Putting My Passion First

As I have posted before, I "lost" a local pageant in September. After that, I decided that I was done with pageants. I hated feeling like I had done better than the results showed. I also wanted to just eat whatever I wanted and start working out for fun instead of for a goal. So I was done. My competitiveness clouded my judgement and what was really important to me.

But then I attended a Dairy Girl Network event in Sioux Falls in November. For two days, I watched amazing and inspirational women in the dairy industry with similar goals and dreams speak and it was like they were talking directly to me.

Dairy Carrie with my friend Chelsea and I after her presentation .

Before one of the sessions, these two women sitting next to me asked if I had ever been a dairy princess and I shared that I had been a butterhead in 2012. Then I told them how now I held a local crown within the Miss American Organization, and I was still promoting dairy with it. They got so excited and one of them said "you have to keep doing it." My heart smiled as they spoke and I knew at that moment that yes, I HAD to keep doing it. Then the very next speaker, Dairy Carrie, showed a video of the main actress in Bones, Emily Deschanel, one of my favorite shows. She was speaking on behalf of PETA. After that video, I just had this weird feeling that if I just gave up on promoting my platform in pageants, PETA won. (Sounds crazy, but it was the push I needed.)

So when I step on that stage this Saturday and Sunday competing for Miss Rapid City, I will put everything I have out there. I will not be afraid of not walking away without a crown because by just performing my talent, I will have shown what dairy farming truly is to an room full of people, hopefully encouraging them to support their local community by buying dairy products. I will know that I have put nothing before my love of promoting the dairy industry and my cows. Nothing, not even a cheeseburger or pizza, nor a night I just did not want to go to the gym, nor my fear of losing again, nothing!

7342, my favorite heifer on the SDSU Dairy Farm.

On a dairy farm, cows come first. In my heart, cows come first. So when I get on that stage, cows will come first and nothing else will matter because Monday morning I will be with the cows once again and they will love me no matter what, crown or no crown. And if I have the honor of winning that title, I would be more than pleased to promote dairy across this wonderful state of South Dakota.

Your Neighbor's Opinion - Antibiotic Use in Animals

For a moment, I would like you to picture yourself as farmer. You're milking your cows when you come across a cow that is not feeling well. Her udder is hot to the touch, it appears red, and her milk is not normal. She has mastitis, the most common infection on a dairy farm. However, just because it is more common does not make it any less serious. She is in pain and you want to treat that as soon as possible. You, as a farmer, care deeply for the health of your cows. The next step would be to administer some antibiotics to get rid of the infection as fast as possible so she can start feeling better. Now if people have their way and make it impossible for us, as farmers, to give our animals antibiotics, she would just have to suffer through the mastitis. Hopefully, her body would be able to overcome the infection, if not, she would have to be put down.

One of my favorite calves, Monica, and I, working up close and personal to ensure she is healthy.

Now, picture yourself as a parent. Your child has a very painful sinus infection. The doctor has prescribed antibiotics to help heal your child as soon as possible. But your neighbor has decided that you cannot give your child antibiotics because they do not feel that it is right. Your neighbor does not have to watch your child suffer, your neighbor doesn't have to deal with the consequences of this decision, but they are louder than you and now make the rules. This is how farmers feel about antibiotics. People who have never been on a farm or worked closely with animals are restricting us from helping these animals we care so much for. We are the ones that have to watch them struggle through the pain, we are the ones that have to deal with the consequences of loosing an animal. So please rethink your opinion on antibiotics in animals. We only administer them when the animal is sick and needs it, just like a doctor would for your child. These animal are not just our livelihoods, they mean more to us than you know.

Just Trying to Live a Childhood Dream

My grandma, my sister, and I showing off our close relationship.

A blue tractor, nineties country playing on the radio, a field full of beautiful alfalfa, ready to be cut, my butt bouncing around in the "passengers" or "buddy" seat of the tractor, and my strong, well worn, stubborn, funny Grandpa with his hands on the wheel. I never had a babysitter growing up. My parents would take us to spend the day with my grandparents. This would include ice cream at 9am, probably where my ice cream addition came from, tractor rides, helping feed corn to the cows, and of course, my sister and I both sitting on the lawnmower seat to ensure we were heavy enough to start it and would leave Grandma in our dust.

My first show heifer, Midnight, and I.

 Agriculture is in my blood, my family has been farming for generation after generation. And even though my parents both have off the farm full time jobs, we still have cattle, goats, chickens and various other farm animals that happen to show up. When I was nine, I got my first cow, Dottie. And from there, I fell head over heels for cows. Now a days, not only do they cover my walls and jewelry, they also motivate me in the mornings when I feed them, they remind me why I am here in South Dakota and why I strive to learn as much as I can.

My very first calf, Dottie and I.

