A Riddle...

As for something that will stimulate your brain and has nothing to do with BEEF, here it goes. How many barrows are born in a litter of piglets? The answer will follow this blog post.


Personally, I am very excited for this weekend. Not only is it the weekend before finals here at Cal Poly SLO, but it also marks a very special event that I will be attending. The logos above represent two very important organizations in the state of California. They both have many things in common and one goal in mind. They both involve women in the agriculture industry, and they both seek to enhance the involvement of AGvocating. The California Women for Agriculture and the California Cattlewomen have joined together in their Spring Meetings this year to be held at Harris Ranch in Coalinga, CA. I am very excited to take part in this very special occasion with two of my favorite organizations at where I jokingly call my favorite place on earth!

There are organizations like this all over the US that we can all participate in to spread the great word about agriculture. On a slightly more negative note; however, I finally watched the film Food, Inc. the other day. I have been wanting to rent it for a long time, but every time I would venture to the video store all of the available stock would be rented. Which now I realize is just plain awful for the agriculture industry. I had another opportunity earlier in the year here at Cal Poly to hear from Michael Pollen himself in a panel that Cal Poly put together on sustainable agriculture. I watched the video for a question on my final exam in my communications class. I mentioned some of the thoughts to my professor, and he informed me that he is very excited to read my response as every speech I have given in his class has encompassed some type of agriculture topic. As my friend and I sat watching the film we found ourselves smacking our foreheads numerous times. It's reasons like this that the agriculture industry MUST stand up. If we get knocked down, it is very important to get back up, brush ourselves off, and continue AGvocating.

I had the privilege to write my final paper in my communications class on Mr. Daren Williams, the Executive Director of Communications for NCBA. My topic included how we as the beef industry deal with consumer illiteracy, and I received an A on the paper. It comforts me that I can impact an audience with little things such as targeting my communications class of about 30 with a speech informing them of what the HSUS really is and my professor with the problems facing the beef industry and my thoughts on solving them.

The riddle of agriculture illiteracy can be SOLVED by every one of us by little tasks we accomplish daily! Hold strong American Agriculture. We rock!

Sin-steer-ly,

Malorie

P.S. The answer to the riddle at the beginning of this post is zero. There are no BARROWS born in a litter, all of the boy piglets are born as BOARS. :)

Power in Numbers

I have decided to write this blog entry in response to something I have just viewed. I have an assignment to complete for my communication class at Cal Poly, SLO, and I was doing research on it. My assignment is to interview a communication professional within a field that interests me and write a paper explaining the communication barriers of the industry. Of course, I chose the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Communication Executive, Mr. Daren Williams. I am to research proven ways to solve communication barriers within the beef industry, so I resorted to a Google search. I typed "Cattle Communication" into the search engine, and to my dismay, the first link that came up was titled, "Cows: The Humane Society of the United States". Immediately interested to see what this link was, I clicked on it. I skimmed over the article and found a video posted at the bottom of the page. I am still speechless after watching it ten minutes ago.
I have been born and raised in the agriculture community. I know what it's like to work in the agriculture industry, and I know what it's like to have agriculture around me at all times. I appreciate the hard work and dedication that American farmers and ranchers exert to make up the wonderful agriculture industry in the United States. After all, I am studying to become a larger part of our industry.
Less than 2% of the United States is involved in production agriculture. I am a part of that 2%. I am proud to stand by my work and the cattle that I raise and sell for the safe, wholesome, and nutritious consumption of meat in the US. What I saw in this video did not shock me, but it added heat to the fire that resides within me for my passion of agriculture. The video was filled with horrible pictures the narrator described as images on a "factory farm". There was soft piano music playing in the background, sure to pull at the heart strings of any viewer. The video was basically a 5 minute video attempting to destroy what American farmers and ranchers pride themselves in on a daily basis.
My viewpoint is this: 98% of farms in the United States are small, family-owned farms. They are comprised of hard working people, who care about their lifestyles: farming and ranching.
Groups like the HSUS are not giving the money they collect to save animals to local animal shelters. They are seeking to destroy animal agriculture as we know it in the United States
today. Farmers and ranchers are willing to share their stories, all you have to do is ask.
For more information about what the Humane Society of the United States is up to now, please visit humanewatch.org.

