As Thanksgiving is now in our rearview mirror, we most likely spent the last few days being grateful for all our blessings, family and friends. It makes me think that Thanksgiving shouldn’t just be a holiday on one day in late November, one day where we exhibit gratitude for all things.
Now trust me, I do enjoy all the festivities that Thanksgiving brings: family together, 45-day dry-aged prime rib, pumpkin pie layered with whipped cream and a stomachache from laughter, followed by a busy Black Friday of breeding fall cows. Yet, when we truly define the meaning of “thanks,” it’s to “express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment to,” and this shouldn’t come just in the form of a nice few days in the fall. Being thankful is a year-round approach, and more importantly, in the agricultural business, it’s an everyday feeling.
As producers, we have so much to be thankful for. First, the land that our homesteaders cultivated and made prosperous. Second, Mother Nature and the seasonality of weather patterns that bring us the nectar for what our businesses need to function. I know at times we do not receive the plentiful amount needed to have that spectacular year, but I don’t think it’s foolish to say it will always come in waves. Knowing us in the ag world, we are very used to working on the average and finding a way to be resilient in both good and bad years.
Labor—it’s certainly a hot topic in all our lives today, and I feel it’ll continue to be tenuous. However, we need to be grateful for our team and crews that work endlessly to make our businesses successful today. The old saying that “We are only as strong as our weakest member” is so true. So, in showing daily gratitude and loyalty to a team, you create that strong commitment of work ethic and desire to be better and to do more, which in turn, I am confident creates longer tenures.
We all are stewards of the land, our cattle, our programs and our product. Without these, we have nothing. Be appreciative of all, and let’s give back to the resources. Our land is our foundation, and showing thanks here comes in so many ways: grass management, utilization of biological materials, grazing/resting, stock water locations and so on. Our cattle, our programs and our products are the nucleus of operational revenue, and we can show appreciation in many facets. Giving our cow herd the right base nutritional requirements for optimal performance, maximizing the genetic inputs into our herds and showcasing stewardship for the product we raise all contribute toward putting them in the right vehicle for success.
For me, acknowledgement to your customer may be the piece we miss out on the most. Without our customers, why be in the business? Customers come in many forms, whether it’s those buyers that offer competition in the market for price discovery or it’s your neighbor you sell the first or third crop to in order to diversify your balance sheet. Most importantly, it’s our consumers that love the taste of beef and know the importance of red meat protein in their diets. These are all our customers—the backbone of our success in the business—that we need to acknowledge daily and be thankful for.
I am very thankful for my great family, my upbringing, my cow herd, my friends and colleagues, and certainly all the folks that eat our product: beef. It simply is not enough to just show thanks on one holiday, once a year. Because what if our team, our resources, Mother Nature and our customers showed us gratitude, appreciation and acknowledgement on just one day? It’s a scary thought. — JARED PATTERSON
