Leading the Way
How leadership works on the ranch.
contributed article by B. Lynn Gordon Leader Consulting, Sioux Falls, S.D. leaderconsulting.biz
ELEVATE YOUR GAME I
t is not often that a “farm kid” plays in the Super Bowl or even makes it into the NFL. Many young people may dream about it as they play high school football under the Friday night lights across the nation. First, they need to make a college football team. Next, they need to beat the odds since less than two percent of college athletes make it to the pros.
February 2021
Becoming a pro-football player can be equated in the beef industry to having a sire top the ranks across the EPD platform, “bending the curve,” as they say. The odds are steep. Yet, these are goals seedstock producers continue to strive for.
28
Jordy Nelson, Leonardville, Kan., grew up as a farm kid like many of you reading this magazine. He baled hay, calved cows, planted corn, and checked pastures. He was the quarterback on his high school football team. Nelson made the tough decision to pass on several scholarships to play football at lower-level division schools. He determined his best route to reach his goal and be seen by recruiters was for him to “walk-on” at Kansas State University (KSU), just 30 miles down the road from his home. He began at safety for KSU, later
challenged by the coach to move to receiver, a position he had never played. Nonetheless, he was asked to “elevate his game”. After many hours of practice and studying tape, he was successful in this new role. Successful enough to be drafted in the second round by the Green Bay Packers in 2008. Arriving in Green Bay, he knew it was once again time to elevate his game. Now, as a professional athlete, a lot was riding on his ability to perform. But what was even more crucial was watching and learning from the veteran players. The Kansas farm kid’s willingness to learn, and experiment, and his constant devotion to his task, led him to be only the fourth receiver in Super Bowl history with nineplus receptions for at least 140 yards and a touchdown. Coming off the momentum of playing for the trophy he had always dreamed about, and one of his best years professionally, Nelson was ready to help lead his team to back-to-back Super Bowl wins. However, two games into the pre-season, Nelson tore his ACL. He was forced to sit out the remainder of the year, have surgery, and go through intensive rehab. The injury was a devastating blow to his dreams and created
unbelievable uncertainty for his career. Nelson described the scenario during a keynote address to fellow Angus cattlemen, “I gave myself two days to pout.” Then he knew he had to change his mindset. He returned and ended his ten-year career holding the then record of 1,519 receiving yards for the Green Bay Packers. Now retired, he is the fourth generation involved on the family farm.
SEEDSTOCK SCENARIO As a seedstock producer, how can you “elevate your game?” In this February issue, I also authored an article discussing marketing and the concept of building a brand. Marketing is a proven step for a business to elevate its game. As you set your resolutions or goals for the year, did you include efforts to elevate your business in genetics, production, management, customer service, or human resources? For example, what lessons can be learned by studying what other progressive seedstock herds are doing? Do you have a written marketing plan? Have you identified production goals so that you can articulate those goals to your customers? Are you progressively accepting changes in technology to measure
thestockmanmag.com | THE STOCKMAN