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As I watched this ballet of wind and water elementals I thought quietly to myself—actually I had to scream-think it because of the noise of the maelstrom – "Boy, was this Iowa boy ever ignorant. How could I ever have thought that this place was a desert?"

Moving to the West (Midwest as I am corrected fairly often enough now), I knew, would be an experience for me. One that I will look back upon in the future and think, "Wow, did I really do that? Was that real?"

Before I left home to head to Ardmore, I was told numerous times that I needed a boat in order to get around. I didn’t take much heed to this advice, though I almost needed to.

"So you made a theoretical plan for raising theoretical goats for a theoretical cooperator?" asked Luke Braswell, Noble Research Institute photographer, one evening as we were doing a Rural Life Team photo shoot. Though the plan and goats may not have been real, the time, effort and lessons I learned this summer from the Rural Life Plan project were definitely real.

Courtney Hemphill and Alyssa Sheppard talk about the importance of animal welfare to farmers and ranchers.

Looking back at what I've accomplished this summer, I must say I feel like the last few weeks have been the most beneficial.

As my time at the Noble Research Institute comes to an end, I can't help but think back on all I have had the opportunity to do this summer.

I want to help develop the bridge between each aspect of agriculture, from the farmer to the researcher and to the consumer.