Wisdom for a Wednesday on Positivity

My Mom always told me to surround myself with positive people. It certainly has helped through many trials and tribulations. So today I thought I would share a little inspiration for #WisdomWednesday.

 When there is little I can do to change the situation I am in, I prefer to hold on to hope,

And remember all I have to be thankful for,

Because if we look, we CAN see good!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Today is the Day - Become an Agvocate!

Happy National Agriculture Day! Today is the day where you are going to (if you haven’t already) take back the narrative about who produces food in this country and the production practices that are used. Believe me, I know, you are REALLY busy, but it is imperative that we, as an agriculture community, start and continue to direct conversations, rather than allow those with no personal and/or scientific experience to do so. We know we utilize the best practices to ensure our animals and the land are cared for. We know there is some crazy juice pulsing through our veins that drives us to put in ridiculous hours in all types of weather conditions. We know the products we produce are wholesome and nutritious, but have we let others know? Now is the time. Get involved in social media and share your farm/ranch, and most of all, family story.

Here are 5 tips to help you get started.

Start with one platform. Don’t get overwhelmed by trying to do too much at once. Click here for A Quick and Dirty Guide to 10 Social Media Platforms for the Newbie.

Be authentic and highlight what you know. There are a plethora of wonderful ag people who have blazed the trail for you. Take a look at some of their sites to get an idea of what you may want to share. Here are two wonderful examples.

Dairy Carrie

Ag Proud Ryan

Post photos, links and short videos in addition to text.

 "Doesn't everyone wash their show calf in a swimsuit and mud boots?"

"Tonight's milking crew. We tried to get our Jersey to photobomb, but she just wasn't that into it!"

Respond to comments.  People young and old love to learn more about how the food they are consuming is produced. Worried about trolls? Here are three easy ways to combat them and ways to keep your community troll free.

Have fun. Did you just fall victim to the cow that decided to cough while you were walking behind? Turn that negative into a positive with a selfie. Your followers will love it, learn a little about the hazards of the job, and you will feel better about the grass and corn you may or may not have just ingested! 

Are you an experienced agvocate? Please share what has worked for you in the comments section below.

PregCheck™, Improving Your Mating Toolbox

It’s that time of year again. Last year’s heifer calf crop has matured and looks great. Now, it’s time to choose a mating sire. The sire options are endless. As you study the Beef Genetic Management Guide, you narrow your selection down to two bulls. Both offer calving ease and are of the same genetic merit. Now for the tough choice, or maybe it’s not that tough. You notice Sire A has a PregCheck™ of 100 while Sire B has a PregCheck of 102. What does that mean again? Oh yeah, Sire B averages a 2% higher conception rate. Imagine that, 2% more pregnancies by using a sire with known fertility. 

The choice is made. Sire B it is.

Genex is proud to be the first A.I. organization to quantify individual beef sire fertility. PregCheck evaluations are the result of real breedings which have shown real differences between sires. Each bull’s PregCheck value comes with an associated reliability value. As the reliability value increases, the amount of change in the PregCheck value will decrease when additional pregnancy data are included in future analyses. For a reliable evaluation, which is about 70%, a sire must have approximately 400 breedings in the database.  

While all Genex sires are procured with producer profitability in mind, PregCheck now offers members and customers another selection option to improve their bottom lines. If you have any questions about PregCheck, please contact your local Genex representative. Your representative, is equipped with the expertise to help you put PregCheck to work in your herd!

Click here for more information on PregCheck. Feel free to leave any questions you may have on PregCheck in the comments section below.