The Opportunity
Picture this…You are at a county fair or show that caters to the public when a lady carrying her child walks up and asks “Can my daughter pet your cow?” Here is your opportunity to promote your way of life.
Umm…you are in the middle of fitting and might be running late. You have your fitting chute set up in the middle of the alley because that is the only available spot and you seem to be a magnet for all the people who have questions.
Not only that, but everyone seems to think its a good idea to drive their stroller right next to your heifer…who, by the way, is scared of her own shadow. You are tense and stressed and the best you can come up with is
“Now is not a good time.”
FAIL. Hear me out because this is important to your way of life!
It’s So Clear
First, I described this so clearly because I’ve been this person and have personally witnessed this SO MANY TIMES! At shows, we have a lot on the line and don’t think we have time to answer questions from people who have no clue. Recently, I’ve been thinking more about “what we do” from the perspective of the uneducated public.
Change Your Perspective
If you were just an onlooker and you hadn’t been so focused on what you were doing, you may have seen the intrigue in that little girl’s eyes as she asked her mom if she could touch the cow. Her mom may have been a little intimidated to ask because everyone around the heifer looked intense, but she knows her little girl would so love to touch a cow.
So, this hesitant mom musters the courage to walk up to perfect strangers to ask a pretty simple question. After all, her little girl has probably been allowed to pet a hundred different people’s dogs.
She asks and you say “No.”
She’s made to feel a little silly and she has to tell that curious little girl no…to a perfectly reasonable question.
What is that lady’s perception of showing cattle and of the people who show cattle? That scenario could have gone another way. Maybe that little girl could have had a positive experience. This is your opportunity to promote your way of life.
Promote Your Way of Life
Maybe your heifer is a bit of a hand-full but your steer is just fine. Maybe he’d be just perfect for the little girl to pet. There are always about 10 people sitting around watching people get cattle ready. Perhaps your mom or sibling could have redirected the mom and little girl to pet your steer.
Then, that little girl may have walked away and told her mom she wanted to “show a cow” when she gets bigger.
That little girl could have become a young lady who wins a Major or a National Junior show. She could have become an Ag Teacher or an Ag lobbyist, who knows???
Cool Factor
I’ve spoken in the past of the “cool factor” associated with showing cattle. Maybe it doesn’t affect you, but for many kids…they think it’s cool and feel they are part of an elite club because of showing cattle.
I wouldn’t disagree. I think it’s awesome…clearly. But we need to do better in the eyes of the public. It is our job to make sure every member of the public leaves the barn with as many positive impressions of us as possible. AGAIN… promote your way of life!
If We Don’t, Who Will?
It’s our job to protect what we love and encourage others to become involved. These days, advocates for our way of life can come from anywhere. It can be anyone who has a positive impression of ag youth, or of showing.
Go to the fair or expo prepared to talk with people about your project, agriculture and your involvement in both. Paint an accurate picture of how hard you work and how passionate you are about your lifestyle.
Generation Gap
The more generations we have in this country that are removed from agriculture, the more those folks are willing to believe the information they see or read. Is it accurate? Is it true of your way of life?
What better opportunity to give them a clearer understanding of what we do than to allow them to “touch a fluffy cow”? I’m not above believing misinformation about things I either don’t understand or am unfamiliar with either! Frank and I watched a documentary about how they farm shrimp overseas. I don’t know if it was accurate, but it was disgusting. However, it took me a while to eat shrimp again.
Conversations with the Public
This year at our State Fair, Will was stalled near the main alley. The boys were fitting Will’s big Angus heifer and a family stopped to watch. There were three generations of the family there and they appeared to be having a discussion.
I smiled at them and the grandmother walked over and asked, “Is she an Angus?” I answered her and it turned out that her grandparents had cattle in the Midwest when she was growing up. The rest of the family was clearly interested in the story she told me. It was interesting for me and gave all of them a familial tie to cattle that they didn’t seem to be aware of before. What a good experience!
Getting it Right
Listen, it feels like I get it wrong more often than it I get it right. My friend Jessica tells me that sometimes I am so focused while at jackpots, that I seem unapproachable. Sometimes that focus seems intimidating to the new families who have purchased cattle from us. They fear they will say or ask something dumb or don’t want to bother us because “Frank and I are so busy”.
Apparently my “I’m thinking face” looks very much like a “don’t talk to me, I’m busy face.”
I don’t mean to, my kids are always calling me out on it. So, if I walk by you at a show, I promise I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m working on it and you can feel free to remind me!
Educate
This is in part why I started this blog…to answer questions. To educate those who are first learning, to guide from my past experiences and knowledge that I have gained along the way, but mostly to share my love of this industry to anyone wanting to learn more about it. So what should we do?
All across this country, we have the opportunity to take a grassroots approach…one showman at a time, one family at a time.
Everyone is an Advocate
We must ALL be advocates for our way of life. We CAN take an extra moment to make sure the general public has a positive impression of the youth in Agriculture. Let’s make sure they are downright impressed with the caliber of kids who show livestock. Why shouldn’t they be? These are amazing kids!
It is our responsibility to recruit future showmen, to promote agriculture and to advocate for the life we love. Obviously, your first priority should be getting your cattle dialed and ready for the ring. But that doesn’t mean you can’t identify someone from your crew who can be the “spokesperson.”
We always seem to have someone who has the gift of gab in any given group of people. Maybe it’s your grandpa??? He’s always wanting to ask you questions while you are trying to clip a hind leg anyway. Give him a job!
While we are on a feel-good topic… check out this popular post:
Quit the Trash Talk
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