Yes, I could be anything I want. Yes, there are many opportunities in Agriculture to be more than "just a farmer." But being "just a farmer," would be a dream come true. Working day in and day out with cattle and feeding the nation with delicious and nutritious dairy products is exactly what I want, and I couldn't imagine a more perfect job.

Runny Noses: Not Just for Humans

It is that time of year again, where the seasons are changing and it seems that everyone is getting a cold. And as it turns out, cows seem to get colds around this time of the year too.

I am one of the Fall cold victims myself and today at work, this beautiful little girl had a runny nose too. Just like I will do for myself, we'll keep an eye on her to make sure that it does not turn into anything more serious. Now if it does, the vet will be called to diagnose her and together we will set a plan of action for her to get back to being healthy and happy. Now if it does get more serious, this is where I would be very happy that vets are able to give antibiotics, just like doctors are. If I were to get a sinus infection, I would definitely want antibiotics, just like this little lady would be if she got an infection. Hopefully, however, both of our immune systems take over and we will be back to being healthy very soon!

So I "Lost" a Local...

A year ago all I knew about Miss America was the name. I had no idea what all went on behind the seasons. Then one random day in February, I decided to sign up for Miss SDSU/Miss Brookings pageant, not even knowing at the time that it was affiliated with Miss America or even Miss South Dakota. By some stroke of God, I won and went on to compete at Miss South Dakota.

Two weekends ago, I competed for Miss State Fair. Only my second local. I was so nervous. I had won my first title by pure beginners luck and I was afraid to lose a local. But I did. I "lost." I won the interview and a very honorable award (the Kind Heart Award), but I was not given a title, nor was I even a runner up. It hit me like a hurricane. I had no idea what I had done wrong. Then I looked at the video that my boyfriend had recorded to send to my family because they weren't able to make it. Simply by losing, I was able to see myself for what the judges saw. I was able to truly look at my flaws and see how much progress I have made from the beginning, but also how far I still have to go. And who knows, I may lose again, and again, and again. And each time will be a learning experience for me, keeping me grounded. Who would have thought that it would take "losing" for me to see my true self and for once, I am grateful to not have walked away a "winner." I am excited for whatever may lie ahead and for more learning and growing experiences.

Why I stay in Sigma Alpha!

So I could write about all of the crazy serious reasons that I wanted to join that I told the Sigma Alpha, Omega Chapter in the spring of 2013. About how I wanted to gain professionalism and connections within agriculture. Or I could write about how I really just joined because as a eager freshman I joined anything that would look good on a resume and an upperclassmen told me to.

But instead, I am going to write about why I stay in Sigma Alpha. Yes, I have gained a whole new insight into the professional world and yes, it does look good on a resume, but none of that is important when I am stressed out and busy, and still have to go to a meeting every Tuesday night.

My wonderful little, Hailee.

I go because every Tuesday night, I get the privilege of walking into a room full of bright intelligent women who all love agriculture just as much as I do. I get to hammer out details of a plan with different minds and view points, learning to compromise. I get to spend time with my amazing "little" sister, who most certainly brightens my day and reminds me so much of my biological little sister. I may have never met Hailee had it not been for Sigma. I get to sit and worry about the test I have the next day with my fellow sisters, or I get a reality check when one of them looses a close friend and my problems don't really seem that hard anymore. The structural pieces of Sigma Alpha are important, but what is more important are the women that stand next to me each meeting as we open with our objective and close with a prayer. We may not all be best friends, but we all are their for the betterment of each other, our sorority as a whole and agriculture. I am very proud to be a member of Sigma Alpha!

Visit our Facebook page for more info: Sigma Alpha - Omega Chapter
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The Difference Between Learning for a Test and Learning for Knowledge

I took my first Advanced Placement course when I was a junior in High School, the whole time I heard "this will be on the test." The second half of my high school career was learning for the sake of preparing for a test. All I had to do was take in a bunch of information until the beginning of May and then it could all be forgotten at the completion of "the test." Unfortunately, due to this mindset, I looked at college this way as well, only seeming to take in what I thought would be on a test. And I feel as though my classmates are doing the same thing, but then I spent a summer learning for the sake of gaining the knowledge and it opened my mind to a whole new world.

This past summer I had an internship with Cargill Animal Nutrition, as a dairy focused consultant intern. I worked with so many great minds in dairy nutrition that were bound and determined to help me grow as an individual and as a student. Over the summer, I spent so many days learning the ins and outs of the science behind dairy cattle nutrition. There was no test to prepare for, no homework to turn in. The only goal was to learn and understand more of what my future might hold.

Some beautiful cows from this summer indulging in their delicious TMR/breakfast.

As I start my senior year of college, I find myself reading and listening to lectures more closely, and asking questions because I'm curious, not because it is going to be on a test. I now want to go to class because I want more knowledge, not because I want the letter A on my transcript. College is not simply a stepping stone to great things, it is our present, our right now. From now on, I'm going to live in the present and soak up every ounce of that $15,000 a year education.