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Prove Them Wrong
by Jennifer Shike
Livestock shows have something to prove. The bur-den is on us to show the public that livestock shows are worthwhile because they teach responsibility and encourage a strong work ethic. It’s time for us to stand up for what is right at these livestock shows and use those leadership skills we are gaining from raising and exhibiting a livestock project. The truth is there are more people in this country who are against livestock shows than there are people who are for livestock shows. With this in mind, isn’t it time to set them straight?
Put yourself in their shoes. With all the negative press that livestock shows received this summer, who wouldn’t question the value of these events? At the Iowa State Fair, questions of ownership were brought up on both the grand and reserve grand champion 4-H market lambs. These youth withdrew their titles when 4-H officials questioned the lambs’ ownership histories. In the steer show, the fair board tried to take away the title from the 2002 grand champion 4-H market steer because his nose print did not match the nose print taken in December 2001 when the steer was registered with 4-H.
Where have all our values gone? Why do some livestock exhibitors turn to cheating instead of working harder to make a better project or set their goals on doing better next year? Well, lately I’ve had my question answered. I’ve heard many youth explain why they have to cheat or bend the truth a little in order to win. These same kids even admit they don’t enjoy cheating or telling little white lies, but they are tired of getting beat by people who cheat and win. I’m tired of it, too. But, I’m more tired of listening to the excuse “I have to do whatever it takes to win.”
We’ve seen this before. Think back to the mid ‘90s when the press had a feeding frenzy on youth livestock shows. I remember reading about one father who admitted giving his 10-year-old daughter’s steer clenbuterol so she could compete on a national level. He said, “We’ve had people that tried to get us to use it for years and we refused. We wanted nothing to do with it. But, we were getting beat by cattle that were on it, people that were trying to sell it to us. I was just trying to give her an equal advantage, not an unequal advantage.”
I think we can all read this and agree that this father went too far in order to win. He compromised the safety of our food supply when he illegally drugged his daughter’s steer. And while cheating is supposedly on the decline since the scandals of the mid ‘90s, we are still hearing stories every day about cheating and lying in the show ring.
In reality, what is the difference between this story and falsifying a pedigree? What’s the difference between this story and lying about a gilt’s birthdate? What is the difference between this story and feeding a breeding gilt unapproved feed additives? While the consequences of these actions are different, the motive is still the same – compromise integrity in order to win. But, the reality is we are feeding into the theory that it’s o.k. to bend the rules if you win in the end. We are teaching our children that rules only matter to a certain point. When you start to compromise your values and falsify a pedigree, you make it that much easier to do something bigger next time in order to win.
I realize that my beliefs are my beliefs. I cannot make anyone take on these beliefs as their own. But I want people to realize that our youth want to do the right thing. They just need good role models to show the way. I have been approached by many youth this summer who are hungering for someone to stand up for values and ethics in livestock shows.
No one ever promised it would be easy to have integrity and values in the society we live in today. No one ever said it would be fun to finish second behind someone who lied about their gilt’s birthdate. But, if livestock shows are going to survive, then we need people who aren’t afraid to finish second by doing things the right way.
Unfortunately, we can’t go back and fix the mistakes of past generations. We can only pick up the pieces, build a better ship and sail on. We have to learn from their mistakes. We’ve seen proof that the actions of a few can break down a good thing. The National Junior Swine Association is a good thing. Our program sincerely desires to give youth rewards for achieving excellence in the show ring. We believe livestock shows do teach youth many valuable lessons including responsibility and work ethic. We want to help these youth develop leadership skills and a sense of values that they can stick by throughout life.
The reality is the NJSA is susceptible to the effects of cheating and a lack of ethics within our membership. Our program must be centered around core values if we expect it to survive and flourish. We need people to look at our shows and know that the winning gilts are the real thing – that indeed, our gilts are what they are supposed to be, that they really are the age the exhibitor turned in, and that they were cared for responsibly and ethically.
You are not just affecting yourself when you choose to let “the crowd” affect your decisions when exhibiting and raising livestock. Your actions affect your family, your friends, your community, the swine industry and the NJSA. We have many enemies out there trying to eliminate livestock shows because they fear what kids today are putting into their animals. They fear the youth who will do “whatever it takes to win” will compromise our food supply.
Prove them wrong. Let’s show society that the NJSA stands for something. If we aren’t standing up for integrity and ethics, what do we really have?
