Our task at hand

The other day I was wandering around the SLO Farmer's Market, and I stumbled across something that made me think a bit deeper. As I walked down the street, in between two of my friends, we discovered a band playing near by. We decided that it would be a fun idea to sit on the side walk, eat our dinner, and listen to the band. While we watched, I noticed a small group of very young children dancing in front of the band. In particular there was a brother and sister, probably not more than a year and a half apart in age, that were chasing each other in circles. They did not have a care in the world, no stress on their shoulders, no student fees to worry about, and no homework to get done before an 8am class in the morning. I got to thinking what a lovely life style young children have. I remember being deathly afraid of coming to college. I had so much to worry about, or so I thought. I am in my third quarter of college, the last quarter of my first year here. It seems like move in day was yesterday, but at the same time I have grown so much.
This recollection of my time spent at the farmer's market really describes more about me as a person. I am reflective and I am aware. This leads me to a situation that occurred yesterday while I was sitting in my dorm room. As a National Beef Ambassador it is my job to communicate about our industry. I do this through blogging, Twitter, and Facebook. However, yesterday I was in an especially informative mood. I get Google alerts sent to my email about beef. I decided to open an article, and discovered that it was a negative article from USA Today regarding government regulations in the beef industry. I read the article, posted a positive comment correcting the myths in the article, and went about my day. About an hour later I checked back on the article and found that someone had directly commented in response to my comment. They seemed very upset that I was so positive and pointed out my bias toward agriculture. They also suggested a book for me to read and I suggested a website. I went to Amazon and ordered the book right then!
Agriculture Communicators must listen to others. It is important to understand the point of view other than your own. We must stand solid to our part in inspiring others about agriculture and the benefits of agriculture!
Go team!

The FIELD of Journalism

What is the definition of leadership? To me it can be summed up in several words. Leadership encompasses someone that is outstanding in their field. Yet, what is the definition of agriculture leadership? This is someone out standing in their field. The same words, but a totally different meaning. The majority of people lack the knowledge of where their food comes from or how it is produced. Really, what the majority of people lack is the knowledge of agriculture. Agriculture is everywhere around you. In your homes, on your backs, below your feet, and even in your stomach. The latter is the most obviously recognized form of agriculture. However, the clothes you wear, the sheets that you sleep in, and the ground that you stand on can all be attributed to agriculture. Why am I telling you these things? Because I am an agriculture communicator. I have been out standing in my field every since my tiny little feet hit the soil beneath me. Notice I did not say dirt. No, my feet first walked on the nutrient soil in the garden that my father so diligently worked to produce when I was younger. My mother exposed me to the life of a "chicken lady", as she so proudly referred to herself as, at a very young age. She gave me the responsibility of carrying two eggs home when I was at the ripe age of about a year and a half. Of course, I was so over-joyed with this task, that I clapped my hands together. The result was nothing less of an egg yoke bath, followed by several salty tears that rolled down my little red cheeks. This is my first and most valued memory of my childhood.

You may ask me if I have a bias in agriculture. I will honestly tell you that I have a HUGE bias in agriculture. It's my life, my love, my home, and my future career. Naturally when anyone may challenge something someone loves in a negative way that person will get defensive. I find it very hard to act professional when someone challenges my love of agriculture. People do this very easily by not having a basic understanding of what my life revolves around. Truthfully, their lives revolve around it too.
I am taking the Journalism 205 class at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to strengthen my understanding of how to successfully relay important information to others. I practice this already with my position as a National Beef Ambassador! I am heavily involved in social media networking, blogging, and public speaking! I am excited for this class so that I can better learn the FIELD of agriculture journalism!

The Blonde Girl

Although I do not have a photo of her yet, my new favorite girl is blonde. She has lots of great hair, snot comes out of her nose sometimes, and she is a vegetarian. The color of her hair does not really match her friends and she stands out in a crowd. I can visit her whenever I want, but she does not know whether to like me yet or not. Her hair is lighter than most, but not altogether blonde. However, she has never died it before. She is a heifer in my fitting and showing class at Cal Poly SLO and she will be my best friend for the next month or so.
I really enjoyed Spring break this last week! I got to enjoy three new baby calves that were born, work with my piggies for the Alameda County Fair, and take in the country scene. Even though I may visit the livestock units on campus when I am homesick for my ranch, it still does not even come close to what the smell of my home is! It's fresh country air and green grass for miles. It's a herd of cattle on the hillside and a hawk overhead. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl.
This blonde friend of mine I mentioned earlier is going to be quite a blast for me! Since I miss my life on a ranch I signed up for this class, because it involves cattle. I had the first class yesterday and come to find out we can work with the cattle whenever we want! I actually went out there this morning to work with the heifer that I will hopefully pick tomorrow! I will halter break her and then learn how to fit her to show her in the Cal Poly State FFA Judging Finals in May. I am super excited about this, and I can't wait to think of a name for my blonde friend. Barbie is not her style!

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