Friday, July 31, 2009

Montana skies, good friends, and..........liberals??

I've been pretty darn busy the past couple weeks-hence the sparse posts! This morning I'm writing from one of my favorite places I've worked and spent 1/4 of my year the last couple years. I am in the middle of nowhere Montana.....well at least the ranch is its own little middle-of-nowhere haven! This is the first summer in the last few that I have not worked out here at this guest ranch. Needless to say I'm missing it quite a bit this summer, I spent all my waking hours working outside, meeting people from all over the country and even the world, and being with some good friends. I'm lucky to have made some life-long friends from my experiences there so I came back for a little visit and a few of us are going to head to Great Falls tonight for a road trip and concert!

It is really interesting when you think about places around the country. Here I am in Montana, in between ranch country and the Bob Marshall, yet I'm surrounded by more Obama stickers, hippies and the such than anywhere I've been lately. It always make me wonder how people get to the point where they go to the extreme left and are able to keep their blinders on, ignoring the world right outside their backdoor. Western Montana is a great example of that, in my mind. It is an area that is rich in diversity from timber, cattle, mining, to its incredible biodiversity and amazing natural resources. How is it possible that people living in the heart of an agriculturally dense, natural area could be so clueless to deciphering truth and hype?

What I have learned from my many summers spent working about an hour east of Missoula, is that no place is too far removed from the leftists' agendas and their voices can be heard from even the deepest canyons. We have a job to do! People EVERYWHERE don't understand about farming and ranching and they aren't going to learn unless we teach them! I work for an ag lending company and there are many people alongside us who don't know anything about the farmers and ranchers that we lend to. Sometimes they believe the same crazy stories being portrayed in the media that those infamous country music stars buy into. Because most people believe the media is their source for "fact-filled" news, they are flying blind-folded. We need to take every opportunity to educate them. Recently, my boss hosted a field-day to take certain employees of our company to show them a farm, harvest, and different types of equipment. Many of the people who went had never even been on a farm or ranch, yet they work for a company that lives and breathes agriculture!!! We all know what happens when we make assumptions.....so don't assume someone knows what goes on at your farm or ranch. Take the opportunity to show them pictures, tell them a story, or take them out their for dinner, on your lunch break or for the whole day! You will not only teach someone about our industry, but possibly gain a new friend in the process!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Political Careers

I'd say we have a future as lawmakers, wouldn't you? :) This picture is from our YCC trip, during our congressional visits, as seen here with Doc Hastings! Wouldn't the world make a lot of sense if we had a bunch of rational hard working ranchers creating our laws, deciding our taxes and budgets? Whew.............. :)

Friday, July 17, 2009

So my last post was a bit heated and off the cuff, whew guess I can get fired up sometimes! :) On the bright side, at least you know where you stand with me and I won't be wishy-washy on an issue right?? :):)

The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing

This was forwarded onto me this morning as the quote of the day. How about we just make it the quote of 2009? Today was an intense day to an end of an intense couple of weeks regarding cattle, agriculture, and environmental issues. Between Obama's health-care plan flowchart, the lawsuit against the WA DOE regarding stockwater, HSUS & ALL they entail, and the parents from my hometown of Selah, WA suing JBS Swift-I'm exhausted. I have had enough call-to-actions, letters to write to papers & lawmakers, and blog comments that I would be RICH if I could just get paid to do that all day! :) So the question is: to give up now because the end is near or stand and fight? Hmmm.... STAND & FIGHT of COURSE! :):) Any of you who know me, know I would say that. Remember, I should have gone to law school to make good use of my Negotiating skills (also known to some as arguing skills)!

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel to all of this? Maybe I should just sell my land, sell my cows, give up my water rights while I still have a chance? Maybe you should-but if you have any gumption and will in your bones you won't let a few wackos decide your life for you. There is some hope in all of this, you just have to be willing to put in some blood, sweat, and tears, along with some typing, talking, and reading!

People are fighting FOR US everyday and when you find examples of that-thank them. I found letters to the editors today on the Yakima Herald Republic that were fighting for us ranchers and providing a positive image and truthful knowledge to the public. There are people out there who are "telling our agriculture story" and have been for years without going on a YCC, or taking the Masters of Beef Advocacy course. Heck-these people invented ideas such as those! All each one of us has to do is just start being heard. Take some initiative and write some letters, educate some people about science based facts-instead of letting them be educated by the media, government, and other radicals! And remember, find those people who are doing actions all across the country in little ways to fight for your way of life and THANK THEM! :)

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