Mississippi: Teach Ag! Society Domestic Study Away

The Penn State Teach Ag! Society embarked on a grand journey May 11th-May 18th! We were lucky enough to attend the 3rd Annual Domestic Study Away trip, and this years destination was ... MISSISSIPPI (whew, I always have to sing the letters to write it out correctly!)

The group in front of a MS sign!

The group in front of a LA sign!

The trip started in Jackson, and we traveled clear across the entire state, and even crossed state lines into Louisiana! In a whirlwind of 8 days, we traveled over 1,300 miles to countless commodity groups, special agricultural organizations, and agriculture education programs. We were lucky enough to visit six very unique ag programs across the state. At the schools, we were able to talk with the students and teachers about Supervised Agriculture Experiences (SAE's.) It was fantastic to talk with the students and hear their unique stories and ideas.

For example, my SAE in high school was working on my family's dairy and poultry farm. One of the students I talked to worked on a crawfish boat! It was definitely very neat to find out all of the things that were different about PA and MS, but also the things that are the same. While they may like food spicier, and we talk a lot faster, we still all had a lot in common. Like our passion for agriculture and FFA. 

Really neat magnets we had on our rental
vehicles. Shout out to our sponsors!

The Nittany Lion even made the trip!

It was a truly incredible experience to learn more about the agriculture industry in the great state of Mississippi. MS boasts a ton of cotton, catfish, and poultry farms, among other commodities such as lumber and hay. We enjoyed visiting with MS Farm Bureau to hear about their agriculture advocacy projects, and the great work they are doing with Mississippi Farm Families. As a PA Farm Bureau member myself, I was inspired by the scale of their advocacy!

Probably the most memorable part of the trip was just experiencing a different culture, and getting to see first had why Mississippi is called the "Hospitality State." I was absolutely amazed and humbled by the generosity. From FFA chapters feeding us after a long day, to industry and business people coming in to work on a Saturday so that we could learn about their business. We, as a group, were also blessed by our trip sponsors, Thank you so much to : CHS, Center for Professional Personnel Development, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State Student Activities Fund, Penn State University Park Student Allocations Committee, and Mississippi State University!... we could not have experienced so much without you all. 

The group at the beautiful gardens at Mississippi State University

The Mississippi State Domestic Study Away provided all of us with experiences to engage with students, learn more about agriculture, stretch ourselves, and learn more about each other. It was a wonderful trip, and I feel so lucky to have been involved!

Cheers,

-Sarabeth