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Cheaters Out Of Honest People
by Darrell Anderson
It was a cold crisp evening in southern Minnesota, as most evenings are in late December. A young teenage boy headed to the lambing barn to check the ewes before he accompanied his folks to the New Year’s Eve service at their church. Much to his surprise when he opened the barn door, his favorite ewe had given birth to a monster of a lamb that had “purple” written all over her. He had studied pedigrees for months and had purchased a new ram that he was very excited about and couldn’t wait to see his first offspring, especially the mating with this particular ewe. He could tell she had already nursed, so he quickly penned her up and headed to the house to share the news with his folks.
He had a real problem concentrating during that church service. All he could think about was how much fun it was going to be showing that ewe lamb. Since she was a big single, and she was “bred in the purple,” he just knew she would be tough to beat. Of course, she would be much more competitive if she was recorded as being born on January 1 instead of December 31, since all sheep classes are broken by the first of January. In fact, she wasn’t even eligible to be shown in 4-H classes if she was born on December 31. Surely his Dad would realize that if he hadn’t checked the barn before going to church, they wouldn’t have known she was born before midnight. He couldn’t wait to talk to his Dad about the subject.
On the way home from church, he gently surfaced the subject by mentioning how much more competitive she would be if they recorded her on January 1, and how she was only a few hours away from that anyway. His Dad listened to the ramblings, then turned and said, “And if you have a ‘great one’ next year born a few days early, will that be o.k. too? Or maybe even a few weeks? No son, she was born on the 31st and that will be the day she is recorded.” They didn’t talk about the subject again!
It’s been nearly 40 years since I had that conversation with my Dad, but it obviously made a big impression in my life. It’s been 23 years since I’ve had the opportunity to have any conversations with my Dad, since he went Home in 1980, but if I could talk to him today, I’d tell him how much I appreciate the values and integrity that he taught me by his daily life. He truly was a “key influencer” in my life!
In contrast, at a recent Youth Advisory Board meeting, one of the board members shared the following quote with me regarding a pedigree requirement on the purebred barrow classes at a major stock show – “this pedigree requirement has made cheaters out of honest people!” No really, that is what he was told by an ag teacher or maybe even a parent or both. It’s been six weeks since he told me that, and it has been ringing in my ears ever since. I guess the implication is that if a show requires a pedigree and you have a “purebred appearing” crossbred, the show has forced you to fabricate a pedigree to allow you to show that hog in the wrong class. I’m sorry, but that does not work for me!
Cheaters are never “forced” into existence. They are the result of years of training and the impact of “key influencers” in peoples’ lives. We use that word – key influencer – a great deal in the commercial services segment of NSR. It refers to the veterinarians, feed dealers, bankers, and packers that have a great influence in the outcome of decisions made by commercial producers. I think it is very relevant in the youth segment as well, as parents, ag teachers, 4-H leaders, and breeders can all assume the role of a key influencer in the lives of the youth we are impacting through the swine project. The only question is whether you will be a “positive key influencer” or a “negative key influencer.” Positive key influencers will reflect high integrity, and you will never find a disparity between their words and their actions. If I can quote the greatest of all influencers from the 12th chapter of Matthew: “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit….For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Integrity is the foundation of the purebred livestock business. If we lose this battle, we might as well close up shop! Is it really worth risking your reputation as a breeder to fudge a few days on a farrowing date? With today’s DNA capabilities, it seems very risky to “cheat” on a pedigree, but I’m not naïve enough to think it doesn’t happen. Is it worse today than ever before? Should I even be writing about it in my editorial? I don’t know – I do know that I’ve struggled more with this editorial than any of the 150 I’ve written previously.
What I do know is that the pedigreed livestock business is the greatest business in the world, and involves some of the greatest people in world. I also know that the vast majority are “just doing the right thing.” But I also know that there are “key influencers” that have gotten their perspective warped somehow. And their actions and their words have the potential to do serious damage to the next generation. As you work alongside your sons and daughters to select your pigs for the upcoming show season, please take advantage of those opportunities to build character. As Tom Gilliam said at the National Market Hog Symposium, we use the hog as a “vehicle” to teach life skills and values. It’s a great method, and many of us owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to those that have helped us along the way.
I guess the bottom line is if we can “make cheaters out of honest people,” surely we can make “honest people out of cheaters!” Let’s all work together in this great partnership to impact the lives of the young people involved in our industry.
