Winning is Everything.......... Really

I have the grand opportunity of helping lots of young people with their livestock projects. It is something I am truly in love with.  As a young person I was quite competitive so when my friends children started getting old enough to show I could not wait.  Show Auntie ! Yep that is me ! I wrote this awhile back for a junior livestock magazine but thought it might be appropriate now to share with all of you on my blog.

When you read the title of today’s blog I am thinking your first reaction will be – What ?  Celeste are you crazy?  Winning is not everything! Isnt that what we try to teach our children and isnt that what many of our parents have tried to instill in us?  Well a winning ATTITUDE  is everything !  The ole saying its not if you win or lose it is how you play the game is so very true especially l in the show ring.

As many of you probably know by now I love to read, I read all sorts of things and when I find something I find interesting or that I feel beneficial I love to share it in my blog  for all of you to be able to enjoy.  Recently I came across this great piece about promoting self esteem in kids.  I believe that if you promote self esteem then kids will have a winning attitude no matter what they place in the show ring.  Krissi Marx is a freelance writer and talks about ways to promote the value in kids. I am not a parent but I was raised by some great ones and they instilled in me good things.  As a young person I found that by having a good relationship with my parents only made me better.  I am certainly not hear to preach to all of you parents about how to “parent” but thinking this was definitely worth  a share~ 

Ways to Promote Self-Esteem

What exactly is self esteem? Self Esteem is an intricate balance of positive beliefs and emotions, combined with an accurate perception of personal abilities and a sense of being loved by others. Internal and external factors influence its development. As a parent, you can promote self-esteem in your children by influencing their internal perceptions and providing a positive, nurturing environment.

1. Communication

Your tone, feedback, phrasing and body language affect your child's self-concept. Be honest with your child, but frame your feedback in a positive manner. Your encouragement and acknowledgment of his efforts benefit his self-esteem. Instead of telling him to work harder if he fails at something, tell him you're proud of the work he put into it, as recommended by KidsHealth. Challenge any negative statements he makes about himself, as well as negative beliefs. For example, if he says, "I'm not good at making friends," ask him to tell you about the friends he has, and about the times he made a new friend. Show him affection with hugs, pats on the back or a kiss on the cheek. This reinforces to him that he's loved.

2. Modeling

In a child's eyes, her parents or caregivers are the primary example of appropriate behavior. She initially learns how to interact with the world by observing and listening to them. Being a model of someone who has healthy self-esteem shows her the appropriate methods of building and maintaining it. This includes resolving conflicts effectively, cooperating with others, managing emotions and expressing a positive attitude. Address your own self-esteem issues as needed so that you can serve as a good example.

3. Activities

Personal accomplishments and positive interactions with others help a child develop confidence in her abilities and self-image. By helping her set and achieve personal goals, such as a good grade in school, she learns that she's capable of achievement. Goal plans also teach her how to overcome barriers, which further boosts her confidence. Engage her in group games and activities in which children cooperate rather than compete. KidsHealth suggests a partnership between an older and younger child in a mentoring program, as both children benefit psychologically from the interaction

United we Stand ~ Divided we Fall

The past two weeks we have talked quite excessively on my face book page about the connection with the Organization of Competitive Markets, the Humane Society of the United States and the Beef Check Off. The original article that started the conversation can be found here.http://brianallmerradionetwork.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/08-10-12-hsus-ocm-form-alliance-to-destroy-beef-checkoff/

I try hard to understand it all, why do folks do what they do, why do they support the things they do, and why do they have so much energy in their beliefs?  On this particular story it seems like everyone had an opinion. I appreciate everyone’s opinion, I respect them I try to understand but sometimes I just don’t get it. A comment struck me that made me realize we in agriculture have a problem- a problem that I believe until we can find some sort of common ground we will never gain ground.  The post went like this:

Face book Followers Thoughts:

Another question is "What is the NCBA thinking getting in bed with the pork and poultry industry?" Cattlemen have nothing to worry about with the HSUS. Beef production practices are not only acceptable to almost every American, but also the American rancher is seen in a totally different light than the hoghouse janitors now taking care of (kind of) pigs and chickens. Thank God 5000 cows can't be put in confinement! Thank God for the independent Americans raising beef. Dad used to say "careful who you associate with, because you are, who your friends are". Stay the hell away from those with a bad reputation, the vertically integrated pork and poultry industries.

