Conquering Challenges, Bridging Divides

"How in the world did he tie that knot?" That's all I could think about as I stared unforgivingly straight at Trent Loos, American rancher and self made agriculture spokesperson turned radio/television show host, and his perfectly tied, silky wild rag that was knotted at his throat. At least that was all I could think about until he opened his mouth. Because let me tell you, when Trent Loos talks, you just have to listen.

For the sake of time, for your reading and my writing, I'll just go ahead and bullet point this one out. I would HATE to miss anything this man said. He was truly awesome to listen to.

• Trent defines agriculture as "the conversion of natural resources into consumable products for humankind," and his stance is that we should do whatever necessary to keep our food supply both adequate and safe. (Yes, even if that means keeping chickens in *GASP* cages!)
• He says that farmers' and ranchers' roles as producers of the world's food is "a calling, not a job." And I couldn't agree more.
• On "natural" and "organic" food production, Trent points out that people are "paying a premium for the way things use to be done, even though the old ways are not environmentally or economically sound." He poses the question of the reason for technological advances of any kind if people are willing to pay more for the obselete ways of doing things.
• He also points out (and because I do love my facts I think this is important) the last reported case of trichinosis (the single reason that every pork chop since the 70's has been overcooked) was in 1976 (35 years ago) when two people contracted it from eating bear, not pork. So spread the word, trichinosis is not longer a threat.
• Never apologize for harvesting animals. It is the animal's place in this world to convert inedible products to products fit for human consumption. Trent's tagline is "Everything lives. Everything dies. And death with a purpose gives full meaning to life." And that's what it all comes down to.
• Trent's rules whe dealing with people who protest production agriculture: never be confrontational, LISTEN to them (that's all they really want), don't make the discussion economical, make it environmental and beneficial for mankind, be strategic (make things their idea)
• One of my personal favorite's of the presentation: "We need to put ourselves in a position to create the perceptions, no react to them."
• "Advocating" implies that we are on the defensive and that is a losing battle. Be a "spokesperson", not an advocate.
• Trent ended by saying, very eloquently I might add, "I expect that we will conquer these challenges and bridge these divides." Talk about making ya want to jump up and do something! He was awesome.

Fired Up,

JanLee