What a Baby Bird Taught Me About Mentoring

I have been thinking a great deal of late on mentoring.  This has been a prominent discussion item during my time as a member of the board of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.  How can young farmers be aided in their development as farm community leaders?  How can young people be encouraged to consider agriculture as a career?  What can we as farmers do to illustrate that agriculture is fun and engaging?  To me, the most important question addresses how we shape young people into the future men and women who will lead our communities and our nation.  

My perspective on mentorship is probably different than most, since I have had the opportunity to work with a bounty of young people.  I thoroughly enjoyed my years as a teacher, I adored teaching my brothers how to do things on the farm, and the time I spent working with my student assistants has allowed me the privilege of interacting with young farmers as they grow in their abilities.  I have had many FFA students work with me to complete their Supervised Agricultural Experience projects, I have had the pleasure of hosting OSU students for internships, and this summer will bring two different visiting students to stay & work on the farm.  Over the years, these young people have become extended members of my family.  I fondly think of them as my kids -- human variety -- and I love keeping up with their adventures!

This year, I have also been blessed with two new "junior farmers"!  My neighbors who live west of the farm are a wonderful family.  Their two youngest are Joseph and Eliza.  Joseph is a very intelligent & industrious young man of 13, and Eliza is adorable 7 year old with beautiful doe eyes & a gap-toothed grin.  If they see me working in the barn, one or both will often pop over to see if they can help out.  I thoroughly enjoy their company, and have been impressed with how much they have learned over the last few months.  Joseph was an indispensable aide to me while I was in Wyoming, by helping out with the morning chores.  I have been especially pleased to observe the manner in which Joseph will master a skill or learn something new, and then share it with his younger sister.

Last Friday was a busy day for me as I prepared for the weekend.  I had a planned three hour drive to Van Wert that afternoon, in order to attend the annual educational event "Sheep Day" on Saturday.  On Saturday evening, I was excited to attend a wedding in Lancaster, then I had a catering job scheduled for 6:30am on Sunday.  With all these fun items on my agenda, I was mindful of a short time period for preparation on Friday morning.  Joseph & Eliza arrived at 10:00am to help me with some basic tasks on the farm, which I anticipated would allow me time to pack and organize myself.

Shortly after starting the morning chores, my junior farmers came back to the house.  I was in the midst of a telephone call, but could tell from Joseph's serious expression as he stood at the door that he needed me.  After finishing the conversation, I stepped out to meet him . . . and discovered he was holding in his hands a baby bird.  Joseph explained that he had found it on the ground in the box stall.  The barn swallow's nest (that we had first observed just the afternoon before) had fallen to the ground and was in shambles.  This one baby bird lay all alone.  As I looked at the poor little thing with only tiny feathers, I knew the reality that it would probably starve or be eaten by a cat.  I knew it was simply the way of the world.  I also knew I had to focus on the tasks at hand if I was going to be on time to my meeting later that day.  Then I looked at Eliza's big brown eyes -- so worried for the bird, so full of hope that I would know what to do -- and I realized that there would always be another meeting.  There would never be another chance to capitalize on this opportunity to teach two precious young people.

As luck would have it, I had recently come across some information on handling baby birds -- although at the time I had no idea I would need it so soon!  We searched through the recycling for a suitable plastic container, drilled holes in it so we could use baling twine to hang it, and then carried it to the barn.  We placed some hay in the new "nest".  As Eliza held the bird, I explained to her that we would try to put the replacement nest as close to the previous nest as possible.  Even though we could not feed & teach the baby bird ourselves, we could at least try to put in a position where its mama bird could find it.  We discussed that all animals are different, and since this was a wild animal, it was best that we help it stay wild.  Joseph manfully helped prepare the nest for hanging, and then steadied the ladder as I tied it up and placed the bird in it.  Just as we vacated the box stall, a swallow flew through.  Eliza was delighted that this could be mama returning!

I was -- of course! -- late for everything that day, but the baby bird was only the first item that delayed my schedule.  I love being a farmer, and I believe that it is my responsibility to contribute to our farm community by supporting organizations that look after the best interests of farmers . . . and part of that responsibility is going to meetings.  But more important than that is my responsibility to help teach boys and girls who are interested in farming.  While I am proud to raise livestock, I am much more proud to help raise the young men & women who will be the future of our country.  Those of us who farm are so incredibly blessed to be involved in a truly noble endeavor.  We were fortunate enough to have someone teach us how to farm, how to be a contributing citizen, how to be a good human -- and now it is our responsibility and our great opportunity to help those who follow us learn these same things!

Hog Skinning -- or Adventures on the Kill Floor

In a slaughterhouse, the area where an animal is bled out and skinned is known by the very fancy name of "kill floor". Many slaughterhouses that do a large number of hogs will have a unit that dips the hog carcass in scalding hot water. The hairs on the hide can then be scraped off or tumbled off. Some cultures even prefer their goats to be done in this manner. This leaves the skin on, much like a chicken would be prepared.

