President’s run our country, the President of the United States is in charge of decisions, and the welfare of our great nation. Clearly, they want to make the best choices, choices that will benefit Americans. And, although I can’t speak for political issues or party standpoints, there is one thing ALL Presidents have in common.

Starting with George Washington!

Including the great Abraham Lincoln

Including some more recent Presidents!

And yes....even this guy! Our current US President!

All of them have made time-crunching, tough, nail-biting, nation-scrutinized decisions! But eating beef was not one of those “challenging decisions”! That’s right….every single President we have ever had has been a consumer of beef (also pork, chicken, turkey, ect….)! Therefore, they must be advocators and supporters of our industry! If the President of the United States trusts American farmers, there is clearly no reason for anyone to question the safety of American beef! It’s the safest,  most affordable, most abundant food supply in the world!

Go farmers! Well, in honor of President’s Day….let’s go eat beef!! Beef, it’s what’s for dinner!

As we left Manhattan to come home I reflected on the poem.  Too often we wait to get involved in school or community activities, or are too busy to notice others around us.  It’s easy to identify problems we encounter, but takes more effort to be a part of the solution.  We may be focused on training for the next big step, feeling like in the meantime our life is on hold.  What we forget (at least I do at times) is that everyday is a part of our DASH.   Please take a minute, read the poem by Linda Ellis, and ask yourself if you’re satisfied with your dash.  If not, today is the day to start filling in the stories of your dash.

 The Dash
by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth…
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
the cars….the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard…
are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left.
(You could be at “dash midrange.”)

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile…
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy’s being read
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they
say about how you spend your dash?

Today, I feel very fortunate to be in my 15^th year teaching in the Agriculture Department here at Butler and serving as the coach of our livestock judging team.  As I developed my enjoyment of judging through 4-H and at the collegiate level I also became interested in the history of my “sport.”  We’ve had so many individuals influence our industry and direct positive change!  But in my opinion that list starts with Don Good!  I am proud of my opportunity to judge shows across the country and the impact I am fortunate to have on young people as the coach of a collegiate livestock judging team.  In my opinion, no one ever did those two things with any greater skill, integrity level and success than Don Good!  Doesn’t that define a hero?

 As an evaluator of livestock, Don Good is widely considered one of the greatest cattle judges of all time.  His understanding of industry, astute eye, amazing communication skills and steadfast moral code gave him the opportunity to judge every major show in the country and numerous events worldwide.  What’s cool is that I honestly think Don derived as much joy from judging a Kansas county fair (which I believe he made an effort to judge every county show in the state) as he did judging the International in Chicago.  He just loved people and livestock no matter what the scope of the event!  Though I’m sure you could highlight many great moments in his judging career, the 1969 International in Chicago stands as an unbelievable moment in the livestock industry.  That year, judge Don Good selected the first ever crossbred to win a major livestock event and forever changed industry views on crossbreeding.  What we see as the norm today was anything but normal in that era.  Purebred livestock were viewed as superior to that of their crossbred, “mongrel,” counterparts.  With one “slap” Don Good changed that view.  Conoco (picture below) was a Charolais/Angus cross that weighed just shy of 1300 pounds as approximately 15 or 16 months of age and went on to grade middle choice with a yield grade of 2 and a 15+ inch ribeye.  In 1969!!  We couldn’t ask for any better four decades later.  Don Good was a pioneer – with GUTS!  A hero if you will.

 Dr. Good also served as the head livestock judging coach at Kansas State University for 20 years, spanning a portion of three decades.  A decorated collegiate competitor himself, Don was named the High Individual Overall at the American Royal and the Second High Overall at the Chicago International as at student at The Ohio State University.  I am so proud of my affiliation with the livestock judging program at K-State.  The enthusiasm of our alumni is unbelievable and it came from the efforts of Don Good and the impact he had on the lives of some many young people as their coach, teacher and mentor.  To many, judging success is measured in wins.  Victories are great, of which Don Good achieve many (Pictured below with his 1950 National Championship Team), but lives touched is what generates a legacy.  In his later years, I had the chance to share coaching philosophies with Dr. Good on several occasions and have spent time with countless former students who have each made their own profound impact on our industry.  Don believed in a consistent approach to teaching the principles of the livestock industry and developing life skills through livestock judging.  His students state it simply – “He made me a better person!”  Now that’s a hero.

