This ewe lamb (female) is just a few hours old. She is a cross between the Hampshire and Suffolk breeds. My 4Her plans to show her at the county fair this summer. Boy and lamb will spend lots of hours together until then.

Abandoned farmstead near Glasco, Kansas

It’s not fancy by today’s standards — a wood-framed pole barn. However, we’re already impressed with the quality of the structure and the expertise of the building team (ESH Quality Structures of Haven, Kan.). The shed will store a variety of equipment and has a lean-to for hay storage.

It’s been a strange experience for V. to watch others complete the construction. He, his dad or grandpa built almost every other building on the farm. However, the size of the shed was beyond what our equipment and tools could handle. Plus, it’s a huge boost to see the building constructed in just four days.

The crew has worked in unseasonably warm weather — 51 degrees today. Onlookers include the sheep and cattle grazing on wheat pasture nearby. Today, a naughty goat doeling (young female) escaped her mother and headed over for a visit. Her nanny cut the escapade short.

We’re looking forward to moving in equipment next week. I’m sure we’ll spend more than a few hours just hanging out inside.

I am the third generation to live in this old farm house. I am the third mother that cleaned after her kids and worried about her kids and thanked God for her kids. I am the third wife that loved her husband with all her might.

Sometimes, I wonder about living in a house that was only mine, that I helped design or pick out. But, then, especially at the holidays, it’s so warm to share Darlene and Marie’s home.

Our farm animals are putting on their winter coats. No one does it better than our sheep, though. Don’t Molly and our other young ewes look warm, even fashionable in their wool coats? Our sheep are mainly a cross between the Hampshire and Suffolk breeds. D. shows lambs at the county fair for 4-H.

We shear them once a year, in the spring, and deliver the wool to our area sheep association. They pay 29 cents a pound — a little spending money for D.

Head a mile north. Population density: 0. Head a mile south: 0. East: 0. West: 0.

We do have neighbors, who live just outside the sections around us. But, “aloneness” is one of the reasons we love our rural life. And, it quiets the soul to look at land free of electric poles.

American Agri-Women at the 36th annual national convention.

American Agri-Women (AAW) recently held its annual national convention — its 36th — in Wichita. Our convention had the framework of any other convention: keynote speakers, breakout sessions, officer elections and awards ceremony. That’s where the similarity stopped.

First, this convention was entirely coordinated by volunteers. There was not one “staffer.” Members secured the location, speakers and sponsors; arranged tours and meals; coordinated the business proceedings; devised out-of-the-ballpark themes and decorations; and attended to every last detail from registration forms to audio-visual needs to workshop signage.

Members didn’t just attend sessions in bland, sound-proof conference rooms. We broke free to venture out to see ag operations — grain elevator, wildlife preserve, ethanol plant and more.

And, perhaps most distinctively, members embraced each other as family. This family doesn’t share genetics. Instead we share a passion for agriculture. “Passion” is one of those overused marketing words. However, there is no other word that fits.

Members of other professional organizations share a loose bond, often based on occupation or industry, such as marketing, PR, etc., etc. AAW members share a lifestyle, a heritage, a legacy — producing food, fiber or fuel. We either live on family farms, go back to work on our family farms, or support family farms in our businesses.

We didn’t just listen politely during presentations. We asked questions. We challenged. And, we sometimes disagreed. Ag is serious business, after all, with major obstacles to how our legacy survives, and how we produce goods in a sustainable, responsible and profitable manner. Only a family can stand up to that kind of challenge.

There’s always room for more at the family table. So, if you eat, consider joining us: www.americanagriwomen.org.

I got a great head start at understanding millennials at our PRSA Kansas chapter’s professional development day. Jeff Fromm (@JeffFromm), senior vice president of sales, marketing & insight for Barkley, shared stats and attitudes from his agency’s study of nearly 5,000 millennials and non-millennials : American Millennials, Deciphering the Enigma Generation.

First, three reasons why it’s important to understand, decipher, and communicate with millennials: size, spending power, and influence.

“Since the Millennials generation is larger than the Baby Boomers and three times bigger than Generation X, marketers’ understanding of Millennials’ needs, tastes and behaviors will clearly shape current and future business decisions,” said Fromm, when the survey findings were initially released in August.

Some of the findings us non-millennials could guess: Millennials are “digital natives” and multitaskers. Others were surprising: They support big government and want to become involved with causes.

Here are more details and highlights:

1. Millennials are the first generation of “digital natives.”

• The research showed that  millennials are 2.5 times more likely to be an early adopter of technology than older generations.

2. Millennials are interested in participating in social marketing.

• Millennials are significantly more likely than  to explore brands in social networks. And when it comes to making purchases, millennials are far more likely to favor brands that have Facebook pages and mobile websites.

3. Millennials believe in cause marketing.

• Millennials are more likely than non-millennials to develop a more positive image of a company as the result of cause marketing programs. More millennials than non-millennials attempt to buy products from companies who support the causes they care about.

4. Millennials crave adventure.

• Significantly more millennials than non-millennials described themselves as adventurous and expressed a desire to be considered a “done-it-all.” More millennials reported a willingness to encounter danger in pursuit of excitement, compared to non-millennials.

5. Millennials strive for a healthy lifestyle.

• 60% of millennials say they try to work out on a regular basis. 26% consider themselves health fanatics.

6. Millennials seek peer affirmation.

•  68% of millennials usually don’t make a major decision until they have discussed it with a few people they trust.

Lots of good insights on how to better communicate, market, friend, work with – and for – this powerful generation. Thanks to Jeff Fromm and Barkley for sharing this data and helping make millennials less of an enigma.