My family and farm receiving recognition as a Century Angus Farm from the Angus Association has caused me to reflect a bit about the role Angus cattle have played in my life. These reflections have revealed some things that are a bit surprising to me.
Unlike my grandfather and father, I never depended on Angus cattle as the sole source of income for my family. Yet, I was fully aware as a youngster that the black cattle in the pasture were what paid the bills. While growing up the cattle were just my “job” that had to be tended to, by my father and myself, every day. It is interesting how perceptions of every day, common things change in the time from one's youth to retirement age. I now know that Angus cattle helped me develop a good work ethic. I learned at an early age that work needed to be done correctly and without shortcuts. Naturally, this lesson can be learned through any type of work, but when it is learned through work with livestock it is learned a bit differently. With livestock there are no days off. I learned that a day of gain lost on steers is difficult to get back. Also, it is difficult to do a quick and superfluous job of tending to livestock and get satisfactory results. If there is no attention to detail, sick or stressed animals can be over looked. That oversight can be costly. As odd as it sounds, I realize too that working with Angus cattle developed empathy in me. Whether it be at the end of a halter, or crowding cattle toward a squeeze chute, I learned to watch those cattle to anticipate their reaction. What was in their eyes, or the position of their ears told me what was to happen before it actually did. Once I could imagine how they were experiencing what was happening I could better make the outcome what I wished it to be. Having the ability to share another being's experience and emotions has served me well throughout my life. I believe that it has made me a better husband, father, friend and business man. My appreciation for nature and life came from my interaction with Angus cattle. How can one not be amazed each time we get to watch a new calf stand and nurse for the first time? The ability of that calf to know to nurse, and the cow's actions to stimulate that calf to stand, appear as something that should have been taught and learned, yet it is simply instinct. What a complex and beautiful thing nature is. Also, after the disappointment of watching a new born calf take its last breath, even after doing everything possible to save it, how can one not marvel at the preciousness of life? I learned as a youngster that once life is gone from the eyes of that wet, motionless calf it can never return. Unfortunately the loss of life cannot be shown on TV in that way, and so the preciousness of that life is not appreciated. Showing Angus cattle provided me with my first chance to experience failure. As unpleasant as it was at the time, that failure, and my ability to move past it, was very important in my future ability to face what life had to offer. When a 10 year old leads a heifer into a showring with absolute certainty that the heifer is the best in the world, then stands last, it is a lesson that can't be taught in any classroom. Shaking the winner's hand, not pouting, then planning and implementing steps to change that outcome in the future, gets easier each time. The easier that becomes, and the better the planning and implementation becomes, the less failure is experienced. What a great lesson to learn as a preteen. The Angus showring also gave me my first chance to experience success. Many first place ribbons and championships came and went, but that first big win, at a prestigious show, with a calf that no one had ever worked on but me, was quite an experience for 15 year old. I often hear folks that have won a drawing, or been selected as the “fifth caller” shout something like, “Oh my god, I've never won anything in my life!”. I always think how sad it must be to have made it well into adult life and be able to say such a thing. Winning, and having success, might not provide as many lessons as failure does, but it is immeasurably more fun. Failure, winning, work ethic, appreciation of nature, all great lessons. I've come to the conclusion, however, that the best thing that my experiences with Angus cattle gave me was confidence and faith. As an 8 or 9 year old I was forced to face tasks that seemed very difficult to me. I was forced to face failure, winning, the loss of life and nature's good and bad. All of this helped me developed confidence in myself, and faith in the nature of things. After many years of life, and many good and bad experiences, I now know that confidence and faith can overcome most obstacles. Confidence gave me the ability to talk to adults about cattle as a youngster. It gave me the capacity to apply myself and be successful in athletics as a high schooler. Confidence gave me the capability to be successful at Purdue University. It gave me the power to believe that I could start a business, and later to grow that business. Confidence allowed me to successfully overcome many, many challenges and to the try again at the challenges that I couldn't initially overcome. Most importantly, in my life, confidence gave me the courage to talk to the prettiest, and most popular girl in my home town. It gave me the ability to convince her to marry me. So the fact that this farm, on which I now live, has had Angus cattle grazing its pasture for so many years, and that my grandfather, and father, chose to make their living raising Angus cattle so many years ago, has had a profound and positive affect on my life and the life of my family. It explains why I hold such a high place for these cattle in my heart. It also explains why there will continue to be black cattle on Homestead Farm for as long as I am able to care for them.
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