Proud...And Proud of It

I am proud.

Proud to be a farmer.

Proud of Miniature Herefords. 

Proud to be a Miniature Hereford farmer.

​Everywhere you go you will find someone with an opinion.  And, unfortunately, the most opinionated are the ones that usually choose to share that opinion. 

​In this industry, there are so many differences in cattle, that you will find an overabundance of strong opinions.  Some cattle farmers have a little bit of everything, but a lot of farmers are true to one particular breed.  And they usually feel very strongly about that breed.

There are a lot of people that scoff at that, but that is O.K..  I don’t care what others think because they aren’t me.  Who says you have to be like everyone else. 

​If everyone was the same, this life would get pretty boring.  If all cattle were the same…the pastures would look pretty boring too.

​​Every farmer is proud of their animals…and they should be.  If you are not proud of your product and what you work so hard for, then you have a problem.  Too much of your time, energy and life are put into these cattle to not love them.

We raise little cattle, and we have had our fair share of laughs, looks, scowls and plain rude comments.  So what do you do about these neigh-sayers?

Don’t worry about those that don’t agree with you.  These are your cattle that you bought with your own money…not theirs.  You own and take care of these animals, so the only opinion that really matters is your own.  

This was the very first calf born on our farm.  Look at those happy faces and tell me we didn't make the right choice.

Most people don’t just randomly spend thousands of dollars on something for no reason. 

We bought Miniature Herefords for a specific reason.  For us, that reason was that we have a very small farm. 

We can actually have a breeding program with Miniature Herefords.  Could we have opted for full-sized cattle?  Sure, we could go out each year and buy a couple of full-sized cows, but we don’t have enough land to breed our own (well, maybe one or two). 

We made the choice to have our own breeding program instead of dropping dollars on someone else’s breeding.  Is that wrong for someone else?  Of course not, but this is the decision that we made. 

Are we proud of that? 

Absolutely. 

​We have bred some pretty nice animals and continue to improve the quality of our herd.  Something that we could not do if we hadn’t chosen miniature cattle.  

​When given the opportunity, take a moment to educate. 

People are generally not receptive to the things they don’t understand.  Many people do not understand miniature cattle. 

Kindly educate them. 

You will not change everyone’s opinion, but you may change one. 

​One by one we will make a difference.

Maybe you don’t have Miniature Herefords.  Does being proud still apply to you?  Of course. 

Be proud of the animals you raise. 

Be proud of the animal you purchased.  This is your animal.  If you won’t be proud, who will? 

Be proud that you earned the money to purchase this animal…even if it isn’t the greatest quality. 

Be proud that you bred this animal and it is better than it’s mamma. 

There will always be a better animal and a bigger wallet than yours, but who cares?  We all have to start somewhere and if there isn’t room to move up the ladder, what is the point?

If you love your cows, show the world that you love them. 

Be proud of your animals. 

If someone else wants to laugh or make fun of you, let them. 

Remember, the problem is theirs, not yours. 

And if you are one of the neigh-sayers or mockers…shame on you. 

Never forget where you came from, and instead, pull up along-side and offer a helping hand (but please don’t be opinionated about it).  

And…I bet your great grandpa raised Herefords…that were not much bigger than mine.  

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