Jumping in head first… I guess you can say it’s a bad habit of mine. I wanted to get involved and be a part of NCBA. I was directed to the path of YPC and the Cattle Call Blog. What do you write a blog about? I decided to go with what I know.

After graduating from college a little over a year ago, I realize every day just how much I don’t know. As far as the beef industry is concerned, I know even less. I didn’t grow up on a ranch. I did get my nose broken by a 4H steer, but that is another story.

So what do I know that might be of interest... that is the question.

Got it…disclaimer: be prepared to laugh and not take this too seriously.

How to date a kid from a ranch…or rather, what to expect when dating a rancher.

By Meghan Wooldridge

I didn’t say anything about the “m-word” that usually involves a diamond in some form, which for the record, is not something happening in the foreseeable future. If someone feels so inspired, they can tackle that subject in another blog.

My rancher lives about three hours away from me.  Living apart does provide its share of challenges. My birthday falls at a less than conducive time of the year: March 2. I have learned to accept that the chances of him coming to take me to a nice dinner at this time are slim to none. However, there is a great chance that he will spend my birthday with a bunch of other females, many he probably even knocked up. By the way, they also weigh 1,000 pounds and chew their cud.

 Former Heifer with AI calf at side.

I have to say I feel a genuine connection to the Verizon commercials… can you hear me now? Living on the plains of Eastern Colorado means phone service is comparable to Christina Aguilera’s national anthem rendition at the Superbowl. Some of the words don’t come out right and the quality is at best, questionable. I have realized he is not ignoring my calls (at least he better not be), but he probably is on the wrong side of the hill or isn’t holding his tongue just right to get a signal. If I avoid leaving a rude voicemail and have a little bit of patience, he will call me back when he can.

Another aspect of our dating life that requires patience and down right diligence is waiting for an answer to a question or confirmation of plans. Let me explain how this usually plays out:

 “What are you up to this weekend? Would you like to come visit?”

Response: “Not sure.”

Friday night about 3pm text message: “Hey, I think I will come up this weekend.”

We have both learned to compromise on this issue and after three years have made a great deal of progress in this department. I make about a hundred decisions a second and if I can get him to make one a day, we get along fine.

When he does finally make it to town, it can be a bit treacherous driving with him. I do have to remind him that red does mean stop and there are not many “slow down and look both ways” intersections where I live.

The next point really has nothing to do with the actual rancher himself, but how I am viewed as a woman dating a rancher.

We were out looking at some bulls one weekend and ended up going to lunch with the older couple. After a nice visit about college and cattle, the woman asked me if I was enjoying pursuing my MRS degree. At first I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.  Then it hit me and it kind of felt like someone had popped my self-assured, semi-feminist bubble. She meant how did it feel to find someone that would be what she considered a “good match” to marry (become a Mrs. Rancher). I reverted back to my default reaction, smile and nod. I never went to college with the intention of finding a husband. I wanted to take over the world by myself. I realize now that she really meant no harm, just merely made a comment that stems from her belief that women should go to college to find a husband. Next time I hope to be better prepared.

At the end of most days, no really, every day, I love my ranch kid.  This is not a task for the faint hearted, but I plan to stick around as long as he will tolerate me.

Do you know the reason Bill Clinton spent so much time trying to define what “is” is?

The reason lies with the simple truth that words matter.  All good politicians and bureaucrats know the value of crafting not just an accurate message but a polished and perfect message.  They are communicating to the voting masses and do not want to risk offending a single one of them.  So they strive to be honest yet as polite as possible in order to keep every vote.  However, there are millions of people who vote everyday with their pocketbooks on your livelihood and we talk to them with phrases that will ensure they vote for our opponents!

We must revisit the issue of how we describe ourselves.  Words that hurt our image with consumers have changed in the last 20-plus years.  In the 1970’s and 80’s “agribusiness” was popular.  Computerized farming and ranching signaled to the consumer that we were modern and sophisticated, just like them.  So we began calling ourselves “producers” and “growers” in order to appeal to their preferences.  We still refer to ourselves that way and we all More...