Life Lessons Learned in the Fall, By Dale Sandlin

The fall season for most people is a respite from the heat, a changing of the leaves, and the dreaded pumpkin spice being used indiscriminatingly in kitchens and food items across the country. Growing up in the South, though, the heat doesn’t dissipate and football is the universal constant. College football, especially the Southeastern Conference, has the power to bring a rise out of anyone. In our office alone, there are four different SEC schools represented. This generates more than enough banter throughout the year, beginning with the pre-season prognostications: Which team has the better recruiting class? Which team returns the most starters? Can this team repeat last year’s performance? All of these questions are eventually answered throughout the course of the season – but usually not without a little luck for some and a lot of heartache for others.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I attended Texas A&M and I’m a rabid fan. Maroon blood runs through my veins, and with both of my parents being Aggies, I didn’t really have a choice. Luckily for me, I didn’t need one to attend A&M. With that said, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to be disappointed over the years watching the Maroon and White. It’s been 83 years (yes, UGA fans, consider doubling the amount of time that y’all went between National Championships) since A&M won their last national championship back in 1939. We’ve had bright spots in recent years – including the Wrecking Crew defense of the 1980s, the electrifying play of Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, and most recently a complete culture shift with the addition of Jimbo Fisher as our head coach.

When Jimbo was hired, the discussion began as to what he was bringing from his past experience at other schools and how that would change the program. I knew that we’d found the right fit from a culture perspective when Dave Campbell’s Texas Football featured Jimbo in jeans and boots in the film room on the cover. It has also been said that actions speak louder than words; while that is certainly true, what you say has a way of developing the desired action as well. There are five key components that Jimbo has been preaching to the A&M football team since his arrival: toughness, effort, discipline, pride and grit. Each has its own meaning, but together they culminate in a central product: success. These can be applied to the cattle industry as well.

Toughness: For a football team, that means getting back up after you are knocked down and getting ready to keep on playing. As cattle producers, we have to be tough if we want to succeed in our industry – tough, since we are always at the mercy of Mother Nature, predators, and unforeseen concerns that might arise on our farms.

Effort: As a player, you have to put in the effort, or it shows on the field. For our industry, the effort is seen in the end-product. If we don’t follow guidelines such as those within BQA, this could cause a reduction in the quality of the beef we produce. Effort is also seen in the care we take in preserving our natural resources. It is easy to see that a producer takes care in his or her herd, sometimes by just driving by their operations.

Discipline: In football, you have to have discipline to perform consistently. The same can be said for cattle producers. Being disciplined in your approach to herd health can be the difference in the quality of the cattle that you produce.

Pride: Football elicits pride in many ways through the actions of the fan’s team: how they win, how they lose, their attitude on and off the field. Their pride in the way that they play and the care that they take tells a lot about a player as well. Similarly, it is easy to see when someone cares about his or her operation – whether that is how the pastures look, how the equipment is maintained, or the condition of the cattle. A common phrase in our industry is, “Good fences make good neighbors”; in everything that I’ve experienced, that is certainly true.

Grit: Grit is defined by Merriam-Webster as, “firmness of mind or spirit: unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger.” In football, grit is often displayed by those players that are overmatched by their opponent, either by size or skill. Players have to approach this obstacle undaunted by the challenge if they expect to win. John Wayne said, “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” We should be willing to face anything with determination, regardless of the challenge.

While you may not be a fan of Texas A&M, I hope that you can appreciate these five words and what they could represent on your operation. If you’d like to become a fan of A&M, come see me, I’ll be more than happy to walk you through all of the traditions and uniqueness that is my school. Until then, this “Former Student” will be happy to share “Good Bull” with you with a “Howdy” to all and a “Whoop” when A&M scores. Thanks and “Gig ‘Em!”

Life Lessons Learned in The Fall

By Dale Sandlin