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July Herdsire 2007 Issue
The wake-up call
by Sam Howell
I feel safe to say that at some point, we have all started our morning thinking it will be just another uneventful day.
I’ve found that just when I expect a routine day, something happens – a wake-up call – that makes me pay close attention to what’s going on around me.
One of those days happened to me at the beginning of April.
For the last few years, April has been one of the busiest months. My mornings are spent “dialing for dollars,” otherwise known as calling for ads for the June Youth issue of Seedstock EDGE. Several of my afternoons are spent driving to pig sales and, of course, working the sale ring in the evenings. Then, I drive back home. It can make for long days.
This particular sale started like all of the rest. I arrived at the sale, laid out the magazines and walked through the barn to look over the stock and visit with the consignors. As the sale began, I made my “good-thing-people-don’t-come-to-the-sale-just-to-hear-this” opening comments, and I took my place by the ring.
As I scanned the crowd, I noticed a family sitting in the front row that I had seen at several pig sales. This family consisted of dad, mom, two teenage daughters and a son who I’m guessing is about a second-year 4-H member. This son seemed to be “all farmer,” wearing a John Deere® cap, a brown Carhartt® jacket and a pair of work boots.
These folks had bid to me at several pig sales, and during this time, I had learned three things: 1. They let their oldest daughter do the bidding (carefully overseen by mom); 2. The pigs they bid on were traditionally some of the better pigs; and 3. About $300 was their limit.
The gilts sold first at this sale, and the barrows followed. If I remember correctly, this family bought a couple of gilts.
We were getting cranked up on the barrows when this heavy-boned, level-made, Chester White barrow entered the ring.
I remember thinking to myself, “If he grows up to look this good in August, he’ll be a player.”
I turned to the crowd to begin taking bids, and it didn’t take me long to figure out why my little farmer friend wearing the John Deere® cap had come to the sale.
His face was lit up like a Christmas tree, and his eyes were as big as silver dollars. He had found the pig of his dreams.
He quickly told his sister, “That’s my pig! That’s the one I want. Bid! Bid!”
His sister began bidding, but unfortunately for my little friend, he wasn’t the only one at the sale who had found the pig. We quickly got to $300, and we didn’t have the bid.
I looked down at his sister. “Sweetheart, we’re out. It’s going to take another $25.”
She looked over to her mom for advice, and the little boy started pleading his case. “Please, mom. Please, please, please bid again!”
The auctioneer could see what was going on and held off selling the pig.
In trying to help the little boy’s case, I told his mom, “I think one more bid will buy this pig.”
Finally, the decision was made. She shook her head “no.” When I asked if she was sure, she said, “Yes.”
The auctioneer said, “Sold!” And, out of the ring the pig went.
The pig hadn’t made it all the way out of the ring before tears started streaming down the little boy’s face. He leaned forward, put his elbows on his knees and put his face in his hands, so that no one could see that he was crying.
He stayed in this position for the remainder of the sale.
I don’t mind telling you that my trip back home to Peoria, Ill., that night after the sale was the quickest 100 miles I ever drove. Not because I was exceeding the speed limit, but because I couldn’t get my mind off this broken-hearted, disappointed little boy.
Obviously, we all know this won’t be the last disappointment this little boy will face in his lifetime. Maybe, just maybe, this experience will, in some way, prepare him for greater challenges in his life.
I hope, as an industry, we never get to the point where we think that the most important aspect of our business is how the chine bone lays, how bold ribbed a hog is, or how much muscle he has.
First and foremost, we need to remember who our customers really are – little boys and little girls who have feelings and emotions. Their broken hearts are real, their disappointments are real, and I’ll guarantee their tears are real.
Who would have known that this ordinary day would end with a wake-up call?
