Doing for others, worth doing right

“Kids! It’s quarter till seven. You’d better get up, because it’s supposed to get hot out today.”

And with that, my sister, brother and I spent many-a-summer morning rolling out of bed to beat the heat when working with our 4-H cattle.

Because my mom always said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing right.”

That’s one of the many lessons she taught me and my siblings, along with hard work and a deep respect for land and livestock.

I know many “ag kids” report similar inherited values, but whether you’re a city slicker or a rural rambler it seems there is one thing moms try to instill in their kids: caring for others.

My mom is the model of that. Growing up I watched Mom give more of herself than seems humanly possible when I reflect on it now. She juggled volunteer roles—4-H leader, Sunday school teacher, PTA fundraisers, etc.—right alongside hauling corn or feeding pigs. My dad was an over-the-road trucker for most of those years, so Mom was doing his share on the home front, too.I watched that, and I learned.Not only is there a deep satisfaction in doing what you were called to do and doing it well, but there’s an even greater fulfillment in caring for others.

During interviews, I hear lots of comments like this:

“We’re not raising calves to sell at the salebarn—we’re raising a steak that goes on somebody’s plate. They’ve got to be happy with it if we expect them to come back and buy it again.” –Dalton Gebhart, South Dakota Rancher

Or this:

“We’ve got to be something better than just a protein source, and something better than just red meat.  And that is the uniqueness in the U.S. we have the advantage that we can take high-quality feed stuffs with high-quality cattle and produce the epitome of an eating experience, CAB quality products that the consumer is going to have a good eating experience with.”—Sam Hands, Kansas rancher and feeder

And although I never asked them, I have to wonder if those cattlemen and women would credit their moms for instilling that original “for the greater good” philosophy in them.

That’s where mine started. Thanks, Mom!

May your bottom line be filled with black ink (and have a Happy Mother’s Day!),

Miranda

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