With my hogs, I chose to skin them. I relied on my student assistant/adopted son Big Al to aid me in removing the skin. We placed the pigs in a "cradle", which holds them elevated on their backs. This allowed us to take the hide off the legs, and reflect the hide off of the stomach region. From there, we raised the pigs up on a hoist to allow us to cut the hide off the back. The next step is hanging the carcass on a "gambrel": a large hanger that holds the animal during evisceration.

Happy Christmas from the Goats!

This has certainly been a year of changes for me, but during the Christmas Season it is easy to see all the blessings around me! I am incredibly fortunate to have my brother (who is studying in Egypt) visiting the farm for Christmas! It is an absolute joy to be able to share the holiday with the people you love! We are looking forward to seeing our extended family during the Christmas season. God often sends us families that are not connected to us by blood, but rather by love. We are grateful to have many friends who have become family members to us, and we look forward to celebrating with them over Christmas!

I am incredibly blessed to have a group of former student assistants who have become treasured friends of mine, and are truly my "kids"! These are amazing young people who enrich my life and I am so appreciative of their support. We have a great time together, and they are always willing to assist me on the farm when I need extra sets of hands! I am also quite lucky to have my friends Angie & TEC who offer their support to me & the goats! My buck is currently breeding their does, and we are enjoying our "goat partnership". Goat people are great people and Angie & TEC are prime examples of this!

I have been incredibly fortunate this past year to have many educational experiences through the Ohio Farm Bureau, the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, and the American Goat Federation! I have learned a great deal and met amazing individuals in these groups. Many of these professional acquaintances have become treasured friends and I am so delighted to have them in my world! These friends have promoted my farming enterprise and supported me on a personal level, and I cannot offer my thanks sincerely enough!

Every year has its challenges, but this allows us to appreciate the sweetness of life all the more! Raising livestock definitely gives me many opportunities to work on developing patience & fortitude, but I would not change my chosen work for anything! I feel very fortunate to have found flexible part-time jobs that allow me to focus on the farm & my family. I could not do these things without the love & support of all my friends! They are always there as my cheering section, to help in a crisis, and to celebrate life's joys! I am incredibly blessed! I hope that this Christmas season will likewise be one of great happiness for you & yours!

Photo Caption: Celebrating with two of my favorite goatherds!

Butchers' Day Out!

I recently had the pleasure of attending The Ohio State University's second annual Animal Welfare Symposium. My former intern was back in Ohio for a few days, and we planned an educational "girls day" together! Abby & I met when I spoke to her Animal Science 600 class at OSU, and shortly after that we arranged for her to do an internship with me. It was wonderful fun! We both enjoyed it, and I think we spent many of her internship hours out trying lamb chops at different restaurants in Columbus! Abby now works in quality assurance for a major meat processor out of state, so it was a joy to get to spend time with her at the Symposium!

The Animal Welfare Symposium was a very educational event that featured speakers that were researchers, animal behaviorists, veterinarians, etc. I was particularly intrigued by a researcher who reported on her work evaluating the view of consumers on animal issues. One factor that amazed me was termed the "Underdog Theory", as there was a correlation between those in lower socio-economic groups ranking animal welfare concerns highly. The researcher theorized that humans who feel trod upon by society transfer these feelings of oppression to animals, thus resulting in increased desire to treat animals well. A gentleman in the audience raised the point that perhaps this same group would get most of their exposure to animal care issues through television -- which often sensationalizes animal care stories.

The highlight of the day was the opportunity to hear Dr. Temple Grandin speak! HBO recently aired a movie on Dr. Grandin, starring the actress Claire Danes. Dr. Grandin was diagnosed autistic as a child, and had difficulty communicating with humans. This same challenge, however, made her more observant of animal behavior. She now serves as a professor at Colorado State University, and is a leading expert on animal handling. I was quite impressed with the matter-of-fact approach that Dr. Grandin used in discussing animal care. She emphasized the importance of viewing facilities through the animal's perspective and noted that it is the quality of the handling performed by the human -- not the quality of the equipment used -- that matters most. Dr. Grandin offered straight-forward views on management practices. When asked about tail docking in sheep, she noted that it isn't always needed in the cooler climates out West, but -- for Eastern farmers -- tail docking can be an efficient management practice. This is due to the fact that warmer summers encourage flies, which are attracted to matted feces on a sheep's tail. Or, as Dr. Grandin put it, "You don't want to have maggots around their butts! That's nasty!"

The Animal Welfare Symposium was well-organized and I learned a great deal! Providing excellent animal care is important to farmers, and educational opportunities allow us to develop our skills . . . plus they provide wonderful "girls day" inspiration for two lady butchers!