Editorial Introduction
Submitted September 9, 2010
by Matt Perrier
Good day, and thank you for allowing this “wannabe” journalist the privilege of sharing a bit of my world with you. While all will quickly realize my professionalism is lacking, I hope I may still stir a bit of thought (entertainment at times?) with the future columns I write.
First, I will share a bit of personal information. I am a 36-year-old, fifth-generation rancher near Eureka, KS. My wife, Amy, and I work with my parents, Tom and Carolyn Perrier, on our family-owned ranch. Amy and I have three children, Ava (7), Lyle (4) and Hannah (2), with a fourth child due in late December.
Our business includes a registered Angus cowherd and modest farming operation, producing corn, wheat, soybeans and alfalfa hay, in addition to fall, winter and spring “grazeout” crops such as barley, oats, turnips and cowpeas. We market roughly 200 bulls annually through a fall production sale and spring private treaty sales.
My ancestors settled here in Greenwood County in 1867, and the registered Angus cowherd began in 1904. Although we are proud of our past, we are focused on the future of animal agriculture, as I hope my columns will indicate.
My friends and family can attest that I am rarely one who will evade a discussion about our industry. In fact…I think these discussions are very healthy; provided emotion and passion are kept in check, and evidence, facts, reason and compromise are all allowed to lead the discussion to possible solutions. Therefore, I am going to provide my email address with each of my columns so folks may give input on what they read (be it agreement or disagreement) and even suggest future topics for my submissions.
Continuing Education
I recently traveled to Ft. Collins, CO, to attend the USDA competition workshop focused on livestock marketing. Without taking any political stance on the issues discussed, I was intrigued with the wide-ranging philosophies of livestock producers and governmental officials. Many were troubling, some were confusing but one observation gave me great hope.
There were 1500 people (mostly livestock producers, with a few hundred union workers and “foodie” consumers thrown in) at this full-day listening session. I now know that livestock producers will leave their farms and ranches to attend an event hundreds of miles away! I have attended some tremendous producer events aimed at sharing or arriving at solutions to challenges in our operations, and a turnout of 150-200 people was deemed a success. At the conclusion of these programs, meetings or tours, the comments were usually very consistent: “Wow, what a great event…just wish more folks were here to take part.”
As family farmers and ranchers, we are all busy. But it seems a bit of time prioritization could go a long way. One priority I suggest is to attend an educational session outside of our county or state at least once or twice a year. Whether sponsored by an association, Extension service or company, I believe that we can all find something that saves us time, improves our profitability or does both if we engage in this form of “continuing education” for both our personal lives and our businesses.
Keep thinking,