On July 21, 2007, I married Elissa Good and became a part of the Good Family.  From that day forward, I began to have a greater appreciation for Don Good the man.  You see, inside the walls of their family home he was not Don Good the livestock icon or judging great.  He was simply, Dad or Husband or Grandpa or Uncle Don.  Up until that time, I viewed Don Good as my hero based on his exploits as a coach and livestock evaluator.  Once again my views of a hero have changed.  He made a life partner in his beautiful wife Jane and together raised the most amazing family I’ve ever been around.  A family I’m now proud to call my own!  In September, my wife will give birth to our first child and I hope I can continue to use Don Good as my inspiration on how to balance family and career.

Yesterday, I lost a hero.  But today, I realized that you never really lose your heroes.  The impact they have on your personality lasts a lifetime and hopefully can be passed on by your good deeds to others.  Thank you Don for being a great spokesman for industry, an American Soldier, a proud educator, a breeder of great livestock and a coach that touched the lives of so many students.  Most of all, thanks for just being “Uncle Don.”

With another National Contest under our belts….here are the results:

Team consisted of:

Maverick Squires – Oklahoma

Taylor Graham – Tennessee

Jared Wynn – Ohio

Emily Jackson – Texas

Kinzie Selke – Indiana

Horse Division

Individual                                                                

1st Emily Jackson

Team

3rd

Swine Division

Individual                                                              

1st Paige Wallace

2nd Maverick Squires

Team

3rd

Sheep Division

Individual

1st Maverick Squires

Cattle Division

Individual

3rd Maverick Squires

Team

3rd

Reasons Divsion

Individual

1st Maverick Squires

3rd Emily Jackson

Team

1st

Overall

Individual

1st Maverick Squires

Team

2nd

Good job to everyone that competed at Fort Worth! We are looking forward to our next National Contest in San Antonio, Texas!

Over Christmas break my mom gave me a church cookbook (college girls absolutely love church cookbooks….ehemm….if anyone is generously looking to give us some:)). Anywho! My roommates and I tried a mashed potato recipe that we just HAD to share!

Divine Mashed Potatoes:

5 potatoes, boiled

1/2 pkg. softened cream cheese (4 oz.)

1/2 cup half & half    (we used milk and it was still yummy!)

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 tsp. onion salt

1 tsp. seasoned salt

1 tsp. salt

Add cream cheese, half & half, pepper and butter to potatoes. Mash by hand. Put in mixer and add rest of the ingredients. Finish whipping in mixer. If desired: put in casserole dish and add paprika and shredded cheese. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

This recipe came from Dolores Carroll of the China Spring United Methodist Church! I certainly can’t take credit for it!

So….go support a potato farmer and try this recipe! You’ll love it!

I’ve lived on a farm my entire life and I truly believe that if something like this had been passed when I was a kid I would be a changed person today! My summers weren’t spent at the pool or on vacation, I was in the barn working hard to take care of my livestock. These activities have had such an influence on my personal character and ultimately pushed me to pursue a degree in agriculture. We all know owning a farm and working in agriculture isn’t always the highest paying avenue, but we do it because we LOVE it, because we love the lifestyle we were raised in. I would hate to see the lives of millions of farm kids so dramatically changed because a few politicians thought farm work was too dangerous.

Louisville… The North American International Livestock Exposition. The best purebred cattle show around, one of the oldest livestock judging contests (continued from Chicago), enough said right?

After working out on some of the best livestock our industry has to offer, we took to the floor to test our skills.

Team members Maverick Squires, Taylor Graham, Jared Wynn, Emily Jackson, and Parker Henley.

Sheep: Butler 6th High Team

Swine: Jared Wynn 5th High Individual

Beef: Maverick 3rd High Individual, Butler 1st High Team

Reasons: Jared Wynn 1st High Individual, Taylor Graham 7th High Individual, Maverick Squires 10th High Individual, Butler 3rd high Team

Overall:

Jared Wynn 2nd High Individual

Butler 2nd High Team

After a well deserved Thanksgiving and Christmas Vacation, we were back at it. The turning of the New Year brought the much-anticipated National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado. Thankfully, we only endured one extremely cold winter day on our way to Denver. After more than 75 classes and 25 sets in just 10 days, including practice contests at OSU, KSU, and Walker’s (Arkansas) we were ready to go once again! This time, two contests on back to back days. First, the regular livestock contest with reasons, then the carload judging contest with cattle classes only and one set of questions.

