About a week ago, I had the pleasure of representing my county in the 2013 Missouri Beef Queen competition in Columbia, Missouri. I met some awesome girls and at the end of the night, made some great friendships. Below is a copy of my speech and I plan to hold true to what I said in it with getting consumers involved in the beef industry. Enjoy!
We
wake up every morning blessed to watch the sun rise across the horizon as new
calves are jumping to their feet for the first time and hungry cows come around
the barn to greet you in the morning. Or maybe you start your day an entirely
different way by driving in to work at the feed mill and wait at the crack of
dawn while your truck gets loaded to deliver some feed to a farmer.
Watching
and listening to the world wake up is just one of the many joys of raising
cattle or livestock. All of us here today are on the same page. In some way we
are all involved in the beef industry, whether it be production, sales,
processing, or even feed services. We know all the details matter to ensure
that we provide the best quality product for our consumers. I don’t have to
convince you how important the beef industry is and so tonight my focus is on
those people and consumers that tend to be against us and the beef industry.
On June 23, 2011, CNN ran a story
that swept the agriculture nation and received more than 1400 comments relating
to both sides of the issue. The article was entitled ‘Does 4-H desensitize kids
to killing?’ and boy, did it turn up some tails. It said that, “To many, 4-H
Clubs are all about nurturing sweet little calves, adorable children winning
ribbons, urban garden patches and proud future farmers grooming prized pigs for
show. To others, it's a calculated system for turning the youth of America into
cold, unfeeling animal killers.”
I know many of us show cattle
or have children that do. Does this headline not send chills down your back? I
know it does for me. This is exactly what I am talking about with getting
consumers informed on important topics relevant to our industry.
Let’s back up for just a second and
look at the previous statement. “Turning the youth of America into cold,
unfeeling animal killers.” It’s hard to believe someone would go to these
lengths to publish this. But they did, and it will continue to happen if the
farmers don’t spread the word about everything they do. People like Pam
Fretwell and Trent Loos have radio shows that try
to reconnect consumers with the people who produce the food and fuel we use
everyday. They are educational programs but also try to evoke the emotions and
show the passion of farmers for what they do for a living.
Now I’m not trying to
say that 4-H does or does not desensitize us to killing. There is a bigger
issue here. The issue is that people don’t know about 4-H or raising livestock
and this all begins with education.
Even more recently,
finely textured lean beef could be found on thousands of newspapers all over
the country as the dreaded Pink Slime. But is it really all that bad? We as
producers know that it’s just as safe and healthy as the next steak or
hamburger on our dinner plate, but we fight a loosing battle when reporters
grab a phrase someone said and things get out of hand. The consumers may not
know the difference because they don’t know the truth like we do.
After just
two examples, you can see the need is evident for consumers to know more about
the beef industry and agriculture in general. I want to educate those people
who find themselves for whatever reason, looking down on the beef industry.
Provide them with insight on how we operate our small business and farms while
often times holding church positions, being community leaders, or even work
full-time in town. I plan to interact with consumers in the public and provide
them with resources that would allow them to make educated decisions at the
grocery stores. If people were educated about where their food and beef came
from, they could get their food from local growers and producers and have no
questions as to the safety and quality of their purchases. This would help
stimulate the local producers and economy.
I want to
start off by explaining the benefits of being a farm kid. About the respect and
responsibility we learn by growing up on a farm. We have to wake up early every
morning and do our chores before the day really gets started. They also learn
that many things they are taught in school actually apply to life. They apply
science by determining the amount of chemicals to put on a field. Or how long
until a cow can be bred again or when she’ll have her calf applies math skills.
It’s hard to find a downside to being a farm kid. I don’t want to convince
people that it’s this way or the highway, but simply focus on the fact that we
farmers know a thing or two about getting things done in a timely manner with
focus, drive, and honor.
Being
a member of the Collegiate Cattlewomen, we are required to visit classrooms and
teach students about beef. I have visited some school’s where we talk about raising
cattle and their life cycle. In other classrooms with older students, we
discussed beef nutrition and possible careers in agriculture and the beef
industry. I plan to visit more schools more often to teach students the
importance of beef and the agriculture industry.
I recently
completed my Masters of Beef Advocacy and am now better equipped with the
skills and knowledge of communicating with consumers about their beef options
and choices.
After completing a year of
intercollegiate meat judging and visiting large slaughtering facilities such as
Cargill and Tyson, I have learned a large amount about corporate companies and
“factory farms.” They aren’t as bad as the image they are given and I want to
set the record straight with consumers on this as well.
I am
extremely passionate about the beef industry. Whether I’m selected as beef
queen or not, I’m still going to promote the beef industry and spread my
passion to consumers. Being beef queen simply gives me a larger platform and
more opportunities to communicate with people about our industry. I’m focused and dedicated to getting
consumers more aware about beef and all it’s benefits. People, who think the
way they do about beef and agriculture, don’t know much about us other than
what they see. They don’t know meanings behind why we do what we do. It’s important now more than ever to educate
non-agricultural people so they understand what really goes on in agriculture.
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