Support Your Neighbors

Hey neighbors near and far, I support you. Thank you for being in this industry. Thank you for everything you do. Also…..can we stop being so critical of each other, maybe? Do you calve in February? Cool. Do you calve in May? Cool. Do you till your fields? Cool. Do you use no-till methods on your fields? Cool. Do you have 1600 pound cows? Cool. Do you have 900 pound cows? Cool. Do you run 25 head of cows? Cool. Do you run 2500 head of cows? Cool. Do you sell 600+ pound calves? Cool. Do you sell 350 pound calves? Cool. Do you feed hay all winter? Cool. Do you graze year round? Cool. Do you cut your steer calves? Cool. Do you band your steer calves? Cool. Do you use horses to handle cattle? Cool. Do you use mechanical options to handle your cattle? Cool. Do you believe in regenerative agricultural methods? Cool. Do you believe in conventional agricultural methods? Cool.

Here is the thing. You get to do whatever you want on YOUR operation. It’s yours to operate. Be confident about the decisions you make on your ranch, but don’t be so arrogant that you think everyone needs to do it the same way you do. Please believe me when I tell you that if everyone did it the same way, we would have a BIG problem.

I have never gone to a single workshop, class, or school where I implemented everything that was taught. I believe it is important to filter information that other people put in your head, in order to be able to think for yourself. Be open minded about new ideas and different ways to do things, but not so open minded that you are no longer the one making the decisions for your operation. People make the choices they make for many different reasons, and those reasons are usually valid, whether you agree with them or not. It comes down to this: If it works for THEM, then they should keep doing it. Your opinion does not need to be known.

At a school I attended, one of the topics discussed was that making changes often makes you get talked about at the local coffee shop. Absolutely accurate. And it’s uncomfortable. Also, people LOVE to peck at you while you are isolated {ginormous eye roll}. (Also, people love to peck at you when you have made a mistake/s, which is the absolute worst time to peck at someone, but we’ll address this in another blog post.) Too often, when we feel this insecurity, we become defensive and begin to criticize those who are criticizing us. Wait a hot minute. Do you understand the hypocrisy of that? Is it really necessary to SEEK things to criticize about, then relentlessly spread and publicize the things you find? Remember when Grandma taught you to take the high road? This is the opposite of that. And boy oh boy, I think there are a few cowboys out there who could use one of Grandma’s old fashion lessons on manners and character. Character is defined as “the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual”. A reputable character does not thrive on putting others down, even if they have done you wrong. Full stop. We’re all guilty, including me, but after reading this, can we agree to attempt the high road going forward? Cool.