So if you remember in my previous posts regarding the fair, I mentioned that we had a lamb come home because he was “not market ready”. It was a tough experience for sure but out of that Miss B has learned a lot about the up’s and downs of the agriculture industry.
Peanut the lamb took residence at a close friends house where he has grown leaps and bounds! What most do not realize is that a sound feeding program is so important for our animals. There is much care that agriculturists give to their animals and 4-Hers are no exception. They learn through trial and error, along with recommendations from trusted sources, what works and what doesn’t. And for us, this year was no exception. But what was a disappointment turned into a huge learning lesson not only for the Danger Twins, but me too!
For the last month Miss B has been feeding Peanut and deciding if she wanted to take her lamb and show it at the Junior Grand National Stock Show or to sell her lamb to a local business. Knowing how much she cares for her animals, I knew this would be hard for her to have peanut around more but I needed to be in a support role and let her make her own decisions about the lamb.
I have been so proud of her with the amount of responsibility she has shown with her projects from the very beginning and have watched her grow her knowledge . She has this confidence when she speaks about her sheep, so secure and focused about what she is doing and the “why”. I wish I had a bit of that at her age!!!
So the other night as we were driving home from feeding Miss B says,“hey mom can I get Adam’s number from you? I want to talk to him about buying my lamb?” Our friend Adam Parks, who has Victorian Farmstead in Sebastopol, approached Miss B at the fair and told her he would be interested in purchasing her lamb after she put 30 days on her lamb to get him to gain weight. Adam and his wife Laura have a wonderful local business, check it out at www.vicfarmmeats.com . I gave Miss B the number and she promptly called! As I was making dinner, I could hear this voice coming from the living room…it sounded so mature, confident and focused. That can’t be my little peewee on the phone! This sounded like a seasoned professional brokering a deal! She got off the phone and was so proud of herself….and I was teary, because at that moment I realized that she was no longer a little girl anymore. She agreed to call Adam back with a price that they could discuss and agree on….I would have NEVER thought to do that when I was her age. Miss B then called one of her mentors to find out what would be an acceptable price to ask for her lamb, because she didn’t want to ask too much or too little. Now I could have given her that info, but I firmly believe that it is far better for the Danger Twins to do some of this stuff without my help.
So armed with her price and information to answer any questions Adam may have Miss B will make that call to make her sales pitch. No matter what happens I am so very proud of her and amazed at the wonderful person she is becoming. Lessons learned with her livestock projects & 4-H have help her to be successful in other areas of her life too!
Today’s “Mad Shout Out” goes to Miss B! You are ROCK STAR AWESOME and I am so very proud of you! And also shout outs to our fab Ag family for your support and knowledge you give to the Danger Twins!
~Lynnie