Home on the Range

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day
Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day.

Random songs seem to pop into my head at various moments in time, and I caught myself whistling this old tune, most familiarly sung by Yosemite Sam from Buggs Bunny, today. As it is a cloudy day today, I decided to give my roommate a lift out to the Cal Poly SLO dairy so that she could work on her lab, and so that I could visit the babies, of course! Her lab included making an observation on a milk sample that her class had taken. We quickly accomplished that task and then headed out to the calf barn where I met Daisy, Daffodil, Mater, and Buggs (all of course names which I awarded them). Upon greeting the little Jersey and Holstein calves, I immediately felt my mood brighten and a huge smile come across my face. I was sure of one thing the moment Daffodil started sucking on my fingers trying with all her might to get milk out my hand–cows make me happy. Of course the saying goes that happy cows come from California. However, I think the saying should go as follows: Happy cows from California make Californians Happy! Although that’s not as catchy as the real saying, I still think it applies. Just from that short journey to the diary to visit all of my cow friends, my mood has brightened, and I have realized how much I miss livestock.

Home, home in the dorm
Where the college students all study
Where seldom is heard a enthusiastic word
and the dorms are stuffy all day.

Again, not as catchy, but altogether true. I find that as a National Beef Ambassador I can always, no matter what, fall back on one thing: BEEF! Cows really do make me happy. I have made it a point to travel out to the Beef Unit or the Dairy Unit at least once a month to lift my spirits. Today’s trip to the dairy also made me realize another thing: Where would I be if I had not grown up around agriculture? If I didn’t have the familiarity of waking up to newborn baby calves in the morning or the familiar squeal of a pig here and there, would my udder (pun intended) fascination for agriculture be the same? The answer is sad but true. The answer is no. Having agriculture surrounding me is what makes me happiest, and everyone who harbors the same passion that I do within their hearts can use this to their advantage. Passion is power. I believe that if we, as an industry, work hard enough our passion can and will rub off on those who are not as familiar with agriculture. By sharing our stories and telling the real facts, we can all strive to boost America’s passion for agriculture just by starting with real knowledge.

Where the air is so pure
And the zephyrs so free
The breezes so balmy and bright
That I would not exchange
My home on the range
For all the cities so bright.

The last two lines in this stanza really hit home with me. I know that whenever I go home from college, I sprint up to the barn, take a big whiff of fresh country air, and take it all in all over again. It never gets old. I go most everyday here without the familiar quiet sounds, the fresh country air, the sweet smells of the cattle, and the lovely sight of my herd on the hillside. Of course the pictures are engraved in my mind, but a nice reminder every once in a while brings me back to my grassroots. It is then that I know I am extremely proud to be a country girl!

Until the cows come home,

Malorie

Along for the Ride

The National Beef Ambassadors thoroughly enjoyed the Thursday of the National Cattlemen's Convention! It seems like just yesterday we were saddling up gettin' ready to come to San Antonio, packing our red shirts, black slacks, belts, and name tags. The reality has almost set in that we began our journey more than three days ago. The time has flown by as we have had a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time with members of this amazing industry. The cattle industry is the largest in the agriculture sector, and I am proud to be a cattle producer in the United States of America.
The weather here in San Antonio is phenomenal, short of a few sprinkles on our heads this morning, which led to a failed mission to find the "covered secret passage way" in the hotel parking garage! We had a chance to learn more about online social networking with a past beef ambassador, Brad Copenhaver, where I signed up for a Twitter account. You can follow me at MalTheBeefGal on my Twitter account. I'm not as accustomed to hashtags and such, but I do have an "I <3 Beef" twibbon. If you have a Twitter account you should add the "I <3 Beef" twibbon to help support the beef industry! Stay tuned to my blog to hear more about that campaign put on by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association!
The team also had a great opportunity to meet with Daren Williams for a media training, where we had the chance to practice interviewing to prepare for media professionals. We then attended the "Fiesta" to enjoy some appetizers and shirley temples at the Masters of Beef Advocacy VIP reception.
We will attend committee meetings tomorrow, and then complete our journey home. Unfortunately, the ride will be over, but the long trail ahead of us is just beginning! We all look forward to the 2010 year of the beef industry, as we are inspired for our future!
Until the cows come home,
Malorie

Saddle Up!

