When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up? When I was about six years old, one of my friends asked me this question. I remember thinking about it for a second before answering that I wanted to be a dairy farmer just like my grandpa. My friend thought I was crazy! Who wants to work a job that keeps you busy all day and night, doesn’t offer vacation or benefits, is dirty and smelly, doesn’t guarantee a profit, and can be a physical and mental struggle? The answer to this is only about 1.5 percent of the American population. And a small number of that percentage happens to be my family.
The Sharp Family Farm is a fourth-generation farm located in Fairfield County and consisting of cash crops and a dairy. I’ve always been proud to be a member of a farm family. Growing up a farm kid taught me a lot of life lessons from a young age, and it’s had a major impact on my life. Although my original plans of being a dairy farmer have changed, my love of agriculture has not. Being involved in 4-H and FFA showed me that the average consumer doesn’t have extensive knowledge about America’s number one industry. Since I’ve grown up surrounded by the industry, I feel like I have a lot of information to share. This is why I decided to earn my degree in agricultural communications from The Ohio State University, a major that is part of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).
For some, deciding what they want to do after high school can be challenging. The seeds were planted early with me, though, and each family member contributed in their own way. I grew up helping my grandpa at the dairy, taking 4-H projects, going to 4-H and FFA events with my parents, and helping in the field. I’ve taken my own spin on what you could call the family business, but the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Although I may have been a little afraid of the unknown, I was born a Buckeye and choosing to pursue a degree in agricultural communication was easy for me. I think it would be fair to say that having two parents, two uncles, a grandparent and an aunt who have all graduated from Ohio State’s Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership (ACEL) and who currently work in the agricultural industry had a bit of an impact! ACEL has played a huge role in the lives of my family. Many of us have graduated from this department and have department mentors to thank for their role in helping us get to where we are today.
My mom, Joy Sharp, graduated from Ohio State in 1992 with a dual degree in agricultural education and animal sciences. She was the first person in her family to go to college, and she went on to earn her master’s degree in extension education in 1996. She has worked as a 4-H youth development educator since 1993, and has been the 4-H educator in Pickaway County since 2009.
“I chose to go to college because I wanted to be a 4-H educator. It’s what I always wanted to do,” Joy said. “I also had an interest in animal science, and that made Ohio State the place to go. CFAES was very supportive of me as a student, student worker and now as an employee.”
For me, the coolest part of my mom’s Ohio State story is that she met my dad on a 4-H leadership trip to D.C., and then again on campus when they lived in the same dorm and shared the same major, agricultural education.
My dad, Scott Sharp, graduated from Ohio State in 1992 with a bachelor of science in agricultural education. He began teaching at Amanda-Clearcreek High School as an agricultural education teacher in 1994. This is the high school that he, his brothers and I call our alma mater. I may be biased, but I think he is one of the best agricultural educators. He is also one of the co-owners and operators of our family farm. Not only was my dad born to be a teacher, but I believe he was born to be a farmer, too.
“I can remember sneaking out of the house when I was little and running out into the field to help my dad lift hay bales onto the wagon,” he said. “I was only nine or 10 when I started driving the tractor to help bale hay. I also remember sitting in the milk house with grandpa when I was little. My job was to pull the rope to open the door and to let down the feed. I remember a time when we still disked the ground and we had four tractors and four disks, one for my dad, me and two of my brothers to all go at one time.”
I grew up hearing my parents tell 4-H stories. Both of my parents grew up in families that were heavily involved in 4-H. Both had parents that advised a 4-H club and had a farm. One of my grandparents, Don Sharp, Jr., was the 4-H educator in Fairfield County for 11 years before he took over the family dairy full time. My grandpa was the first Sharp to graduate from ACEL. In 1969 he graduated with a bachelor and master degrees in agricultural education.
Like my grandpa, my uncle, Kyle Sharp, received his bachelor and master degrees in just four years. Kyle graduated from Ohio State in 1995 with a degrees in agricultural communications. He worked as editor for Ohio’s Country Journal for 11 years, and in 2012 he took over my family’s dairy as the primary owner and operator.
“Central campus didn’t have the personal feeling that the CFAES campus always did,” said Kyle. “The group of students I was around at ACT meetings and in my agricultural communication classes are the ones that became a good group of friends and peers down the road after graduation. It’s been cool to follow their careers over the years,” he said. “The internship opportunities we had in our department were important and there were always a lot of commodity groups and such that were willing to hire students as interns to give them that real work experience.”
Adam Sharp, also my uncle, has said very similar things about the opportunities our department opens for its students.
“The most valuable thing I gained from ACEL, which was then known as the Department of Agricultural Education, was the hands-on experience I gained from classes, like the AgriNaturalist, and from being active in the clubs,” he said. “The clubs brought students together and gave them the opportunity to mix with faculty, which opened up a lot of opportunities.”
Adam graduated from Ohio State in 1994 with a degree in agricultural communication. He began working for the American Farm Bureau Federation in 1995 and for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation in 2004. He currently serves as the executive vice president of Ohio Farm Bureau and is a co-owner and operator of Sharp Family Farms.
“Growing up on a farm gave me a boost,” said Adam. “From my first internship on, I was often hired because I had a farm background and could talk the language. I had very practical farm experience and could talk about farmers’ real perspective on things. A lot of people can be lobbyists or communicators, but if you have that industry credential and history within the industry, it gives you that credibility that can be hard to earn otherwise.”
But how does one earn that credibility; that hands-on experience that is so valuable? From ACEL.
ACEL is known for a lot more than teaching students to be experts in their selected trades. It is known for giving students real world learning opportunities, which allow our students to enter the industry after graduation and achieve great things. ACEL gives students, like me, the opportunity to learn how to best share the agricultural industry with the rest of the world, and for creating leaders that go out and make a positive impact. Whether this impact is in our local communities, statewide, or on a national or international scale, ACEL has a reputation for cultivating students who are great communicators, educators and leaders.
I am so thankful to this department for helping my family travel the paths they have. Not only do I believe they have each made a positive difference in the people around them, but they have also had a great impact on me. Thanks to my family, I chose to be a Buckeye and join ACEL. And thanks to ACEL, I know I am prepared with all the tools in my belt I need to be successful in whatever I decide to do in our industry.
Thank you ACEL.