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Pulling Together
by Darrell D. Anderson
A man was lost while driving through the country. As he tried to read a map, he accidentally drove off the road into a ditch. Though he wasn’t injured, his car was stuck deep in the mud. So the man walked to a nearby farm to ask for help.
“Warwick can get you out of that ditch,” said the farmer, pointing to an old mule standing in a field. The man looked at the haggardly mule and looked at the farmer who just stood there repeating, “Yep, old Warwick can do the job.” The man figured he had nothing to lose. The two men and Warwick made their way back to the ditch.
The farmer hitched the mule to the car. With a snap of the reins, he shouted, “Pull, Fred! Pull, Jack! Pull, Ted! Pull, Warwick!” And the mule pulled the car from the ditch with very little effort. The man was amazed. He thanked the farmer, patted the mule and asked, “Why did you call out all those other names before you called Warwick?”
The farmer grinned and said, “Old Warwick is just about blind. As long as he believes he’s part of a team, he doesn’t mind pulling.”
Now, I know what you’re thinking – Darrell’s really getting old and he doesn’t realize he wrote about “Team Purebred” just last month. On the contrary, I vividly remember what I said about how all segments of our industry need to work together and support each other. What I didn’t realize was that I was going to witness such an incredible display of “pulling together” at our joint Summer Type Conference and National Junior Summer Spectacular in Louisville.
It was only six years ago at an NSR Executive Committee meeting that serious discussion took place about the possibility of canceling the STC, as it appeared there simply wasn’t the support from the breeders to hold this event. Then came the idea of combining it with a national junior event – fast forward to last month, when record numbers of junior exhibitors participated at Louisville, and the STC enjoyed the highest grossing breeding stock sale in NSR history! What made it work? It was the supreme example of teamwork – of all segments of our industry “pulling together.”
While the concept of a National Junior Summer Spectacular was birthed prior to our long-range strategic planning process, it was greatly enhanced and expanded with the creation of the full-time Director of Junior Activities position and the input from the Youth Advisory Board. From very meager beginnings, this event has grown to include 575 participants this year from 26 states. Their gilt show included nearly 700 purebred gilts from our four breeds, and it may have been the most competitive gilt show ever held. According to a survey taken of the participants this year, 50% of the gilts exhibited were raised and 50% were purchased. Those are encouraging figures when you consider the impact those purchases had for many NSR members this spring. I’m also encouraged by the other 50% who have invested in either bred gilts or have established a breeding program of their own. Who knows which ones of those young people will be the next generation of breeders that may impact the future of our industry?
I was so very proud of all the adults who volunteered their time, talents, and dollars to make this event so successful. While I don’t know the exact number, Jennifer has indicated that there were in excess of 150 volunteers who served in some capacity at Louisville. Many were involved in the skillathon, where junior exhibitors were tested on their knowledge of the pork industry, or the judging contest, speech contest, photo contest or showmanship contest. While some were supportive parents, many were breeders, allied industry representatives, or extension staff members, who gave freely of their time – even on a holiday! Some of the “team” supported the event with dollars as sponsors, or purchasers in the silent auction or the calendar auction.
The bottom line is this – when the $7,000 in sweepstakes awards had been given out on Saturday morning, and we had honored our country with the singing of “God Bless America,” we had assembled the greatest “team” in the purebred industry at ringside. With 575 junior members, their parents, all the major boar studs, and hundreds of NSR members in attendance, we were poised to “pull together” and see what our team could accomplish. The result was an incredible sale with maybe the best “trio” of Champion boars that we’ve ever assembled. Those three boars grossed $340,000, but more importantly, hopefully will significantly impact the future genetic improvement of our breeds. I would like to thank each one of you that helped make this event so memorable – it was a great example of “Team Purebred” at its best!
