I am honored to share the following article from our past WCA president, Dick Coon. Previously posted in the November, 2010 WCA Ketch Pen, this wonderfully written farewell address beckons to be shared. May you filled with the encouragement, hope, and inspiration needed to complete that path life has placed before you.
Become An Active Manager
Since this is the last Ketch Pen article I’ll write as WCA President, I probably should be a little nostalgic about all of the activity of the last two years, but nostalgia doesn’t really get us anywhere. It doesn’t do much for me when I think about what the WCA has been doing and the issues we’re confronted with on a regular basis. I’m struck by the fact that most of these issues have one thing in common. That is everyone wants to tell us how to manage our resources or our livestock. I sincerely believe that we are the ones most qualified to judge how these resources are to be handled. For a long time I thought that the marketplace would cull out those producers who abused their land or didn’t do the best job of animal husbandry. The reality is that many people are insulated from the economic costs of poor management by second jobs or subsidies in one form or another. All too often, we’ve seen just a few bad actors spoil the show for everyone. To pretend that we can operate in a bubble without oversight is naive. In the livestock business, the fact that we’re producing food means the public will always have a profound interest in how those animals are raised and treated. It is not enough to say that we are professionals in the way we operate; it is not enough to say that ranchers are the original environmentalists and the best caretakers of our stock. We are also always going to be under scrutiny because there are many people who want what we have. Open space, clean water, abundant wildlife, clean air, and a self-directed lifestyle. So how do we turn this “public oversight”, if that is what it is, into something positive for our business?
First and foremost is that we have nothing to hide or be ashamed of in how most of us run our ranches. The public’s perception of ranching has been challenged by environmentalists and its increased isolation from food production. We’ve all been saying that ranchers need to “tell their story” at every opportunity and this is absolutely necessary but I want you to take that idea one step further. Become an active manager of your resources. I don’t mean active in the conventional way, either. I mean that you should challenge yourself every day. Ask yourself if Joe Schmo from Kent dropped in on you today, would you be able to show Schmo or tell him why you were doing something a particular way? Do you ask yourself why you do something a particular way? We’ve all read about doing it the way we always did, or how Dad or Grandpa did, but even if you’re doing it differently than your predecessors, how long have you been doing it?
I realized the other day, with chagrin, that I have been doing some management practices which were state-of-the-art, but that they were state-of-the-art twenty-five years ago. Those practices aren’t quite archaic yet, but a huge amount of research and experience has been added to the original ideas and what I’m doing is outdated and needs a dramatic fresh approach. So now I am the old man with the old ways! Of course, our son Paul has been trying to tell me that for years!
In reality, having your youngsters working with you is one of the surest ways to constantly test the originality and imagination that you think you’re bringing to the operation. The logarithmic expansion of creativity that comes from having someone working with you who’s seen and heard it before can be humbling and irritating. I love it when I give a long, drawn-out reason for doing something my way, or the “right” way and I get a brilliant counter-reason that leaves me stunned that I never thought of it, and proud that I participated in raising such a young, wise partner!
The other point I’d like to present is to have you think about how you deal with the public in general and regulators in particular. This increasing scrutiny we’re under means you will be dealing with inspectors or some agency types more often than you’d like. Rather than take a defensive position as may be your legal right and deny them access, or be uncooperative, try being proactive and invite them in to see how you manage your ranch. I know this is nearly heresy, since we’re supposed to be the rugged individualists who bow to no man, but the reality is that we are not only severely outnumbered, we’re surrounded. So practicality dictates a rational approach. That makes it easy because of three things:
1. See above: We have nothing to hide or be ashamed of in showing how we manage our resources.
2. The product we produce is not only nutritious and necessary, but can be produced year around and consumed and enjoyed by young and old alike.
3. The process of producing this wonderful product just happens to be good for the environment, good for the economy, and good for the human race.
If you do this, you’ll find it is extremely empowering. You become the one who is setting the agenda by taking their unwanted attention and turning it into an opportunity to describe why you do something a particular way or educate them about proper livestock or resource management. Now I realize that there is always the chance that you’ll run into a loose cannon with a diesel dipstick who can’t tell a hay-hauling harobed from highway hauler but that is life, so tell the dog. Sure, there will be times when reason and good manners won’t do you any good, but that is when you take it to the next level. You’ll be doing it from a position of strength because you started out being reasonable and cooperative. Enlist the WCA to get help or get your lawyer, but everyone understands reasonable and if you have the biggest pile of reasonable, you’ll get further.
To summarize a little; You be the one to set the guidelines on how you’re going to manage your own property and then make sure you’re doing it in a rational way, then show people why you do what you do. People still have a high opinion of ranchers, and they want to feel good about eating beef. Let’s help them by showing that their opinion of us is justified and perhaps they’ll help us in turn by being supportive of our efforts to return logic and reason to the regulatory process.
The success of our initial effort to raise money for the Beef Counts program was very impressive. The job that Patti Brumbach and Jack Field did to coordinate the press coverage for the Stockland and Toppenish auctions was superb. Everyone was overwhelmed by the support of the buyers who contributed their dollars to help Second Harvest and Agri Beef in the move to get beef protein into the diets of those folks down on their luck and needing assistance. I hope you all take a moment to consider donating to this terrific program. I believe it will not only improve the quality of life for people, but will give our beef industry a meaningful way to make a contribution to a worthy cause.
I want to close by saying thanks to all the great people who have taken their valuable time to serve on the WCA Executive Committee and as Standing Committee Chairmen. I want to give a special thanks to Bev Cridlebaugh and her husband, Ron, who’ve been so supportive of the WCA. I am very grateful to Lacy Lampkins for the terrific job she has done since becoming part of the WCA. There aren’t enough words to describe my admiration and affection for Jack Field. The WCA’s brightest moment was hiring Jack and his energy and dedication is second to none in the industry. My thanks need to be extended to his wife, Skye, for her willingness to share him with us for the long hours he spends working on our behalf.
I want to express my appreciation for our son, Paul and his work to keep the ranch rolling along while I’ve been doing association business. He has not only covered for me but has dramatically improved the management! My wife, Paula, deserves my most profound gratitude for her positive and clear-thinking support and encouragement. We both would like to extend an invitation to any of you who would like to stop by for a visit. Remember, we’re in the middle of everything, not the middle of nowhere.
Dick Coon
WCA President