My Response:

thanks for chiming in ~ I believe that we are American Agriculture and no matter what we raise whether it be poultry, hogs, beef, sheep , horses etc - we are ONE in the eyes of our customers - we are the other side - the side producing their food ~ I believe we need to support each other , be on the same team- will that ever happen ,in a perfect world yes but we know that we don’t live in a perfect world so we certainly need to strive for that , we all need to work together if we ever expect to make any headway - as far as the beef industry not having to worry about HSUS - I disagree - HSUS major goal is to end ALL animal agriculture and beef is a piece of that - Again - my face book page is a place to share my thoughts wrong or right and a place for folks like yourself to share theirs - I respect everyone’s opinions and try very hard to understand and find balance in everything however I feel very very strongly that we need to support our industry as a whole because that is exactly what HSUS and anti ag groups want - for us to be divided and when we divide we are not as strong and they can squeak in and work on their agenda

A pig is a cow is a chicken is a horse is a goat is a lamb = we are American agriculture and if we cannot get along within our own world how in the heck can we expect those off the farm to ever understand us or support us. 

I am committed to speaking out for my very large farm family – no matter what avenue they wish to take in agriculture I will be there to support them!

We are agriculture and we need to stick together!! 

My Friend is a Vegetarian

Social Media has given me the opportunity to meet lots and lots of amazing people ! Gayle Anderson from Idaho is one of them.  I had the chance to meet Gayle last November as she and I both had the unique experience to speak to the delegates of the Executive Women in Agribusiness Conference in downtown Chicago.  I got to know Gayle that week and really enjoyed her excitement for farmers and ranchers, her commitment to industry and her love of family.  I went away from that conference with a new friend.

Throughout the year Gayle and I have chatted back and forth on social media and kept the connection we made in the "windy city."  However it was not until today that I came to find out ...

Gayle is a VEGETARIAN!

My initial thought when reading her blog today was ~ WOW !!! REALLY???  Was she pulling some sort of  prank on all of us and then in the end was some secret message?  NOPE!  The only message that I took from her blog was this ~ That Gayle Anderson supports Animal Agriculture, That Gayle Anderson believes in my families way of life, cattle ranching.  That Gayle Anderson is a true, blue, honest farmer!  A young woman not afraid to hide her preferences in food choices - because that is what it is a food choice, a taste choice, what makes her tummy feel good.  Meat just doesn't fit the bill for her but it does not mean she doesn't support what I do each and every day.


I have a new impression of Vegetarians, they are not bad people, in this instance, a good friend, a fellow farmer, and someone who if you ask me maybe is a better spokesperson for the Beef industry than many of us who eat burgers, steaks and ribs !!!  As we know there are those out there who wish to end animal agriculture and believe the world should be meat free but then there are those who maybe just dont like the taste or for some medical reason cannot eat animal protein ~ start the conversations, make friends, and most importantly as we are learning more and more within Agvocacy cirlces - LISTEN.  You might just be surprised in what you hear and learn.


My hat is off to Gayle ~ Thank you for being someone I can learn from in telling my AG story just a bit better.  For helping me to be more open to new ideas and for making me aware.


