The story below I shared with my teams that work daily with feed stores, coops, and dealers.
Personal random story time. It was my first ever 4-H Auction so I was either 7- or 8-years-old (those of you club leaders can correct me on what age that was). My family showed poultry, not very successfully, but we showed. My sister was going to sell a chicken, so my dad told me to sell a turkey. I thought he was crazy. My turkey was fine in its show pen in the county fair poultry barn. That thing came up to my chest when he lifted his ugly head. Selling it in the auction would mean carrying a very heavy, stupid, and mean turkey in the sale ring and hope it didn’t kill me by the time bidding was over. There was not room for much debate with my dad so standing in the poultry barn we tried multiple times for me to hold it. It quickly became clear that the only way I was going to show off this thing was to tie a string around its neck and lead it. The turkey and I looked ridiculous. It was show time, I did my best to remember all my showman tricks; smile, make eye contact with the potential bidders, stand tall, don’t pass out.
Wearing my white button up shirt purchased a few days earlier from the local Goodwill I smiled my best missing teeth smile and led that mean turkey into the auction circle. I couldn’t focus on what the auctioneer was saying, I was just praying that someone bid on this animal so I could get out of there. Silence. More smiling, eye contact, slowing walking the stupid turkey (or really the turkey was walking me). Finally, an angel disguised as old guy held up his bidding card, then another bid came. Two of the feed stores in the county were bidding on my turkey. Keep in mind my family did not have anyone in the auction crowd that was there to bid our animals like some of the more prosperous ag families did. My mom and dad were not big customers. These feed stores/ coops/ dealers just come to support their local ag community.
Bidding was over, I didn’t pass out, and to my own surprise, I walked out of that ring with not just relief but also pride. I fed and took care of these ugly beasts all year and someone wanted it. It was one of the first times I can recall thinking that perhaps being in Ag doesn’t totally suck. Maybe, just maybe, I don’t need to run away from Ag to make my future dreams happen.
As we thank our customers for their business let’s remember they don’t just sell our feed. They are an important element in the fabric of American rural communities. They help those in production ag navigate solutions to random day to day issues that pop up from fencing to bedding to nutrition. They support the future of Ag in every FFA contest they coach, every donation and every bid they make. I have yet to visit a customer that doesn’t have their support of 4-H and FFA proudly shown on the walls behind the counter or another highly visible area. So let’s add a little added gusto on the next call when we say “Thank you for your order”.
My Journey 