. Secretary Rodman will be speaking on the topic of Kansas Agriculture in 2025 in the Main Ballroom in the Student Union at 7 pm. Many factors affecting agriculture and food production will be discussed and Rodman will answer questions following the lecture.

 

If you are unable to make the lecture, be sure to follow along using the #ULSRodman hashtag on Twitter. Updates will also be posted to Facebook and you can also follow the @fftgroup Twitter handle.

 

We are looking forward to an informative lecture that will shed light on the challenges that lie ahead for Kansas agriculture. Don't miss out!

 

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~



Fall Upson Lecture Series Speaker

Finally!

Food For Thought is thrilled to announce that our Fall Upson Lecture Series speaker will be Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Dale Rodman!

The lecture will take place in the K-State Student Union Main Ballroom at 7 pm on November 5 - put it on your calendar!

Secretary Rodman will address pertinent issues surrounding the recent drought and how it has affected food production and the agriculture industry’s challenge of feeding the world. Furthermore, the impending increase in the cost of food, which affects families from all demographics, will be discussed at length. The lecture is free and open to the public and will be followed by a question and answer session.

We're very excited about this lecture - it promises to be a very informative evening that will highlight some very critical issues in the agriculture industry! 

Tell your friends and be sure to follow our Facebook page and twitter feed (@fftgroup) for updates and information. If you have questions, feel free to post them in the comments section, tweet or Facebook us and we'll get back to you!

Hold That Date!

Wrong kind of date....

I'm talking about marking your calendars for the Fall 2012 Upson Lecture Series.

November 5 at 7 pm in Union Ballroom in K-State Student Union

We're not able to reveal the speaker juuuuuuust yet but we'll have more details in a week or so. For now you need to mark that date in your calendar as a definite event to attend.

We can tell you that this fall's speaker will be addressing a hot topic in the ag industry and will attract a very diverse audience. You'll not want to miss this presentation!

Check back regularly for more details regarding the Fall 2012 ULS Speaker!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Dr. Upson Speaks on Sustainability in Beef Production

Dr. Dan Upson, Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan, Dr. Dan Thomson

Picture taken by: Wrenn Pacheco at our Fall Upson Lecture Series given by Teresa Scanlan

It was my pleasure to sit through another lecture given by Dr. Dan Upson, Professor Emeritus at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, tonight when a group of food animal veterinarians, veterinary students and college professors got together to learn more about the industry we love to work in - the beef industry.

Dr. Dan Upson lecturing to a group of Bovine Practitioners, future veterinarians and Professors at Kansas State University.

Dr. Upson's talk centered on how we utilize beef cattle to sustainably produce food for the world's people. I summarized a few facts that he brought up and I thought you, as a consumer, would find interesting: 

• Beef has the ability to provide a very high biological and nutritional protein from the world's most abundant natural resource, grass.
• grass --> cattle --> people
• 70% of the Earth’s surface is water
• Of the 30% of land, only 9% of that land is used for food production

• This is how many acres of land, on average, it takes to raise 1 beef cow: 
• In New Mexico – arid land – 160 acres per head
• In the Kansas Flint Hills – during warm weather – 6-8 acres per head

Veterinarians are dedicated to a lifetime of education and part of that education is how we can help producers of beef cattle provide a safe, nutritious and economically sustainable product for future generations of beef consumers. If you would like to learn more about the veterinarians role in raising animals for food, please comment!

Best,

Tera Rooney

Miss America Video

In case you missed Miss America present the latest Upson Lectureship Series or if you thought it was so good that you wanted to watch it again, well you are in luck. The video has now been uploaded to YouTube at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYuhrVWd7d4

Take a look and just think how lucky we are to have somebody like Teresa Scanlan advocating to agriculture.

Miss America Speaks at Kansas State University

 Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011, visited Kansas State University on November 15th to give the fall lecture in Food For Thought's Upson Lecture Series.

 Pictured above with Dr. Dan Upson and Dr. Dan Thomson both professors at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan, addresses the audience with a challenging message. She emphasized the fact that not all Americans are farmers, but that we all have to eat. It is up to agriculture producers to connect with consumers and give them the science-based knowledge they seek about where food comes from.

All of these photos were taken by the very talented Wrenn Pacheco of Wrenn Bird Photography.

Miss America Event A Success!

In case you missed out: the Miss America event was a huge success!

Many people attended the lecture last night and Miss America Teresa Scanlan couldn't have given a better message to the audience. You want to hear more, right? I have you on the edge of your seat?

The suspense might just have to kill you. We're going to keep you waiting a little bit longer. You see, we are all students in Food For Thought who are extremely passionate about sharing agriculture's point of view with consumers. The key word in all of that was that we are STUDENTS! We have to pass a couple of test and turn in a few projects and then we'll be able share with you the details of Miss America's lecture.

Stay tuned for pictures, quotes and tid bits from the big night! You have my word, we won't keep you waiting too terribly long.

Best,

Tera Rooney

Today is the day!

Please join us tonight for the big event as we welcome Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan to Manhattan, KS. She will be giving the 4th installation of the Upson Lecture Series sponsored by Food For Thought.

Poster designed by C. Kniebel

Miss America Blogs Too

Did you know that Miss America has her very own blog? Keep up with Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan's blog at this site.

Why are we so crazy about Teresa? Well, besides utilizing her platform as an advocacy effort for the agriculture industry, she is going to be the fall lecture for our Upson Lecture Series. If you haven't made plans to attend, you better book it to Manhattan on November 15th for an evening of fun with Miss America!

Check her out here, speaking about why American Agriculture is so vital to keeping a viable, nutritious and safe food supply available.

Miss America Event

The countdown is on! Miss America is coming to Kansas State!

Let us know if you'll be in the area to attend this amazing lecture. We've created an event on facebook, so let us know if you plan on attending.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=221046731295250

If you haven't heard about this event, here's the original Miss America post.

Happy Halloween!

Tera

Real Farmers, Real Food

Miss America says it better than anyone I've heard in a while. Join me to celebrate our plentiful and safe food supply. Check out her video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGq21MAX1eM&feature=youtu.be

Remember, she'll be in Manhattan, KS in November as our Fall 2011 Upson Lecturer. You're going to want to be a part of this!

Best,

Tera