Today is the first full day here in Iowa and it was a crazy one. The morning started off with a safety lesson from Professor Kevin Butt. We learned the dos and donts of a farm and how to be as safe as possible. One of the coolest things while with Professor Butt was working with the combine simulator, which a couple students were able to try. Ellsworth College was one of the beneficiaries of a grant from the John Deere Corporation to place these combine simulator in agriculture classrooms.  It was a great way to get a life-like experience in a half a million dollar machine with out worrying about it being damaged. For lunch, we made our way to lunch where we had Chinese food. After lunch we were invited back to Professor Butt’s farm, where we got a little hands-on experience with tractor safety as well as learning how a drone could help farmers now and in the future. After some shopping for some needed materials, the group divided:  Four students attended a composting session, while the remaining four,  including myself, went to the Wallace House for a Farm-to-Table dinner. This dinner was excellent and featured fresh vegetables and meat and cheeses that were sourced locally. The day wrapped up with a group discussion of the day. Looking forward to the next couple weeks!