18 Years of Life At a Feed Yard — 4 Years of Blogging…

Matt and I, on stage for the Trailblazer Award, last week in San Antonio at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Convention.

 

As a result of the 2014 Trailblazer Award, Beef Magazine asked that I write an article reflecting on important issues for cattle farmers.  This was a great opportunity for me to share thoughts relative to 18 years of working in a feed yard and 4 years of blogging.  The target audience was cattle farmers, but I wanted to share the piece here as well.

In the article, I share lessons personally learned from both my cattle and my beef customers.  You can view it by clicking here.

**On the home front, we are celebrating being free of the flu as well as the crutches that plagued our house for a couple of weeks.

• My favorite teenager’s 9th and 10th basketball team finished their season with an 8-1 record, and a final game Friday night will end her Junior Varsity season as well.  She is gearing up for the high school musical performance that is a few weeks away, and looking forward to the start of track.  Last but certainly not least, she brought home the 3rd place award for the Nebraska Voice of Democracy Oral Essay contest last week in Lincoln.
• My favorite blonde cowgirl will have her first competitive gymnastics performance of the year this weekend in Lincoln.  Having mostly healed from her first career pole vaulting accident, she is also gearing up for the start of track.  I am very glad to have her back as a contributing member of the chore brigade and once again helpful on the farm!
• My favorite 10 year old is rocking the volleyball court with a second place tournament finish last weekend.  I never thought that I would have a child play middle blocker on the volleyball court, but she stands several inches taller than any other teammate so seems well placed!

 I hope that your week is full of joy!

An Adventurous Journey…

I dreamed of many things when I was a young girl, but the thought of appearing as a Cover Girl in Beef Magazine never even registered on my radar screen.  While I have certainly been a life-long beef lover, my journey as a cattleman began at the age of twenty-two.

Eighteen years later, I am the proud recipient of the 2014 Trailblazer Award — an award given by Beef Magazine to a cattle farmer for his/her volunteer efforts to improve the beef industry.

Receiving this award humbles me almost as much as the kind words and attention to detail that Joe Roybal and Beef Magazine placed on the story.  Please take a few minutes to read it online by clicking here.  Be sure to also click here to view the picture slide show that accompanies the main article.

The last 18 years have been a tremendously adventurous journey.  While the road to excellence is rarely comfortable, being tenacious enough to travel down it is incredibly rewarding.  Many thanks to all who have mentored me — Please know that I do my best each day to return the favor.

I hope that they deliver Beef Magazine to Heaven, as my Dad will likely want to brag a bit about this one…