My mother coined the phrase “support the program” when all of us kids were growing up, and to this day it is a well-used member of our family lexicon. “Support the program” means making the time and effort to attend an event or participate in a cause for the sake of the people there or the work being done. Growing up, that looked like going to a weeknight church activity when you’d rather stay home, going to your kids’ school events even when there was harvest to finish, or taking the time to help your neighbors even when your own chores were waiting at home. Today, I think of that every time I walk through the doors of an event and see all the producers in attendance. What did you set aside to be there?
In a six-month period, I attended five different industry-related events, and after attending so many events in such a short space of time, I started noticing a similar pattern to every gathering, regardless of size, scope or location. Every get-together is made up of many moving parts, but I’d like to point out three specific groups – cogs in a well-oiled machine, if you will – that make beef industry events, and if you view it on a bigger scale, the beef industry as a whole, work.
First off, we have our organization folks who hold these events. This encompasses everything from groups such as the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association that puts together behemoth events like their annual convention and trade show, to your county Farm Bureau board that puts on Ag in the Classroom events and your local extension agents who organize field days, seminars and more. Having interned for similar organizations in college, I can testify to the colossal amount of work and planning it takes to organize and carry out an event of any scale – they are not for the faint of heart.
Next on my list are the experts who share their knowledge in seminars and panel discussions and stand ready to visit at a trade show booth. You’ll find insights from many of them right on the pages of this magazine. These folks from university extension networks and industry experts in cattle health, nutrition, stockmanship and more, make my job possible and play a vital role in helping ranchers like yourselves become “progressive cattle” producers. You are why we do what we do, and they are how we do it.
Producers like you are another reason this industry works, and I’m not just talking about feeding the world. You’re the ones who pay the registration fees, travel to the events, ask questions in the seminars, participate in the raffles and silent auctions, buy the products, serve in your local cattle associations and county fair boards, and show by living example exactly what being a good steward of your land and animals looks like.
I am a firm believer that attending these events are crucial for the success and improvement of the cattle industry, but the loveliest thing to me is the fact that nobody has to do it. Like my mom, you are all choosing to support the program, even though there is always something else you could be doing. All the time, money and effort spent coordinating these events, presenting at them and attending them ultimately comes from a desire to learn, grow and support other producers in that pursuit as well. Of course, news and media outlets like us find resources and grist for the mill, so to speak, at these events, but I also see producers talking to each other, learning from each other and fostering a sense of community that can easily be lost when you forget to look beyond your own fenceline.
That sense of community and camaraderie found at industry events is vital to keeping the beef industry and all its segments on the upward slope toward efficiency, growth and sustainability in all of its many forms. So, to all of you who facilitate, educate and attend – thank you. It matters more than you’ll ever know.
