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February/March 2006 Issue
Integrity - what it means to us
by Darrell Anderson
I found it very interesting and somewhat puzzling that the most-frequently looked-up word in Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary was “integrity” in 2005. It ranked above such words as filibuster, refugee and tsunami, which were also in the top 10.
Now, what message should our country take from this realization? Do 200,000 Americans really not know what integrity means? Have the various corrupt actions of Fortune 500 company CEOs stimulated more interest in defining the boundaries of high and low integrity? Or do we have a younger generation searching for the true meaning of integrity, because not many role models have emulated it for them?
It might be all of the above. But for our industry, we need to do some soul-searching regarding the last issue.
Our greatest asset is the young people we work with in our industry. Shame on us if they have not seen examples of high integrity to follow.
It is our responsibility to maintain the integrity and trust that has been handed down to us. Our ability to “pass the baton” to the next generation will be crucial in determining the success of our industry and the ultimate success of the younger generation.
To be sure we’re on the same page, let’s clearly define “integrity.” It might be easiest to go to the thesaurus to find other words that mean the same thing: fairness, honesty, honor, incorruptness, justice, morality, purity, responsibility, trustworthiness, uprightness, virtue and worth.
I’m not sure about you, but for me, those words clearly describe a successful purebred breeder. Yes, that’s right. Those words describe a successful breeder – not if he has sold a $50,000 boar. Not if he has sold club pigs into 25 states. Not even if he has exhibited multiple champions at NSR Type Conferences.
Now don’t misunderstand me; many breeders have done all of the above. But the really successful breeders live by those words that encompass integrity.
As one breeder told me at the Winter Type Conference when I told him that I was going to write this editorial, “Operating with high integrity will yield many returns in the long run and will allow you be successful for a greater length of time.”
After all, isn’t that what this business is all about – the long run?
We’ve all seen breeders in all species of livestock enter the scene with a flurry of “overnight success,” only to see them disappear just as quickly when their true colors are revealed. Let’s face it – the most-essential quality demanded by the purebred industry is “integrity.”
Integrity drives much of our breed improvement. NSR accepts your word that the sire and dam of a particular litter are what you say they are, and that they were farrowed on the date you reported to us.
We accept STAGES data including weights, scan data and weigh dates as you report them to us, with no one watching over your shoulder.
It becomes pretty obvious that without integrity, the purebred industry doesn’t have much to offer.
But the long-term impact we have on the next generation is the greatest reason for setting examples of high integrity.
It saddens me greatly to think about dads and moms that are willing to sacrifice integrity for a couple weeks on a farrowing date or ownership deadline. Is the hope of placing one or two spots higher in a class really worth teaching your young people that it’s OK to stretch the rules and sacrifice your principles?
We need parents and leaders who are willing to make decisions based on convictions, rather than on situational ethics!
We are entering a season of the year that is very exciting, as parents work alongside their young sons and daughters to select this year’s project.
It’s a great time to make memories that will truly last a lifetime with your family. I hope they are memories that you can always look back on with pride, rather than with regrets regarding the examples you set.
Our young people can be taught so many positive qualities and disciplines through the swine project. Pledge to take advantage of them this year.
Let’s use these wonderful creatures God has given us to oversee, and the many opportunities available to us, to build a younger generation that won’t have to look up the word “integrity” in the dictionary. That’s because they’ll be living it every day!
