We recently moved offices. The move wasn’t across country or even across town. Actually, we simply moved our offices from one room of B.J.’s house (and my future house) to another in order to have enough space to accommodate two people now that I’m back in Ohio and working at the Livestock Promotions World Headquarters. However, there hasn’t been anything simple about the move. There’s been a slight delay in getting the additional office furniture. A piano still occupies a corner from the room’s previous use. There are several boxes of files, office supplies, and random computer cables stacked around the room. And last, but certainly not least, the Hampshire signs have yet to be hung on the wall. While we’ve been able to operate in a somewhat chaotic environment for about a week now, I am sure looking forward to getting the second desk and cabinets moved in so that everything can finally be in its place.

As I’m camped out here in the living room writing this newsletter on the coffee table I’m reminded how easy it is to neglect the basic systems and structures needed to make progress on a daily basis. Growing up, my brothers and I had a little barn just for our showpigs. I remember how excited we would get each spring as we thought of all the neat things we could do that summer with our projects. Maybe we’d try out a new feed additive or maybe we’d exercise our pigs differently or maybe we’d buy a new scales! And each spring Dad would quickly remind us that none of those things would matter if we didn’t first focus on the basics – a solid feeding regimen and equipping the barn so we could easily move the pigs around and keep them cool. (He’d usually add in here a stern reminder of getting up early enough during our summer vacation to be in the barn at a decent hour.)

These every day necessities and the basics to our projects and our businesses are sometimes quite easy to overlook. Our own human nature and superior intellect can often create an indiscernible cloud of solutions for even the simplest problems in life. Here in Wooster, our life is coming at us fast – and we are back to the basics to keep things moving forward as we approach a busy fall!

The crops are in the ground at 8619 West Old Lincoln Way, and while spring may have just begun, preparing for this fall’s sale season is a job starts right away. Preparing to sell your livestock is a yearlong task. It starts in the breeding barn, and just like the work on the farm, it never ends. Getting on top of the game and staying there requires constant effort. Here are a few quick thoughts to help you prepare for a successful sale season this fall.

Advertising Issues
Advertising deadlines always seem to creep up on us from behind and spring into our lap at the very last, and likely most inconvenient, moment. Preparing your advertising budget and plan now should help to alleviate a lot of stress come August. If you sell your livestock early in the fall, now is the time to be putting your ads together for publication, as the deadlines for the summer issues are already approaching at a rapid pace.

New and Different
Looking for a change this year? Need to try something new and/or different? It can take quite a while to pull a successful plan together, and there is no better time than the present to make your plans for fall events. Finding the ‘hook’ you are looking for to make your operation stand out from the crowd can be challenging, but getting a good start with your plans and ideas now will give you plenty of time to set the hook on a big catch this fall.

Sell Yourself, Sell your Stock
As the time to market your livestock approaches and you look forward to cashing the dividends of your labor, remember that you have a lot more to sell than just your calf crop. Your breeding program, your knowledge and your history of success all add value to the product you have to offer this year. Don’t be afraid to sell yourself right alongside your livestock. Often times, the people that come with the stock are just as important as the stock itself!

Each summer, we travel to about 30 hog shows between state fairs, county fairs, jackpots and national type conferences. Some days we show, some days we judge, sometimes we take pictures and sometimes we sit on the sidelines and take it all in.

As we approach the summer shows, I’m reminded of all the individual and group effort that is required to provide this forum for our youth, our breeds, and our businesses. You know the people that make this happen – the judges, the county agents, the moms and dads that run the scales, and the ag teachers that check us in. These folks have a difficult and often times thankless job, yet they do so much good for all of us who are involved.

The livestock show is in many ways the institutional unit of our businesses. For those of us who raise show animals for fun or profit, be thankful for all of the workers and volunteers across the country making each and every one of these events possible. As another spring sale season comes to a close, and with the summer shows just around the corner, be thankful for those who make our livelihoods possible.

Be sure to reach out and lend a helping hand at your next show. After all, the livestock business is a great business, but most importantly it is a great people business.

It’s finally here! There is green grass in the front pasture! My horses are certainly mowing through it in a timely fashion too! I am thankful to have had such a great spring this year, and the green grass always reminds me of all of the good things to come in the months ahead. With the rising cost of everything, and so many negative thoughts the center of our daily conversations, I think it’s an appropriate time we focus on the green grass for a while.

When I was younger, I would spend a fair amount of time worrying about all of the things I didn’t or couldn’t have. Like some folks we all know, I could find the downside in even the brightest situation. One particularly tough day my parents told me I should sit down and make a list of all the good things in my life. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I actually heeded their advice for a change and made a list of all the things in my life for which I was grateful. Low and behold, my list was a lot longer than I expected. Here are a few of the things I recall from my list:

Family
My dog
Friends
Hogs/animals
Wildlife
The outdoors
Farming
Food
Health

And the list continues for quite a while.

Whenever I get a little down, or times get a little tough, I read this list to remind myself of all of the great blessings I get to enjoy each and every day. The grass is awful green in the front pasture, and as time goes on, with the summer months and a fall wedding ahead, my grass just keeps getting greener. Be thankful for the good things in your life. I bet you’ll find the grass is pretty green on your side of the fence as well!

It’s finally here! There is green grass in the front pasture! My horses are certainly mowing through it in a timely fashion too! I am thankful to have had such a great spring this year, and the green grass always reminds me of all of the good things to come in the months ahead. With the rising cost of everything, and so many negative thoughts the center of our daily conversations, I think it’s an appropriate time we focus on the green grass for a while.

When I was younger, I would spend a fair amount of time worrying about all of the things I didn’t or couldn’t have. Like some folks we all know, I could find the downside in even the brightest situation. One particularly tough day my parents told me I should sit down and make a list of all the good things in my life. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I actually heeded their advice for a change and made a list of all the things in my life for which I was grateful. Low and behold, my list was a lot longer than I expected. Here are a few of the things I recall from my list:

Family
My dog
Friends
Hogs/animals
Wildlife
The outdoors
Farming
Food
Health

And the list continues for quite a while.

Whenever I get a little down, or times get a little tough, I read this list to remind myself of all of the great blessings I get to enjoy each and every day. The grass is awful green in the front pasture, and as time goes on, with the summer months and a fall wedding ahead, my grass just keeps getting greener. Be thankful for the good things in your life. I bet you’ll find the grass is pretty green on your side of the fence as well!