Team Members: Jared Wynn, Taylor Graham, Maverick Squires, Parker Henley, and Brett Moriarty.

Sheep and Goats: Maverick Squires 6th, Butler 2nd

Swine: Maverick Squires 2nd, Jared Wynn 9th, Butler 3rd

Beef Reasons: Taylor Graham 3rd, Jared Wynn 4th

Reasons: Maverick Squires 2nd, Taylor Graham 3rd, Jared Wynn 7th, Butler 2nd

Overall: Jared Wynn 5th, Brett Moriarty 8th

Butler 2nd High Team in the Livestock Judging Contest

Carload Cattle Judging Contest:

Team Members: Kinzie Selke, Paige Wallace, Kyle Wilson, Ben Gleason, and Katy Satree

4th Overall Team

Stay in tune for more results soon… This coming weekend we’ll be in Sioux Falls, SD and the following weekend will be Fort Worth, TX!!

Alright so for those of you who aren’t familiar, here’s my explanation. Pinterest is a website that helps you manage ideas – a virtual pinboard. It lets you organize and share ideas you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. You can also find your friends and browse their pinboards!

But before you go searching for your perfect wedding dress consider this. Could this be another great way to advocate for agriculture? Besides pinning the things you like, you also have the power to create a new pin that will dive into the world of Pinterest. A few of my friends have already started.

Crystal Young pinned a link to her blog where she wrote about her opinion of Meatless Mondays.

Meatless Mondays

I also found this pin..

Which led me to the I Love Farmers…They Feed My Soul website.

Linking to your favorite agriculture websites or blogs is just a simple, quick way to get agriculture in the minds of your family and friends.

Or maybe you’re just looking for a new pair of boots and turquoise jewelry Pinterest can help with that too..

Follow me, Paige Wallace, and many other Butler bloggers to see how we agvocate!

Last night, as my family was winding down the Christmas celebrations, my dad headed out to check the cows one last time before we all headed to bed. Well, about 20 minutes later, I got a phone call from dear ole’ Dad saying that we had a cow down, stuck in the mud. So, I piled on my insulated overalls, mud boots, ear muffs and gloves and headed out to fear that dreaded, bitter, blizzardy (ok, maybe not) Texas winter night.

My family owns a dairy, so it is not uncommon for cows to lay down and later get “milk fever” and not be able to get up. The condition is not paralyzing, or even deadly, and a couple of I.V.s of sugar usually does the trick and the cows are back on their feet!

So, here I was, on Christmas day standing in the freezing cold weather, up to my ankles in mud, holding a bag of liquid sugar, and rubbing towels over a muddy cow so she wouldn’t be cold. Glamorous, I know. But, at that moment, I looked up and realized something……..it was a gorgeous night. Stretched out across acres and acres of oak tree pastures were peaceful dairy cows lying beneath the clearest sky, and more stars than a person could count.

So, the best Christmas present ever? Growing up on a farm.

Besides the valuable character traits and life lessons learned, farmers get to see sights that not many people will ever experience. So to all the parents who chose to raise their kids on a farm…rock on! For, living the farm life is a Christmas present that comes without a price tag and lasts forever.

We owe a HUGE thanks to the Kansas Beef Council and their support of our event! Not only did they supply us with the beef jerky, but also beef pamphlets and yummy new recipes for beef!

Here are a few pictures from the event:

This is teamwork if I ever saw it! Taylor Graham and Kyle Wilson hold up a tri-fold as Maverick Squires traces letters!

Brett Moriarty and Alyson Moore search beef facts to post on the tri-fold!

I was in charge of rounding up pamphlets and brochures to hand out!

Our main talking point: Where's The Food....Without The Farmer??

Taylor insisted upon coloring only!!!

The finished project! (L to R) Kinzie Selke, Jared Wynn, myself, and Brett Moriarty were just a few of the Ambassadors that helped run the event!

Thanks to everyone that helped make “Butler Beef Day” an informative, fun event!!!