Here I am in San Antonio, Texas, in the number one beef producing state in the nation. I'm in my red shirt, "National Beef Ambassador red", that is, and sitting on a couch in the lobby of our hotel next to my fellow teammates. We just finished a social media networking training with Amanda Nolz, a 2006 National Beef Ambassador. If you get a chance, check out the team's blogs on www.beefambassador.com. We are here at the 2010 National Cattle Industry Annual Convention and NCBA Trade Show! Yesterday the team and I enjoyed the Masters of Beef Advocacy training and graduation ceremony! There we learned more of how to effectively advocate for the beef industry. Today is filled with meetings and the trade show tonight! Mandy-Jo, Jackson, and I will be working the trade show tonight promoting the National Beef Ambassador Program. I am excited to see what the other leaders in our industry have to offer at the trade show! Then after Friday it's back to Livermore for me and then back to Cal Poly SLO! Until then, I hope you have a wonderful agriculture experience!
Mooochas gracias,
Malorie

Experience It!

Over the past few weeks, I have had wonderful opportunities to learn more about the agriculture industry. I have had the chance to follow an agribusiness professional, create a youtube video, as well as intern at the CA/NV Cattlemen's/Cattlewomen's Convention in Sparks, NV. These three things have not only kept me busy over the past month, but they have also inspired me to want more. As a youth in this industry, I can learn all I can to teach others to promote agriculture. Spending the day with a young woman from Harris Ranch Beef Company allowed me to learn more about the meat aspect of the beef industry. We traveled to different markets that she sells meat to, and I got the opportunity to learn more about sales. Making the video for my communication class was a great first-time experience. I targeted a theme of beef safety and now not only will my video be online for consumers to view, but it will also help fund the National Beef Ambassador Program. The last event that I was able to experience, I actually just got home from. I traveled to Sparks, NV this past week to intern at the state Cattlemen's/Cattlewomen's Convention. It was a great opportunity to make connections and interact with people in the cattle industry. Knowledge is power, and there was so much power in knowledge at that conference. I'd like to take this time to thank the farmers and ranchers that put food on our tables each day, because without agriculture, where would we be?

Agriculture Leaders

As a freshman in college, I have recently looked back on my experiences in 4-H and FFA in my younger years. Growing up on a ranch and always living with the background of a country life, it never dawned on me when I was younger that others didn't get the same experience I did. Well, sure there was the fact that I didn't get to go over to so-and-so's house to play or do homework with them because I lived too far away, but I also had nature's finest all to myself right in my own backyard. I would find myself walking the cow-trails, or herding the sheep, or wandering through the barnyard just to see what I could find in moments of boredom. These everyday pleasures have surely left me for now as I sit on the third floor of my brick dorm building.
However, I have to remember why I am here, on the third floor of a brick dorm building. I am here to develop my passion and pursue a career in what I find most interesting to me. Agriculture has always been a part of my life, however; now it is my duty to educate those who have not always had a playful hog, or docile steer to turn to in times of loneliness. It is my duty as a member of the agriculture team to positively advocate the industry on a whole, so that those who are unfamiliar with our industry may better understand it. There are several ways a young person can do this. Whether it be through 4-H or FFA, or through different agricultural programs such as the Beef Ambassador Program or the Young Cattlemens Committee, we can all choose to make a positive difference for the betterment of tomorrow.
Having served in many offices in 4-H and FFA, and pursuing my passion for agriculture by showing livestock at the county fair, as well as serving on several agricultural based committees I have only seen a small part of what I can do to make a difference. My biggest wish in the agricultural industry is for every single person involved to make at least on positive action each day. Just imagine how many lives we could touch by informing others and empowering them with our knowledge. I know it would make my day brighter if I could continue to make a difference in the lives of others with small, positive actions. Let's all take action by being involved in this industry of agriculture. Let's all be agricultural leaders!