The home stretch is the busiest.

Weeks 7 and 8 of my internship have been a blur. We've had so many projects floating around that are now coming together (thank goodness) and as much of the state knows; the rain has been crazy! Our Farmer's Market is finally beginning to pull together in the way that we hoped it would, as vegetable crops are beginning to yield more than the minimal amount in early June when we began. Coming up also is one of our market appreciation days, where one of our sellers will grill some of his produce and help draw attention to the market that way.

My biggest concern for the last couple weeks has been with preparation for my internship project: a lecture and workshop called "Water Issues on the Farm" that addresses issues surrounding the EPA and their relationship with the agricultural community as new regulations concerning "Waters of the United States" are passed down and expanded to include many bodies of water previously untouched and on private land. I've answered numerous questions on the event from clients calling in and am excited to see how many people attend and show interest in this hot-button issue! Aside from that, I've been busy planning the rest of our "Farmer's Law School" program, which encompasses three more lectures on farm liability, agricultural transportation, and farm transitioning. We've had a strong interest in these projects and are very excited to see how they turn out! I've also assisted our FCS agent in researching pricing and product availability for several projects that she has interest in creating.

As my internship really begins to wind down, I realize that it's amazing how much I've been able to learn in such a short time. From administrative and procedural aspects of how an Extension office works and how its staff functions, to content related knowledge in the broad field of issues we've been asked to cover in the ANR realm, I've recorded so much into my mental bank and will never forget many of the experiences that for now I just see as day-to-day. I'm ready to finish my time here strong, and am thrilled to see what the last few weeks will bring me!