To continue to follow Gayle and her blog check out http://www.idahofarmwife.net/


~~~~~~~~~~~~  And here is Gayle's Story , Enjoy!!!!

I’m a vegetarian who supports the animal Ag industry 110%!  Just because I don’t eat meat, doesn’t mean that I want to force my food choices on everyone else, but that is not the case with others, so please read on.  But first, let me share that I’ve been a vegetarian all my life and it’s not because of any certain beliefs or convictions, I just don’t like meat.  As my mom tells the story, I quit drinking milk at 4 months old and later refused to eat any kind of meat.  After many trips to the doctor to see what was wrong with me, she finally let me eat what I wanted.   Frankly being a vegetarian is a pain in the you-know-what, but it is just the way I am. Being a non-meat eater has its challenges, like when packing my very first lunch for  Farmer Joe (as a new farm-wife) and wanting to be sweet, I made a tuna-fish and bologna sandwich (yes together) as I thought they are both disgusting so I’m sure they go together…. Well that was the wrong assumption!  =)  And it was the very first day of harvest too, oops poor guy.   However, I've since improved my culinary skills as my family loves their beef, (T-bone steaks in particular), pork and poultry. So now that I’ve bared my soul and shared an embarrassing story on myself, you are probably wondering why am I telling you this?  Well this blog is about the freedom of choice and the important goal to preserve this right.   Whether or not you are aware, there is a real threat to your freedom of choice on what you put on your dinner table if your meals are centered around meat.    Anytime one sector of Ag is affected, there is a trickle down effect on the rest of Agriculture, so this vegetarian wants to speak out on behalf of the animal Ag sector. My spoiled pooch Let me say it takes a special person to raise animals and long before I wed my farmer, the farm had a hog operation.  Farmer Joe said during his years caring for the pigs that "there is always something that needed feeding, doctoring, tending, cleaning or fixing and was a 24/7 job- lots and lots of work". We have tremendous respect for all animal producers, but our consumers need to remember, these animals are being raised for "harvest", they are fed and treated well - but they are a crop, they are NOT a pet like your Fluffy or Spot. And that may be why consumers let themselves be swayed to vote in animal cruelty laws because we all love our pets and only want the best for them (my spoiled pooch included) but livestock animals and pets are in different categories. As with many farmers and ranchers, the care of animals is learned early as young children, either with chores on the farm or being in 4H and FFA.  Our nephew, Zach shows you what I am talking about.  He and a couple of buddies grind their own feed for their animals and do all the chores that involve taking care of their animals. We hope that Zach will one day want to farm with his dad (Farmer Jay) and uncle Farmer Joe - but for now our young pig farmer is happy to share what he knows and is learning about the proper care of animals: So as the official election season is upon us, there mostly likely will be petitions to get animal cruelty laws enacted.  From what I have observed even if petitions or laws have vague language that appears to be targeted towards stopping cruelty to domestic animals, and unless expressly stated, it tends to also cover animal agriculture and then that is bad news for you and me. A movement is well underway by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the uninformed consumer is being duped into helping them with their goal to make meat so expensive that people cannot afford to put it on their dinner table.  This organization works behind the scenes to get the consumer to vote for legislation that negatively impacts agriculture.   Can you imagine the Thanksgiving holiday without a turkey or Easter without a ham?   Many believe that HSUS is the parent organization for all humane societies, but that is not true.  Here is a video based upon real facts and legislation that has been passed in many states.  Idaho appears to be one of their next targets to enact legislation under the guise of "animal cruelty" laws and there was a direct quote from HSUS that said they would be funding a "multimillion dollar ballot initiative and hire paid staff to gather signatures".  As I said before, whether it is crops or animals, they are a farmer's paycheck, so we make sure to take care of our paycheck as best we can.  I believe I can truthfully say that 99.99% of farmers and ranchers treat their animals with care, respect and humanely. We do not like to see animal abuse anymore than anyone else does, but we concede there are a few bad apples out there as in any organization and we are aware that when an abuse surfaces, that it give Agriculture a black eye.  We personally know many ranchers and they take pride in their operations and well being of their animals.  For instance,  cows will be taken to the mountains during the summer, because it is cooler for them and in the Fall they will be rounded up.  Often times ranchers in this area will also move their cows to a lower elevation to winter them as the temperature is milder and easier on the cows. So where does H$U$ get  money  from? Well watch the video and read on..... HSUS Revealed This is a direct quote from Humane Watch, "HSUS puts some serious money every year into pension plans for its executives. Since 2004 (when “Humane Wayne” Pacelle took over), the HSUS pension slush fund has grown by more than $8.5 million. Instead of helping dogs and cats in pet shelters, that money will be fattening the wallets of HSUS big shots after they retire."  To read more check out, HumaneWatch, a website created to report on the abuses of HSUS. What to do?  If you donate to HSUS then STOP, give the money to your local humane society where the money will go directly to helping animals.  Then think very carefully on what kinds of ballot measures you are signing, think even more carefully on the way you vote when it comes to animal cruelty laws or laws that talk about "animal rights" as those laws, once enacted, create financial difficulty for those farmers and ranchers who are involved in animal agriculture.  If you have questions, please call the State or official organizations for the Beef, Pork, Poultry industry to ask about effects these laws have on their sector and if you still need more information, they could most likely get you in touch with a producer to get their insights and views.  But I can almost guarantee that if you, the consumer call their organization and explain that you are a voter and want to know the real story about proposed legislation or ballots coming up, you will get their attention as our councils are very aware of what is being circulated out there. In conclusion, if people vote without knowing how legislation will affect the Ag industry (and its impact on affordable food) then the results are a lot like my first sandwich making attempt... in that the intent was to do good, but by me lacking the knowledge needed, the end result was disastrous.  So as the election season officially rolls around, be an informed voter and if you feel that protecting your dinner table choice is important, then tell others and better yet - send in a letter to your newspaper editor.   Want to read more about other farmers and ranchers?  If so then I  invite you to check out this site: Farmer Inc, The Real Story . As we are talking about food and you, better check out the step by step recipe for Braided Spaghetti Bread on the Good Farm Eats page... Bread and Spaghetti all rolled into one delicious taste treat As always, a big thank you to reading this blog and so now I'll get off my soapbox as I need to get this dinner to my friend Cindy for their dinner.  If you have questions then please email me at idahofarmwife@gmail.com or leave a comment.  All my best, Gayle P.S. Farmers Joe & Jay are busy tending the crops and I'll write more about that soon.